Gen 1 alignment???

[SUBARU3]

I just replaced the steering rack in my 79 wagon with a brand new NOS one with new inner and outer tie rods. I took it to the shop to have the toe adjusted and they were unable to do it on the computer. The computer did not have settings for it. I HAD the numbers for them, but they had no way to enter it manually. What the heck...is my car too old to align?

 

Well the car was on the rack, level and ready to do, so they did the best they could do visually. All seems well afterwards. Nice tight, true, no pull steering. Think I'm OK? It was Pep boys. The alignment guy was older and had been doing it for years, so I felt he knew what he was doing. The only adjustment is toe, so it can't be that far off if the car drives well.

 

Otherwise, who has a system that goes back to the 70s??

 

Todd

[waimaks]

The guys at a local place had no problem doing mine. Reading the sheet it looks asthough they used specs off a 2nd Gen vehicle perhaps.

If its only the toe it can't be too different right?

I think they gave me 2* toe out. I wish I'd done it sooner.

[Caboobaroo]

Thats a bunch of bull Todd. My alignment machine that I have at work (since I am the head alignment tech) has specs going back to the 40's for a lot of cars and I do have specs for the gen 1 Subarus as well. I also have a book that has the specs in it for older cars as well. Tell them to load up the gen 2 specs if for some reason they don't have gen 1 specs, and align the toe manually for it. Not hard but most people are either lazy or don't have any idea of how to go beyond using the computer:rolleyes:

[waimaks]

Good call.

From memory thinking back it was 2mm not degrees of toe out. I forget badly.

[carfreak85]

Take it somewhere else and have them align it. These guys sound pretty inept at their jobs.

[Zefy]

it is rediculously easy to do an alignment on these cars. i did it myself when i drove the brat as a DD.

 

here is how to do it.

 

for this to work the car must have MATCHING tires all round without bulges and unglynesses... similar to stock size tires and proper pressure all round.

 

step 1: get the car on a flat smooth surface with enough room for it to roll back and forth a bit.

 

step 2: lock the steering wheel in place (straight!). best way to do this is to open the windows and put a 2x4 like object across the doors and clamp it to the steering wheel using a C-clamp or something. make sure it's tight!

 

step 3: get a nice big light under the car so you can see exactly what you are doing. this is precision eyeballing here. (don't freak out, it works)

 

step 4: loosen the lock nuts on the tie rods and lube up/clean the tie rod threads if they are gunky.

 

step 5: hardest part to understand. what you want to do is line up the inside sidewall of the front tire with the outside of the tread on the backtire. re-read that a few times now...

 

a crappy picture to help:

 

 

the red line represents what you are trying to do. my picture is super unrealistic. your tires won't be \ /. But that is the proper alignment of these cars. get down on your belly so you can see it properly and set your eye right along the inside sidewall of the tire. Don't use the bottom of the tire as your reference as it tends to bulge. also keep your head level so you aren't referencing the the middle of the front tire with the bottom of the rear tire. Keep it level.

 

this is where i consider the tread of the tire to end. (where the flat part of the tire ends and the sidewall begins.)

 

 

so go about 1/3 up on the sidewall as your reference and get your eye shooting right along the sidewall and it should line right up with the rear tread.

 

step 6: only turn the tie rod adjustment a little at a time as the tires will tick to the ground and not give a proper result. you have to roll the car back and forth (about a foot or so). this will settle the tie rods and you can continue with more adjustment. you may have to do this many times (depending on how bad it is) so take your time.

 

step 7: tighten the lock nuts and take it for a test drive.

 

don't freak out if it isn't done correctly the first time. i butchered it the first time because i was hurrying. the second time i didn't have the wheel totally straight so the wheel was turned when i was going straight. 3rd time is the charm!

 

i have tested this on an alignment machine and it works perfectly.

 

good luck!

 

[Caboobaroo]

it is rediculously easy to do an alignment on these cars. i did it myself when i drove the brat as a DD.

 

here is how to do it.

 

for this to work the car must have MATCHING tires all round without bulges and unglynesses... similar to stock size tires and proper pressure all round.

 

step 1: get the car on a flat smooth surface with enough room for it to roll back and forth a bit.

 

step 2: lock the steering wheel in place (straight!). best way to do this is to open the windows and put a 2x4 like object across the doors and clamp it to the steering wheel using a C-clamp or something. make sure it's tight!

 

step 3: get a nice big light under the car so you can see exactly what you are doing. this is precision eyeballing here. (don't freak out, it works)

 

step 4: loosen the lock nuts on the tie rods and lube up/clean the tie rod threads if they are gunky.

 

step 5: hardest part to understand. what you want to do is line up the inside sidewall of the front tire with the outside of the tread on the backtire. re-read that a few times now...

 

a crappy picture to help:

 

 

the red line represents what you are trying to do. my picture is super unrealistic. your tires won't be \ /. But that is the proper alignment of these cars. get down on your belly so you can see it properly and set your eye right along the inside sidewall of the tire. Don't use the bottom of the tire as your reference as it tends to bulge. also keep your head level so you aren't referencing the the middle of the front tire with the bottom of the rear tire. Keep it level.

 

this is where i consider the tread of the tire to end. (where the flat part of the tire ends and the sidewall begins.)

 

 

so go about 1/3 up on the sidewall as your reference and get your eye shooting right along the sidewall and it should line right up with the rear tread.

 

step 6: only turn the tie rod adjustment a little at a time as the tires will tick to the ground and not give a proper result. you have to roll the car back and forth (about a foot or so). this will settle the tie rods and you can continue with more adjustment. you may have to do this many times (depending on how bad it is) so take your time.

 

step 7: tighten the lock nuts and take it for a test drive.

 

don't freak out if it isn't done correctly the first time. i butchered it the first time because i was hurrying. the second time i didn't have the wheel totally straight so the wheel was turned when i was going straight. 3rd time is the charm!

 

i have tested this on an alignment machine and it works perfectly.

 

good luck!

 

 

 

You know why this works correct? Older Subarus pre-EJ models have lots of positive camber, center of spec being in the 1.5 degree range. So in order to put the "footprint" of the tire back onto the ground, you must toe it out. Center of spec is around -.25 degrees. Unless the vehicle has had major damage to the front end, then camber is almost always not changed (unless you lift it) so setting the front toe is a breeze.

[SUBARU3]

Well, I went to a different shop, (more of a commercial tire shop), and they fixed it for $20! They used the specs from the service manual. Old alignment guy said it was not too bad from the Pep boy job, but he said he could have done better! Super nice guy.

 

No more Pep boys!

 

Thanks guys!

 

Todd