Just replaced both outer tie rod ends, making sure I kept the same measurements for the replacement parts. But noticed that the distance to the right wheel was almost 1/2 inch longer than to the left wheel on the originals. In the interest of time, I still kept this measurement the same for the replacements, since bad weather was rolling in and I didn't want to start messing with the alignment - I figured I could adjust it later.

I had noticed that the car tracked to the right a little bit before, but not with the nice new, tight parts it's REALLY pulling to the right. So I want to go back in and try to even out the toe on this thing. My question is - do I have to separate the tie rod ends again at the knuckle, or can I just loosen the adjustment nut and rotate the inner tie rod inwards to pull the right wheel into line? Not sure if this would damage the rack or not. If it turns out I do have to separate the tie rods again from the knuckle, is there a safer way than with the pickle fork? It pretty much wrecked the old ones taking them out!

Sorry if this is a redundant question - but I did a pretty extensive search, and this procedure doesn't seem to be in the FAQ....

Thanks for all the feedback, folks! Good to know I don't have to separate the tie rod ends again... I'm going to take a shot at this tomorrow morning, and will post back with results. I figure I'll do a full alignment in the Spring when it's a little warmer out!!

I found a pretty easy and cheap way to do this DIY,
Use a laser level.
I think I found it on TurboBricks but have been unable to re find it!

Basically:
Mount laser level on a tripod or clamp to jackstand (as I did), so it puts out a verticle line.
Place about 2 feet behind rear wheel.
Use a ruler, take measurement from front and rear of rear wheel. Make both measurements at the same height on the wheel, avoid hitting the wheel weights (obvious I guess).Adjust angle of beam until measurements are the same. You are trying to get the laser beam parallel to the rear wheel.

Go to front wheel and make same front and rear measurements. The difference is the toe in/out. Remember you are measuring from the beam TO the WHEEL, so if the front measurement is greater than the rear, the wheel is toed IN.


You should drive the car straight in and get the steering wheel in the proper position. Would be good if you can lock it, but I don't, but keep checking it as you adjust.

I have done 3 of my cars in the past few weeks, and it seems pretty repeatable.

I use a Craftsman digital level to check the camber.
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84 242Ti IPD bars&springs, 89 745 16v M46 IPD bars, 89 744 16v M46 IPD bars, 93 945 Turbo AW71, 91 245SE AW70 IPD bars, 93 245 CLassic M47

You can just rotate the tie rod, no need to separate the taper on the ball joint. When properly set up the 2 tie rods should be essentially identical in length, certainly that is how it would have left the factory.

Normally the way it would be aligned is that they start by locking the steering wheel in the straight ahead position, and the wheels are then individually adjusted so the tracking is spot on.

Providing no one has moved the steering wheel on it's splines at some point, or mis assembled the splines on the UJ in the steering column that is how you would get back to it being tracked up properly. If it is tracked like that and the two rods end up significantly different, someone's been messing.

If it has an airbag you can't just pull off the steering wheel to correct any wonkyness. If not done correctly you'll wreck the airbag clock spring.

The best way to remove the outer tie rod end is to use the tie rod end remover (screw extractor) from JC Whitney. I believe the number is JY812149, price $20.99. It worked like a charm on my wife's 1993 940. For the sake of experimentation, I even tried the pickle fork on her old tie rod end. But a moderate amount of force didn't budge the tie rod end and I didn't want to hammer the hell out of the tie rod end and control arm. So, I stayed with the screw type extractor.

Hi

Just loosen the adjustment nut and rotate the inner tie rod inwards, that is the way a garage would do it.

If your front tires are junk this will get you by for a while. The best way is to have the car aligned, unless you have more front-end work to do.

Gus

The adjustment is done with everything in place, the rack will not get hurt. Simply loosen the lock nut and turn the tie rod as needed. Remember whatever adjustments you make on either side will affect the home position of the steering wheel.
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David Hunter

Hi everyone,

Well, I finally got around to making my toe adjustment, and I couldn't believe how easy it was! I used a trial and error method, adjusting the right side a little bit at a time while taking measurements, until the length of the right tie rod end was approximately the same as the left-hand side. Then I took the car for a drive and had to tweak it a couple more times, until the toe alignment felt basically perfect.

I cannot tell you what a difference this has made to the driveability of the car - I don't think it's ever handled as well, or driven as smoothly. Steering wheel alignment is spot-on, tracking through sharp turns is amazing, steering feels lighter, no more wheel vibration or shimmy, no random pulsing during breaking, almost zero slop over bad bumps/road irregularities. This leads me to believe that whenever a shop has charged me for an alignment after replacing struts or doing other front-end work, they haven't really done much of anything at all - not surprising, really, considering how much of an easy money-maker it is.

The most recent scam was at Mavis 'Discount' tire after tires, struts and shocks - $75 for a '4-wheel' 'alignment' - on a car with a solid rear axle! Even with those new struts and shocks, the car didn't handle that much better. But now, just with my approximate job, I feel like their performance is really being optimized and the car handles much more safely. I should mention that the total adjustment I made was probably no more than 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch, but it has made a world of difference.

This 940 turbo wagon has 256,000 miles on the clock, and with a couple of new tie rod ends and this slight tweaking, she feels like a brand-new car, I swear. I'd highly recommend to those who are slightly unsatisfied with their car's handling to give this area a basic check, since it has made a world of difference for me. And at about $11 a side, an extremely worthwhile investment!

Thanks to all for your input on this one!

It is possible to have the car feel good and still have incorrect toe-in which can cause tire wear.

As a double-check, park the car on a flat smooth surface (I go to the local school parkinglot) and carefully sight from the outside surface of the front tires to the back axle. The plane of the outside of the front tire should be about 1/2 to 3/4 in outside of the rear tire when the toe-in is correct. (this for 940, it is about 2 1/2 in for the 240 because the rear axle is shorter than the front.)

I prop a piece of 1/2 ply against the rear tire to use as a target for this 'eyeball' alignment. For the 240 it was a 2x4. Have done it this way for > 30 yrs, with great results.

'89 740 240,000km, '94 940 260,000km, '89 240(deceased) 480,000km