Or
do it yourself.
drive it back and forth along a curb to get the steering centred not the steering wheel the steering. if you can go back at forth at will and not have to correct to avoid hitting the curb eventually....its centred
now sort the steering wheel
add or remove the same amount from each track rod until the steering wheel is where you want it.
and check that the inner track rod ends are same distance from the chassis rail each side
drive to a flat level and beautifully smooth place
put your spirit level or plumb bob against the wheel and check it is upright it probably won't be
put a blob of white at the fattest bit of the front upper control arm adjustment cam, and wind it round so that the fat/white blob bit points directly in to the centre of the car.
do the same on the back but wind it so the fat bit points directly out at the interior of the wing.
The aim here is to get the upper control arm to swing the upper ball joint back a bit so that if you draw a line through the upper and lower joint it would hit the road in front of the middle of the contact patch of the tyre. this is to provide shopping trolley wheel, style castor action
bounce the car up and down.. stand on then lift from the front bumper 3 times each side
check how bad the wheel camber is with your spirit level/plumb bob i bet the top of the wheel sticks out while the bottom seems tucked
if the top of the wheel sticks out and the bottom seems tucked in start turning the cam bolt at the back a bit until its fat side starts to push out the back mount a bit, then the wheel starts to get more upright
do the same on the other side.
you want about the same degree of in-out top to bottom for both sides... but if stuck if one has more top in and bottom out let it be the kerb side
get two thin sewing needles
push them into the centre of the tred, one on each tyre at the back and just below the sill facing rear of car. you will want to run thread from 1 to the other
pull cotton through one needle eye and knot one end. pull it through the other side and slightly taught under the car but not touching anything put a felt pen ink blodge on it where it passes through the other needle eye
pull out cotton
carefully roll car forward so that your needles point forward and just below the bumper/ valance
repeat the process
if the ink blodge is 1-4 mm outside of the needle eye all good
if it is inside the needle eye
twist each track rod 1/8 of a turn to push the rear of the wheels out a tiny smidge (draw a line on the track rod sleeve directly down and use it as a marker and draw the direction you need to turn it increase toe in on there as well)
check again if too much its back the other way
repeat until the front of the wheels point in a bit, and the difference on your thread is, ink mark more than 1mm past the second needle eye aim for 2-3
go for a drive
check
1) if you let go of the steering does it self centre...?? Important. it should. if it doesn't the rear cam needs to be adjusted back again a bit which will make the top of the wheel stick out and the bottom tuck in slightly. stand on the bumper and lift the bumper again 3 times to settle it after change and measure again
2) check the steering wheel is centred... if not you need to add to one track rod and remove from the other
3) if it pulls to one side you may well have more camber on 1 wheel and less on the other adjust the side that it pulls to.
better than kwick fit but not as good as having a camber castor and tracking set.
But only worth doing if the bushes are good
worn out upper or lower bushes means the set up you do today is only correct up to the point you drive it...then its anybody's guess
keep an eye on the edges of the tread on the front. if it looks scrubbed too much toe in and the needles and thread check will be needed again.
it takes about 70 miles to ruin a perfectly good set of front tyres
i found that out after rally X ing my car across the field at santa pod. cam bolts at the top twisted round and my wheels were set up all squinty for the drive home. i wondered why i had to hang on to the wheel so tight.... absolutely bloody terrifying when it rained...shoulda just stopped and fixed it
i.e you will know pretty instantly if your work has had a positive effect on driving pleasure
Dave
