Driveway Alignment?

Anyone had success with this? I've been reading up on it and it seems pretty straight forward. Just stick small pins into the meaty part of the tread in the middle of the front of the tire on both sides, measure between them, roll jeep back so pins are on backside of tire and measure, then toe in 1/8" more than you're reading on the backside... Loosen tre's and turn and measure till you're aligned.

Anyone had success with this? I'm sick of paying some shop 80 bux everytime I need an alignment just to loosen 2 bolts and turn my tie rod a few times.

There is a lot more to an allignment than setting toe. If you are fairly certain the camber and caster are in spec go ahead do the driveway allignment. After most wheelin trips I do a quick check on the toe just to make sure it's still OK.

I just did a 2" bb. Not sure about caster and camber. Just trying to save my tires from uneven wear and get rid of my DW between 50-60mph

Camber isn't something easily adjusted. In order to modify Camber, you'd have to buy offset balljoints. It's highly unlikely your Camber is off unless you have a bent housing or something of the like.

I don't think a caster adjustment is something you need to worry about at this point either. The most common way to adjust caster is with adjustable arms. You can use shims with the stock arms, but I doubt it's an issue you need to worry about.

Toe, however, is a different story. I followed this method. Took about an hour or so, and it has worked well for me.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=243535826&postcount=30

Scott

Surf, I driveway align all the time, but I know my caster is right, so its just toe. With the issues you have been having with wobble, I think a pro alignment would be worth the deneros, especially with little Dillon riding with you... you'll get an inspection of all your soft parts, and a warranty if it ends up jacked. I am sure one of the south denver folks can get you to a reliable shop.eace:

Having to little positive caster can contribute to death wobble. It's fairly difficult to accurately check caster in the driveway.

xj-grin said:

Surf, I driveway align all the time, but I know my caster is right, so its just toe. With the issues you have been having with wobble, I think a pro alignment would be worth the deneros, especially with little Dillon riding with you... you'll get an inspection of all your soft parts, and a warranty if it ends up jacked. I am sure one of the south denver folks can get you to a reliable shop.eace:

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I call it death wobble, but I have yet to be thrown into a full on shake. I just get paranoid. I know what death wobble feels like, I experienced it in my old tj when I used front coils in the rear to lift it about 6" and Xj 4.5" coils in the front to lift it about 6.5", no adj trac bar, no front or rear shocks, no alignment... It shook like hell.

What I have going on is merely a vibration when going between 50-60 mph. Just feels like somethings not right down there... But I don't really feel it in my steering wheel. Just feels like my steerings kinda looser than it was when it was stock. Not tight. I'm thinking it's just alignment or worn tre bushings. I'll find out if it's either. If it still vibes after an alignment and replaced tre's (if they need replacing) I'll shoot for a new stabilizer and adj trac bar with a beefy heim joint.

If the vibes were still there after an 80 dollar alignemt at a shop, I'd be screwed once I replace anything else and have to get it alinged again...

Catch me ?

remember this is a diy/craigslist build.

The guys at the Midas near my place have taken good care of my rigs after doing lifts. On one occasion a tech bitched about having to do the caster on the R.E. adj. control arms (ya gotta remove 'em, turn 'em, put 'em back on, check it, possibly remove and turn again to get the adj. right) but all other times they've been great.

Caster is definitely the big issue, but once it's set after the initial alignment, it generally doesn't need to be adjusted again unless something got bent. Generally speaking, toe isn't gonna cause DW unless it's way off and it'd be noticeable to the eye. DW is loose/worn parts, bad caster, bad wheel balance/tire wear.

Midas frequently runs $49 and $59 alignment specials on their website - print the coupon and take it in. XJ's DO NOT need a 4-wheel alignment. The rear is completely un-adjustable and so many people throw away their money on retard alignment shops selling them on these "precision" alignments that their XJ couldn't possibly have done to it.

brakes plus is good too, i have a had good experiences with them and its only fifty bucks

smalls2010 said:

brakes plus is good too, i have a had good experiences with them and its only fifty bucks

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I have had an issue with them once but nothin major. My friend doesn't like em though cause he got an alignment from them and when he got it back it pulled to the left. They said it was to fight the slants in the road. Some bs if ya ask me.

Crimzon316 said:

I have had an issue with them once but nothin major. My friend doesn't like em though cause he got an alignment from them and when he got it back it pulled to the left. They said it was to fight the slants in the road. Some bs if ya ask me.

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There's some truth to that for lifted rigs. The slant or "crown" of the road will affect the steering and cause some minor pull to the left. Even my '04 GTO had that to a small degree, but it's really noticible on lifted/tall tire rigs. My Dodge does it too. The steeper the crown, the more the pull. Think of it as driving off camber on the trail. If you let go of the steering wheel, all of the weight of the vehicle wants to follow gravity, the body rocks to the right on the suspension, etc.

I imagine that your friend notices the pull more when he's in the right lane than the left lane since the center of the road surface is less crowned. They crown roads to provide water run-off to the gutters.

I may just pay the 50 bux and get it done right then... ???

SurfXJSnow said:

I may just pay the 50 bux and get it done right then... ???

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With a 2" BB(that's all your said you installed)...all you need is a flat surface, a tape measure, and a couple wrenches. Save your money.

JohnJohn said:

With a 2" BB(that's all your said you installed)...all you need is a flat surface, a tape measure, and a couple wrenches. Save your money.

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I'm in castle rock to. Wanna help ? . Also, I'd like to get my hands on a set of silver Trail Driven badge decals!

I agree with johnjohn though... With 2" bb, how could my caster be off much? I'm still running oem lca's

Brakes plus has a coupon for 43 dollar alignment on their website, not to bad IMO.

Have you even checked your toe in alignment yet? From what i have read, with 2 inches of lift that should give you ~ 1/2 in. of toe in. depending on what you started with. Maybe see if you should look in to other parts contributing to your potential DW.

I have done a few driveway alignments, and they always go smooth. I watch my tires for wear, and keep an eye on my toe in measurement, nothing out of the normal.

SurfXJSnow said:

I'm in castle rock to. Wanna help ? . Also, I'd like to get my hands on a set of silver Trail Driven badge decals!

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Depends. I am knee deep in work these days. My bride travels a ton so I'm usually wrangling my two young boys to Scouts, swim calls, etc.

With that said hit me back channel and you can stop by the house and use my driveway if you want. I can supervise.

I just have tan in the TrailDriven stickers right now.

with an $8 angle finder setting caster and camber can be accomplished. you can actually use the lug points on your tires to measure toe.

i was able to set the alignment on my new ifs rig with no issue. my solid axle rigs were even easier.

there is a flat spot on the top of the steering knuckle to check the caster using the angle finder this needs to be done with tires off. i usually try and set the camber with the rig on the ground as i am only concerned with the camber as the rig will be going down the road.

you can use a flat bar of steel set vertically on the edges of the rim and the angle finder to check your camber. if the camber is way out NAPA sells camber adjusting shims for some axles. I used them on my HP 44 in the xj. probably not an issue.

If the caster is out, stock xjs have 4.5 degrees positive caster, i prefer 6 or 7. you can add the shims as necessary to the factory lower control arms.

the toe is personal preference. i usually like a 3/16th.

the wobble may also be a worn part not just the toe setting.

when you take these angles the trick is to be sure the rig is sitting level both front to back and side to side. if you have a good garage floor it is no big deal.

Checked the steering again today with one of my workers turning the wheel with it parked against a curb (thanks to Yella for the hint) and everything looked solid except for the trac bar frame side mount. Looks to have a hair, and I mean a hair of play in it when turning. Is this little bit of movement something to wortk about?