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Wheel Alighment: Good article on Toe-In, Camber and Caster 700

I'm planning on doing my own wheel-alignment this time around. While there are a lot of What-Is and How-To articles on the web about this subject, this one is nicely written and illustrated, so thought I'd share it with you.

Has anyone done their own wheel-alignment using home-made tools ? I found a couple of DIY articles (see below), but it would be real nice to hear from anyone with experience on our 740s.

1. A neat camber gauge
2. DIY Alignment - 1
3. DIY Alignment - 2
4. DIY Alignment Guide

Thanks !

Noel








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    Wheel Alighment: Good article on Toe-In, Camber and Caster 700

    Noel,

    I came up with a way to use a laser level for the toe-in ajustment that works very well. The first time I tried it, things did not go so well. The trick is to build an alignment gauge using PCV pipe that you can put in front and behind the car. It turns out that 8 minutes of toe-in translates to about 25 mm of difference between the beam marks when pointed 1 meter in front of the car vs. 4 meters behind the car. 25 mm is very easy to read so I believe the accuracy is good although the only proof I have is that I have driven about 7000 miles since then with normal wear. The only drawback is that every time you make a change you have to measure in front and behind the car.

    Anyhow, If you are interested I will try to take some pictures and write up the proceedure some time this weekend. I used a black and decker laser level which cost me about $50 from the home depot, but I think you can get one much cheaper elsewhere. It does not need to be a fancy one, just able to make a straight line when on a flat surface.

    R Duke








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    Wheel Alighment: Good article on Toe-In, Camber and Caster 700

    You can obviously complicate everything. 6 hrs. ! ! ! That's because the Miata has independent suspension all around.
    The simple beauty of the Volvo 700 is that you can only set the toe-in and unless you have hit anything really hard that is the only thing you need to be concerned with.
    To change camber etc. you need to change the bent part. To tell if your camber is off all you need is to set the car on a level surface and visually aim along the front and rear wheels from the front. Since the rears are at 0 camber due to the live axle you can easily tell if the fronts are off or parallel with the rears.
    If you want a simple way to set toe-in w/o any strings attached I have that too.








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      Wheel Alighment: Good article on Toe-In, Camber and Caster 700

      BTW changing the strut rod (there are three different lengths available) will change the caster (or camber.. or something).

      --
      alex








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      Wheel Alighment: Good article on Toe-In, Camber and Caster 700

      Actually, adjustments to camber are made by "slotting" the holes where the strut mount bolts to the chassy (under the hood).

      Jeff Pierce
      --
      '93 945 Turbo ( one kickass family car ! ), '92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece -- sold to a loving home), '85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow







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