BUILD THREAD Project Olds Cool (Recognition!!)
- Thread starter Rktpwrd
- Start date
Donovan great write up as always. Can you elaborate on how you did the straight edge and tow in? I just can't grasp in my feeble mind where/how you measured between the wheels with engine and assorted parts in the way. If you can't no big deal. Appreciate all you work regardless.
I use 2 jackstands and a piece of string parallel to the frame rail. Once that is set, I measure the difference between the front and rear edges pf the tire bulge, usually it's a string width or less between measurements.
Not seeing it in my mind but I had a rough weekend..... So a jack or whatever you can tie a string to in front of and behind front tires. Have string just touching the bulge then measure side to side???
Blazer brakes widen the front, so that's why I use the framerail. Jackstand at the front, jackstand at the back, string between, move the jackstands around until the string is parallel to the frame rail. Then, measure the wheel bulges front and rear.
I knew I should’ve taken pictures of my halfassed setup last night, but it was getting late and I was in a hurry to wrap things up for the night. Olds Cool isn’t exactly loud, but it’s not exactly quiet for my PC, ultra conservative, neighborhood gossip, do gooder, go to bed at 8:00 neighbors either.
As Fleming442 said, once you establish what’s actually “straight” to the car (framerails are probably the best way), all you’re trying to set and adjust is the toe. You’re trying to see if the leading edges of the tires are pointed further in or out than the trailing edges.
I put the front end of the car up on jack stands just high enough that the tires were off the ground and I could still comfortably slide underneath to make the adjustments. Everybody does it slightly different, but next I put 2 paint cans on each side spaced out either side of the tires. Then I put a piece of straight scrap metal longer than the tires up tight adjacent to the faces of the wheels on the paint cans on both sides. The paint cans were to get the scrap metal straightedges up high enough to sit squarely against the faces of the wheels. Then just simply measure from straightedge to straightedge underneath the car, in front of and behind the wheels.
If your measurement is more at the back than the front, then you have toe in. If it’s less, then you have toe out. Keep adjusting until you have 1/16” of difference toe in between the two and you’re ready to go. (1/16” is what is recommended for our cars).
If you’re still confused by my description, let me know and I’ll mock it up again quickly for a picture and post it for you.
Thank you. Between you and Fleming I think i got the gist of it. I've watched a friend of mine do something similar but used the rear tires as the straight instead of the frame. Just used a longer string.
Yeah, I run the string bumper to bumper and measure off the framerail behind the front and in front of the rear wheels. Basically, you just need a reference line parallel to the frame, and go from there.
this works well. Just make sure to measure and make adjustments with full vehicle weight on the front wheels
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