setting toe...help needed

pretty basic here. Truck runs, and runs good now. Gotta get this set, what's the best and simples way to set it up. it's a pretty simple setup, tube axle on parrallel leafs...here's a few bad pics of the front if that helps.


help me get to the roundup!!!!!

 

Just take a tape measure and find a spot on the inside of the tires that you can measrue to on the front and rear of the tires. Measure it.. Set it at 1/8 toed in..
Dave

 

i've always used a spot on the tread to measure from. front side and back side. same height from the ground, mid point of tire

 

Toe 101:

Set the steering wheel to center-lock to lock and tie/brace it securely.

Hook a string at the center of the rear wheel and pull it forward along the sidewall at the tire centerline. Set the left tire to where the string is "flat" with the front tire sidewalls. Do the right side. This sets both tires at an equal starting point. ALL adjustment from here must be done in equal increments from this point to keep the steering wheel centered.

Some use the tire tread, some the tire sidewall to set toe. I do both at times.

Select a reference point on your front tire tread. It can be anywhere, center, outside or inside. Just use the same for ALL measurements.

Measure the front and rear of the tire as close to the horizonal centerline as possible. Subtract, divide by 2. That is the toe.

Adjust 1/2 of that toe out of each tire. Measure again. When you get to straight ahead, stop.

Roll the car back about 3 feet then forward 3 feet. Measure again. Adjust to straight.

Roll back-forwards. measure and adjust what ever you need to be your toe. (1/2 distance to each tire).

Roll back-forwards. Measure. When happy, lock all bolts and unblock wheel. You now have toe and the wheel will stay straight when crusing.

 

I made myself an adjustable "Toe Stick" out of electrical conduit and a dowel rod. These pictures probably don't do the entire thing justice, but hopefully you'll get the picture.

I snagged a length of conduit from one of those large roll-off dumpsters in front of a store being remodled. The guys inside told me just to take what I needed, so I got plenty! I also go the little sleeve type connectors that have a set screw to hold the two **** ends together.

Price so far = $0.00

I then went down to my local hardware store/lumber yard and bought a 3' wooden dowel which was just a hair under the ID of the electrical conduit. I'm thinking I've got 1/2" conduit with a 7/16" wood dowel.

Total cost so far = $1.37

Constructing the device:

Step 1: Cut a straight length of conduit out of the middle of the piece salvaged from the dumpster to 48" long. Depending on your need, you could cut it longer or shorter.

Step 2: Cut the 36" dowel approximately 6" from one end, and slightly round all 4 edges/ends of the dowel, but be sure to leave the centers flat!

Step 3: Add the conduit connectors onto the ends of the conduit, and tighten the screw on the conduit side of the connector. Do this on both ends.

Step 4: Add the 6" dowel into one end of the conduit and tighten the set screw into this end so that it cannot move.

Step 5: Slide the remaining 30" of dowel into the other end and just slightly tighten the set screw. Tighten it enough to keep the dowel from sliding in and out on its own. You'll still want be able to move it in and out by hand, but have enough resistance to move it easily.

Using it:

Place the stick between the front of the wheels and extend it to where you're going to be doing your measurements - you'll need to be sure that you can reach the same place on the tires or wheels in the front as in the back. For setting the toe on most vehicles, I like to raise the tires just a hair off the ground and set them down on wooden blocks. I'll then bounce the front of the vehicle to ensure the wheels are setting where they are supposed to be under full load.

Extend the stick to the fit the front measuring location, then move it to the back location. Tighten or loosen your toe adjusters until you have almost the same distance between the 2 measuring points. You'll be able to figure this out by when you move the stick from the front to the back (WITHOUT BUMPING THE DOWEL BACK INTO THE CONDUIT) and it just barely touches the 2 measuring points.

When you've gotten to this point, you'll next need to adjust the toe "in" about 1/8" on a rear wheel drive, or "out" about 1/8" on a front wheel drive. With this measuring device, 1/8" is almost nothing. If you've gotten to the step above, you're looking at having the stick being tight in the back, and just barely moving between the front. (Vice versa on a front wheel drive)

Any car or truck I've ever used this on has never had any problems. We put one I did with this on an alignment rack and it was almost perfect. I've done 5 ton trucks and small cars with this, and it works great.