How to Make a cheap DIY alignment tool

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I found a better way to preform a front end alignment at home. In this video we will go over how to make a cheap DIY alignment tool and how to set it up, so you can get the best alignment possible. This method will save you money, time, and really allow you to dial in your front end alignment.
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and helps me to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for your support!
#howto #alignment #Diy

[@stanleytolle416]

I used fishing line going front to back equal distance from center of wheel tided to jack stands. I measured from rim to line with caliper and figured amount of toe in by figuring difference between center to center of the tire to rim to rim. Your toe-in measurement will be proportionally smaller by the center tire mesurement is to the rim. Make sure your rims are straight by lifting the tire and spin the tire using something like a rod attached to a jack stand. Now simply subtract the front meaurement from the back. Three other things. Level ground, steering wheel tied straight ahead and I used two plactic place mats from the dollar store to allow the the front wheels to move. Wiggle the wheels after each adjustment to make sure of proper measurment. If you have independent rear suspension do the same for rear. Tools, fishing line, tape measure, four dollar store place mats, claiper or fine scale measuring ruler, calculator or smart phone. If your front and rear wheels are different width set your string equal distance from the center line of the car. The distance between the line has to be the same front and rear and equal from center of the wheels front and rear. Idea is to get to parallel lines to the center of the vehicle. Most cases toe is all you need or can set on most cars.

[@rsab72]

Never had confidence with scribing tire and measuring. Never wanted to spend money on tools sold by manufacturers. So this is going to to be my new method for sure. Thanks.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Your welcome, glad you found the video helpful!

[@mwyson4095]

Thank you. I have been using a straight edge to make marks on the driveway but I like your way better, I will try it next time. Wish Harbor Freight made a cheap setup. Would be nice to gauge off the rim instead because the tires aren't always perfect and the raised letters get in the way.

[@davidreynolds9225]

You should have measured the distance between the two tape measures and make sure that it was the same on both sides so it would be square. Because if a 1/16 of an inch makes a difference, then your tapes having different gaps would definitely affect your outcome

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Not a bad. Ensuring both measuring tapes are accurate to each other is a smart move.

[@davemurphy7533]

Only just started to watch and straight away my thought is it Needs to be off the wheel not the tyre wall. Wheel is fixed solid point tyres can flex/bulge

[@EmbarkWithMark]

The wheel would be best. But in a pinch if you just need a quick and dirty alignment, the tire does work. Not the best. but it works.

[@trustme7731]

Another problem is that tires are far from perfect. I have tried this and found that as the tire is rotated, the dimension changes because of variations in the sidewall rubber. To be accurate it must be done from the wheels, as a shop would do it. Yet another problem is that as you extend outward where you measure, at the tire tread, the toe dimension will be far different from what it would be measuring from the wheel.

[@MrSeebobski]

For those who are interested to 4 wheel for I.F.S. front end use a string at centerline of front and rear wheels to check. With string tight around both tires you can see if they are out if one side of your front tires are not touching the string

[@EmbarkWithMark]

I'm going to give this a shot with our 4runner. Thank you!

[@ckvoncan]

thanks for sharing the wisdom!

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ckvoncan]

100% helpful, my local mom and pops shops don't want to align my jeep due to my tire choice. aside from the extra tape measures i have everything I need already cluttering my garage. cheap and cheerful!

[@EmbarkWithMark]

I have a similar problem! But, it’s no longer a problem!

[@donschlegel1972]

Do I have to take my x3 BMW to Bmw for a wheel alignment? I have done them myself on other cars unless there’s something special with the BMW some computer things are resetting it’s a 2015 X3.

[@reekorichh8919]

I would make sure to put even tire pressure in both tires to make this method more accurate .. but I would try this method in the future 👍🏾

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Good point!

[@AMAZING5355]

Muchas gracias por compartir, una pregunta; si tienen diferente medida atras y adelante las ruedas, suponiendo esten abiertas del frente(o sea midan mas que atras), ¿como decides cuanto cerrar cada rueda, pues puede estar mas abierta una que la otra, respecto al centro entre ruedas: ejemplo, si tienes una diferencia de 3/8" mas en el frente, le cerrarias 1/4" a una, y 1/8" a la otra?? o como se reparte?, ayudame a entender por favor, quisiera alinear mi caravan, pues le veo mas salida la rueda izquierda que la derecha...gracias! saludos desde Aguascalientes México

[@MRSOSA07]

Para saber cuánto necesita mover ay que divider la difference por 2

[@crazyhorseracing6130]

How long was the angle pieces?? Thanks for the videos!!

