Adjustment of wheel alignment can be done at almost any service station. But these services do not always have special and high-tech equipment for performing such work. Most workshops suggest performing a procedure such as adjusting the camber using old methods and tools.
Therefore, many motorists are wondering why pay someone if this operation can be easily mastered on their own. Moreover, the tools for this are commercially available. In addition, if the nearest hundred is far away, and you have violated the adjustments, then all procedures can be performed using simple devices, and then more precisely adjusted at the service station. Let's take a closer look at how you can adjust the wheel alignment with your own hands.
Basic concepts of parameters wheel alignment
To understand the adjustment process, you should know what toe camber is and what these parameters affect.
First of all, it should be clearly understood that correctly adjusted toe-out angles provide the car with directional stability and significantly extend the life of car tires. In addition, the car will be less prone to skidding, and it will be much better controlled. Correct adjustment also has a positive effect on fuel consumption.
What is convergence collapse?
Camber is the angle formed by the vertical plane of the wheel and the plane of rotation of the wheel. It is camber that affects the position of the wheel in motion. If the camber is positive, then the top of the wheel is pointing out of the vertical plane of the wheel. Conversely, with a negative value, the top of the wheel is directed inward.
Toe is the angle formed between the direction of travel and the plane of rotation of the wheel. This parameter has a significant impact on the position of the wheels at different speeds and when cornering the vehicle.
In addition to the above two parameters, you should also know such a parameter as caster - this is the angle of inclination of the kingpin in the longitudinal direction. It allows you to stabilize the position of the front wheels on the car relative to its direction of travel. This parameter, with correct adjustment, should be equal to 6 degrees.
Frequency of adjustment camber toe
The frequency of the procedure for convergence disorder is approximately every 10-15 thousand km, for domestic car brands, and every 30 thousand for foreign cars. Sometimes it becomes necessary to perform a toe-out collapse outside of the plan. As a rule, this is due to the fact that you "caught" a hole in the car, which led to the deformation of the disc. Also, this procedure must be performed if you have performed any related to the chassis of the front wheels. When changing the ground clearance (clearance) on the car, it is also necessary to perform a toe-out. One indicator that you need to do camber is poor steering response when exiting a corner.
How to do the wheel alignment on a car with your own hands?
Consider the implementation of the procedure for measuring and adjusting the camber in the form of a step-by-step algorithm of actions. Before adjusting the camber of the car with your own hands, you need to find the appropriate place and tools: a flat platform (preferably with a viewing hole), a cord at the end of which there is a plumb line, chalk, a driver's tool.
Camber adjustment
Stage one: Place the car on the site, while the front wheels should be level. Mark the top and bottom of the tires on the outside of the front wheels with chalk marks.
Second stage: Attaching the line with a plumb line to the wing in such a way that it is in the same plane with the marks, we measure the distance from the line to the upper and lower marks. The measurement must be done not to the tire, but to the wheel rim (the edge farthest from the center of the wheel is taken - the rim). The difference between the results should not exceed 3 mm.
Third stage: Turn the wheels 90 degrees, rolling the car forward a little. Again, we make two marks in diameter and take measurements. After that, we turn the wheels 180 degrees and carry out similar measurements. All measurements must be recorded.
Fifth stage: Using two 19 mm wrenches, unscrew the bolts connecting the steering knuckle and the shock absorber strut bracket.
In order to set the required camber value, it is necessary to move the steering knuckle to one side or the other. Where to move and how much, your measurements will show you. The following indications are considered the norm: for front-wheel drive vehicles ± 1mm; for rear wheel drive +1 ± 3mm.
Wheel alignment adjustment
Now, in accordance with the technical requirements, it is necessary to carry out the procedure for adjusting the toe angle. For this we need a special telescopic ruler.
After the car is ready for adjustment, we apply two chalk marks on the inside of the front tires (preferably in the front). Then we take a telescopic ruler and rest its ends against our marks. After that, on the ruler, we combine the fixed pointer on the ruler body and zero on the scale. We ride the car forward a little. The ruler moves backward when the wheels are rotated.
After the ruler is at the level of the front wheel axle (it can be slightly lower), but the ruler should not touch any suspension or body parts, we take the readings on the scale. If the readings indicate that there is more distance than between their rear parts, then the tie rods must be slightly lengthened. If the measurements gave the opposite result, then the thrust must, on the contrary, be shortened. This can be done by loosening the lock nut on the steering rods using a 27 mm wrench, then using a 24 mm wrench, adjust the length of the tie rod using the clutch. After making the adjustment, the procedure for measuring the convergence must be repeated. Correct convergence is considered the option when the difference in measurements does not exceed 1 mm.
Video - Camber convergence
Video - Convergence disorder in a car service
Conclusion!
In such a simple way, you can adjust the camber angles with your own hands. But if you have an expensive car with expensive tires, it is best to repeat the adjustment procedure using modern equipment.
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