Can you do alignment yourself

Toe is the fore-and-aft difference in tire distance. Most vehicles are slightly toe-in for a lighter steering feel and to keep a slight pre-load on wheel bearings. To check the toe, park the vehicle on level ground with the tires straight ahead and the steering wheel centered. Jack up one of the front tires, secure the vehicle on jack stands, then spray-paint a stripe on the tread while spinning the tire. Scribe a sharp concentric line in the paint on the tread by spinning the tire.

We used a small nail held in a mini vise and lightly pressed against the tread to ensure a straight line. Here's a detailed shot of the scribed line. Try to position the line on the tread blocks to make the line as continuous as possible for easier measuring. Perform the same steps on the other tire. Measure again on the back sides of the tires. Make sure that the tape is level and the same distance above the ground as it was for the front reading.

Compare the two measurements to reveal the toe, accounting for measurements taken lower than at the tires' center for actual toe. This vehicle exhibited one-eighth of an inch too much toe-in. The adjustment begins by loosening the tie-rod adjuster sleeves. Penetrating lubricant helps break the nuts loose.

Assuming that the steering wheel is already centered, adjust the tie-rods on each side the same amount. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Under the Hood. Vehicle Maintenance. How to Do a Front End Alignment. Making sure the front end of your car is in alignment is key to both a smooth ride and long tire life.

Raise both front wheels on jack stands. Turn the car's electrical system on but not the engine so that the steering wheel will move. This is sometimes labeled "accessory" on the ignition. Look at one wheel at a time from the front of the car. Check to see which direction it's pointing. There are a few ways that you can test to see if your tires still have traction. If you can see the top of his head, your tire treads are running dangerously low.

I then jacked up my car and centered the steering box arm, confirming that the steering wheel was centered as well. I centered it by measuring the distance that the tie rods stick out on each side, and turning the steering wheel until they were equal. Next, I loosened up the nuts on the tie-rod assemblies and dropped the car back down to the ground. Now, the car was ready for adjustment.

This will let the suspension settle into normal ride height, making the measurement of the new adjustment accurate. Onward: grabbing the angle iron sections and laying them on bricks, I set them next to each of the front wheels. I then laid the tape measures on the leading and trailing edges of the steel to take measurements. It looked like this:. For parallel wheels, the measurements should be the same.

So, I made small, half-turn, adjustments in the tie-rods to bring the wheels back to parallel. Again, I rolled the car back and forth a few times to settle in the suspension, and I remeasured. This might differ for you, as some vehicles like their wheels to be perfectly parallel, but my BMW benefits from the slight toe-in.