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Mine are about 40” or so. Long enough to get in front and rear of what ever tire your running.

[@stephenbaker4950]

Might be a good point to remember to equate tyre pressure

[@EmbarkWithMark]

That would be good to remember!

[@smiller787]

Here’s my comment….while I like the idea overall, some considerations….first of all tires and wheels almost always have runout….so my preference would be to determine where the runout is….using a dial indicator….or something as simple as spinning the wheel and marking the high spot (wobble) on both tires and clock your placement of the cross bar in the middle of runout (splitting the difference on both sides.) Also on your jeep, and my Honda crv (had a wreck and bent front end parts, which I fixed…hence my need for a cheap alignment), you could also of utilized the slot in your wheels, and used one of your bungee or ratchet straps, through that slot in the wheel just to grab your slotted angle at the mid point and held it that way. Also, toe adjustments are usually given in degrees of angle, and 1 degree of angle, is 1” at 57.3 (or 57 1/4” works too) inches from the pivot point of your wheel, so if your car calls for 1/8” toed in, (2) 6ft pieces of rigid angle held on like your slotted angle, you could measure out front @ 24” and out at 57.25” and get a pretty precise toe adjustment. Not sure your really short angle is all that precise, since if you extrapolated your measurements out even 57” out front, your adjustment would be within spec. Also I would go drive your Jeep, and pull it in, again and set up your toe alignment setup again and see if it was truly repeatable, meaning did your adjustments still match what you set on the video….I’m thinking since if there is any tire/wheel runout, it might be off perhaps a decent amount, but again I like the easy idea for attaching the bar to the wheel, and that it measure toe with the suspension loaded. Nice video.

[@smiller787]

Furthermore, once you determined where your runout is, and your best place to put your bar, you could make up 4 blocks (or dowels), all accurate to one another (3d printed, aluminum or even hardwood), to place on the surface of the wheel and get off of the tire entirely, which would increase your accuracy perhaps by a lot…..fyi, food for thought!

[@Phantom-mk4kp]

Whe using bungy cords wear eye protection. I know someone who lost an eye stretching a cord over a roof rack. It's a fairly common injury

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Ouch!

[@MrMarineGomez]

Yeah I had one slip off and smack me in the head and cut me pretty bad!

[@armandomarin-arias4021]

Another question: how do you know which tire (right or left) to adjust, and by how much?

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Solid front axles can only be adjusted at the same time when it comes to the toe adjustment. There is not a separate adjustment in the steering linkage for left or right side.

[@belltocher]

Apparently you just guess

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

his process is wrong

[@caseywerstein1505]

The only problem I see with this method is it doesn't include individual wheel alignment from side to side using the rear tires as a reference. So yes the tires will have a good toe adjustment between the front tires but may not be in alignment with all four tires.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

I would agree for IFS. However, for solid axles like Jeeps it's just as easy and accurate to center the axle by measuring to the frame. This is not a fool proof method though.

[@dand3975]

On solid axles like a Dana 44 ( likely in that Jeep) with leaf springs the rear springs have center pins that engage and center the rear axle. His method of setting toe is just FINE. Racers have been setting toe on race cars this way as long as their have been race cars.

[@gaBposheB]

How you know what weel needed adjusted???

[@EmbarkWithMark]

The wheels can not adjust independently on a solid axle. They are adjusted together. The measurement here is overall for both wheels.

[@hueroski]

Where is the link to the alternative tool?

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Looks like I forgot to add the link. Thank you for reminding me. Here is the link: amzn.to/3mMbqJn

[@reza_dc2]

I see that your adjusting the driver side.. but what about the passenger side?

[@EmbarkWithMark]

On a solid axle, not sides adjust together. Your seeing me adjust over all toe. One side can not be adjusted separately from the other.

[@aus_patriot859]

Wouldn’t the Measurements be different going off the tyre rather than the rim . What if one tyre has 40psi and the other one is,say 35psi.. shouldn’t that throw off your measurement?

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Yes, it can. For a quick and dirty alignment, this works. But yes, you should go off the wheel or the rotor even.

[@andyjw26]

You seem to be just completely guessing which side is out with this method and you could very easily end up with a parallelagram with the correct measurements but not running parallel to the vehicle on the road.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

You can't adjust toe per side on a solid axle. Solid axle vehicles operate on Total toe. If this was IFS I'd completely agree with you. Though I do admit, that this method (using the tire as a reference) is not the most accurate. It would be better to bolt/strap the straight edge to the hub directly.

[@stevenfoust3782]

Any measuring device would have to reference off the rim. Alignment machines take into account wheel runout and track . The only thing you can set is toe with any of these hacks. Where you have your straight edge would be highly inaccurate.

[@Wrenchmonkey1]

Not true. Measuring camber is also very easy using a digital level or angle finder, or even with a level, a ruler, and a basic understanding of simple trigonometry. Caster can also be calculated doing a wheel sweep and using a digital level/angle finder. Just takes a little more math. You do realize that alignments predate digital alignment machines, right? ;)

[@VolvoLaplanderCamper]

If you have a taller car, it is easier and more correct to measure by marking the inside of the tires at hub height, measure with a tapmeter, roll forward, measure again and adjust. If it is a lower car, measure the outside, angle off towards the floor, roll forward half a turn, measure again. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJWtmoJ5r76Xndk

[@EmbarkWithMark]

It’s even better to take the tires off and measure from the rotors. This is just a quick and dirty way to check alignment.

[@VolvoLaplanderCamper]

On cars like yours and Volvo Laplanders measure with a tapmeter from inside under the car and as far as possible out on the wheels and roll forward and measure againe to get all slack from joints.

[@Truther00]

That’s some good weed he has 😂

[@disoldman6573]

This is very wrong. If you rely on the tire to make the alignment it may be inaccurate. There might be some sort of deviation in the tire surface at the point where you set the straight edge. Also if you rely on the rim that also might be wrong because there may be rim deflection. Best to attach an extension from the hub bolts past the tire surface and then use the straight edge method. Depending on the number of bolts bolts on the hub remove two and insert properly threaded longer bolts, or bolt extensions add a locking nut to prevent unintended loosening. Then you can attach the straightedge making sure the length of extension are exactly the same. This measurement is important because any variance is multiplied at where you want to measure toe adjustments.

[@dand3975]

Racers have been adjusting toe on the race cars this way, for a long time. This method works just FINE.

[@disoldman6573]

@@dand3975 I don’t think that the common DIYer has tires that as much quality as those race cars. There’s no comparison between a $2,000 or more race car tire and your everyday $200 street tire. You can be sure there are some sidewall deflections on the street tires.

[@dand3975]

@@disoldman6573 I was referring to racers as late model stock car at Local Saturday night race tracks around the US, also ARCA & ASA. If small-time teams like that needed to spend $2,000 on a single tire there would be no Saturday night short track racing. I was not referring to the fantasy racing of NASCAR or formula 1.

[@disoldman6573]

@@dand3975 In that case a poor alignment isn’t a big problem.

[@dand3975]

@@disoldman6573 My gosh you are so triggered by people saving money by setting caster, camber, and toe on their vehicles....... you must own an alignment shop and still making monthly payments on your Hunter alignment rack. This is not some very specialized skill, it is only tires.

[@jacobweiss7779]

Your measurements are not right, the tire you you didn't adjust but measure with?? You need "center?

[@EmbarkWithMark]

The tire I didn’t adjust? It’s one adjustment for both tires, they are connect with one tie rod, there’s not a separate adjustment for each tire. Tie rod ends adjust both at the same time. Not only that, the measurements for toe are for over all measurement and not taken per side.

[@armandomarin-arias4021]

Don't you have to take rear wheels into consideration? Front can be perfectly parallel yet not in sync with the rears.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

You do not. On a solid axle vehicle the axles are either centered or they are not. You center the axles based on their location to the chassis instead of each other. A simple front end alignment that most shops preform address toe and maybe pinion angle. Those two adjustments have no relation to the rear axle. Most shops do not preform a 4 wheel alignment unless you specifically ask for it. Even than, solid axles have such few adjustments on them it’s not really needed. The rear can only have its pinion angle adjusted and be centered under the vehicle. The front is normally toe, pinion angle, and centered under the vehicle. Ifs is of course a totally animal.

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

You have to align the front tires FROM the rears which are fixed in a RWD car. This method he did was WRONG.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

It’s evident you don’t understand how solid axle vehicles work.

[@armandomarin-arias4021]

@@EmbarkWithMark You are right. It is evident that I am outright dumb. Thanks. BTW you do have to consider what I commented when you are aligning a fwd. Anyway, I am still dumb. Thanks again.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

@@armandomarin-arias4021 My response was not aimed towards you, it was to the other comment, sorry if you took it as such. Yes, if aligning a Front Wheel Drive car, then you are correct. We are not aligning a front wheel drive car here though. The only syncing, as you put it, that needs to be done is ensuring the solid axles on the front and rear are centered under the vehicle. This is commonly done by measuring to the frame and not to each other. But again, this goes outside the realm of a normal front end alignment. A 4-wheel alignment is only needed, if something changes. I.E. something is broke or changed out on the rear axle. Even at that point, for something like a Jeep, it's hard to justify a 4-wheel alignment. Solid axles just do not have that many adjustments on them. Pretty easy stuff compared to modern IFS.

[@stum8374]

It's not a shop it's a garage,shops sell things a garage has tools.

[@Self_Evident]

Yes it is a shop - a WORKshop.

[@davidestes5250]

Camber and caster should be done before toe-in. You didn’t even check those

[@EmbarkWithMark]

You're right.... I did not. It's a solid axle. Those measurements rarely move, furthermore, pinion angle takes precedence over caster/camber. Which are not adjustable independently of one another. This just an easy alignment checkup to help keep things in check. IFS is a totally different animal and this method does not work for that.

[@Wrenchmonkey1]

@@EmbarkWithMark It works fine for IFS as well. Toe adjustment is the same concept on IFS. It's just a slightly different method of making the adjustment, because you adjust the outer tie rods independently.

[@belltocher]

This vid is very incompleat study up on camber, caster and tow in before touching your front end. And definitely do it yourself because having somebody who cares will beat the disgruntled worker with a boss on his ass to hurry up every time lasers or not.

[@ralfsautomotive]

Complete Nonsense!! None of that crap will "ever" get you an alignment!! At best this would be good for getting your new tires to the alignment shop! I guess everyone spending 30-50K on shop Equipment must be stupid! You are teaching people nonsense! But that is just my opinion. Ask yourself why are there turntables if you even know what they are.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Yea… you don’t need a 50k machine for a solid axle truck/jeep. In fact most stock Jeep/trucks have almost no adjustments on the control arms. So only the tow is really adjustable. The reason they have 50k machine? Time. Faster alignments means more money earned in a shorter period of time. And those machines work for almost any car style.

[@smiller787]

Dude….you own a shop…..wow! HE IS DOING A TOE ADJUSTMENT…THATS IT. It’s part of an alignment, usually done after, caster and camber adjustments, which some cars don’t actually need caster or camber adjustments, and the only thing to adjust is the toe! Toe can be adjusted at home with numerous techniques, it’s not rocket science, caster more than either toe or camber is a little trickier, but again it’s math. Do alignment racks work easier for repeatable results on nearly every make of cars and trucks….sure, but again he’s adjusting toe, on a solid axle Jeep, his own Jeep, good god man, you sound like an idiot! People adjusting their own toe adjustment don’t need 30-50k on an alignment rack. They also don’t need to spend $100 for an alignment for simply adjusting their toe! I was a mechanic for better part of 20 years, got my start at Goodyear, by the time I left, I had done 100s of alignments, again the alignment rack is for quick repeatable results on most makes and models, for profit. The earliest alignment equipment used on cars, was primitive by todays standards, but used by a knowledgeable person, they could do work on par with todays techs. Do yourself a favor, and put yourself on a timeout, cause your the one spouting nonsense!

[@stevenfoust3782]

As a retired mechanic who used old school alignment machines I recommend you never do this unless you want premature tires wear

[@smiller787]

Me too (retired mechanic), but you do know that a toe adjustment can be done at home….and although I would add some things to get better accuracy, this isn’t magic voodoo only an alignment rack can muster….certainly not a simple toe adjustment. This coming from a guy numerous decades ago, who started at Goodyear tire and rubber company, and been around the rack a few times!

[@dand3975]

On a Dana 44 axle like this Jeep has tire wear likely would come from Caster or camber. On a Dana 44 camber and caster is set when the axle is built by Dana. Changing caster would require the knuckles on the end of the axle to be cut off and re-welded. Small camber changes can be done with offset cams between the steering knuckle and the upper and lower ball joint, but in many most cases to much work for little gain. This guys method of setting toe is just fine, racers have been doing it this way forever.....

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

this was done all WRONG .... If 1 tire is off, the other will be thrown off with this method. Then you have 2 tires off. You MUST align the fronts FROM the fixed rear tires.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Wrong! This is solid axle, not IFS. Additional, it’s not possible to adjust one tire in a front solid axle vehicle. Both tires adjust equally at the same time. They are tied together, with a tie rod.

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

@@EmbarkWithMark Let me say this AGAIN ... But sorry i don't have crayons so, if 1 tire is OFF, the other tire will be off. Adjusting them to be equal to each other does not make them aligned to the rears.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

@@ACommenterOnKZbin Use your crayons to drawer yourself a picture. One tire can’t be adjusted by it self. So if one tire is off, they are both off. Tied together, by, again… a tie rod. I’d send you info to read but it’s not in coloring book format.

[@Wrenchmonkey1]

#ConfidentlyIncorrect.

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

@@Wrenchmonkey1 ok kiddo, get back to school

[@trustme7731]

"Quick, easy" and wrong. Without a reference to the rear wheels, that are square on the vehicle, you have no idea if one or both front wheels are toed in properly. One front wheel could be perfectly straight and the other front wheel has all the toe in and you'd still show the toe in dimension that you want. You didn't address whether or not the steering wheel was straight either.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

Can you explain the need for reference to the rear wheels on a solid front axle vehicle? You can not independently adjust toe on the front tries. Toe is either in spec or it’s not. Now I’d be inclined to agree with you if this was a Independent front end.

[@trustme7731]

@@EmbarkWithMark The axle type has nothing to do with it. Like I said, without a reference to something that is known to be straight and square, the rear wheels, you have no way of knowing which way the front wheels are pointed. One front wheel could be perfectly straight and the other wheel toes in 1/4" and that would be wrong but it would still measure to be correct. The exact way a so called alignment shop left mine. On any solid axle a tie rod goes from one steering knuckle to the other. One end has a tie rod end that is threaded and adjustable. You need to remove the castle nut, remove the tie rod end from the steering knuckle and make the adjustment there using a straight line from the rear. It must be reinstalled to make the measurement. Repeat as necessary. I used a DeWalt 3 plane laser and used the magnetic mount to hold it to the rear axle hub and squared the laser to the rear wheel. It then provided a straight line to the front where I could measure from the laser line to the front and rear of each front wheel to make the adjustment. You can put a plastic bag under each front tire to make it slippery so the wheels can move easily without moving the entire vehicle as it is adjusted.

[@EmbarkWithMark]

So, a 4 wheel alignment is always best, and I am not going to argue that using your method does not work to do a complete alignment. However, the adjustment you explained on the tie rode it self does not make sense to me. Since its a solid bar straight across from one tire to the other, any adjustment lengthens or shortens the entire bar. Even if you where to screw one tie rode all the in and leave the other all the way out both your tires will adjust at the the same rate since the length of the entire tie rod is being changed. Here is some info to better explain this garage alignment: www.quadratec.com/c/reference/jeep-tj-driveway-alignment Is this method a complete 4 wheel alignment? No it isn't. However, this is an alignment that can be done in any garage very easily. Mostly because the rest of your alignment should not be changing, if it is then there are other issues. The plastic bag idea is a smart one. You can also use jack stands under the axle it self. I know someone who uses two pieces of HDPE sandwiched together for each tire. He jacks the jeep up, places two of HDPE on top each other, then lowers the tire on to them. Very slick surface.

[@abc123732]

Could you take measurements from the inner rim or disk to a fixed point on the chassis ? get both the same each side, and then set the tow as theoretically the wheels would be "pointing straight with the chassis/ body direction.

[@abc123732]

I'm thinking if you measure example 50mm each side front rim to chassis then the wheels are "pointing forward" then you could clamp the steering wheel and add toe adjustments from there knowing you've got your reference