lowered and need an alignment -tech question??

ok Wagoneers i cannot find a shop so far that can align my lowered wagon bc of the tucked rear wheels. Does anyone know of a method that doesn't require mounting anything on the rear wheels to get the front end aligned? any particular machine(s) that i need to ask if a shop has from the start?
any help would be much appreciated- Thanks again guys-you've been very helpful to me so far

Check your phone book for a shop that caters to the low riders and custom car builders.Pretty
sure they will have the offset mount needed for a 4 wheel alignment otherwise you may have
to settle for a old fashioned front end only adjustment!

Easier said than done in Springfield, Mo haha but thanks

Unless I have been living under a rock, all alignment machines can be set to do two wheel only. That shop just doesn't want to, or doesn't know how.

I suppose on some machines they could get a reference on the rear wheel alignment,
however our cars ,as far as I know, dont have any provision for aligning the
rear wheels. The fixtures that some machines use where they set up mirrors
or some type of site gauges on the rear wheels help in aligning the front wheels.

For the front wheels, you can remove .030 shims from all 4 stacks for every 1/2 inch drop (.060 for 1 inch, .090 for 1 1/2 inch, and /.120, for 2 inch drop) and you will be within tolerance for camber. Caster will not change. You should also replace the nuts if you have ever, or suspect someone ever took them off before. They are supposed to be used a maximum of twice.

I have verified that the above figures are correct. A member of ISSF in PA. did the adjustment on his car, and it worked perfectly. He even had big rims and rubberband tires. It stopped all his adverse tire wear (inside edge wear).

You should consider a toe-n-go as well, just in case. The pivot for the lower arm is aligned with the pivot for the inner tierod, and the toe should not change with suspension displacement, but you are moving the top of the spindle out, and it could affect the position of the outer tierod end, unless it is aligned with the lower balljoint center (it may well be aligned, I just never checked for myself).

The only reason for aligning the rear wheels, or even checking them is for crabbing. Unless these cars are damaged/broken, they will run straight.

The shop you are dealing with is run by an idiot. Enough said.

My alignment shop is old school. His only tool is a tape measure, set of levels he mounts to the wheels and alignment pit. He is "THE GUY" in the Harrisburg, PA area.

Look for a good frame shop not a tire shop.

Thats how I got mine aligned. He doesnt have a machine. He aligned my Fleetwood on sprints no problem. Old school guy.

Yep ,sometimes the simpler the better.Some of the NASCAR guys set their
toe in with a string and use some other simple tools to do caster and camber.
With alignment its really the mechanic and not so much the equipment. With that
said, a good mechanic and a good alignment machine that has been calibrated is
probably the best combination. ed

I bought a set of toe plates and fancy tape measures for $50 a few years ago from a racer parts house and I have to say, I continue to do a better job centering the steering wheel than any shop, AND my toe seems to be pretty close.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

I bought a set of toe plates and fancy tape measures for $50 a few years ago from a racer parts house and I have to say, I continue to do a better job centering the steering wheel than any shop, AND my toe seems to be pretty close.

Are you testing us Joel,always thought setting your toe went hand in hand with your steering wheel being centered?

I built a set of toe gauges from angle aluminum, some bolts, nuts, and springs. I centered my steering wheel, and got the toe correct in about 30 minutes. When I changed the toe, I just rolled the car back a few feet and then back to where I started. I have a camber/caster gauge with a magnetic adapter that I got on ebay for $66. It takes about 15 minutes to check the camber on both wheels. The FSM tells you exactly what shim changes to make from the reading you get. I have never desired to mess with the caster, because it never seems to change enough to make a difference.

Flasheroo wrote:

sherlock9c1 wrote:

I bought a set of toe plates and fancy tape measures for $50 a few years ago from a racer parts house and I have to say, I continue to do a better job centering the steering wheel than any shop, AND my toe seems to be pretty close.

Are you testing us Joel,always thought setting your toe went hand in hand with your steering wheel being centered?

One would think...

It is possible with aligners that are out there. I did mine this morning.

My wheels are tucked as well.

So im new to this and just read it now.. but I would still like to add, alignment machines only work in 4 wheel alignment. The machine will only activate once it has connections with all 4 heads. Even if theres a solid rear axle, we still put heads on the 4 wheels. The only time we do 2 wheel alignment is only when the car has been in a front-end or rear-end accident. And the only way by doing the 2 wheel is by ignoring what we dont want to adjust. We will always recommend a 4 wheel, because on a 4 wheel adjustable car, adjusting two wheels is bassicly useless.

Someone mentioned bringing the shop to a car who does lowered cars, we do alignments on audis and mercedes.. including the audi R8!

Poorboy wrote:

It is possible with aligners that are out there. I did mine this morning.

My wheels are tucked as well.

Poorboy,what rear disc conversion are you using on your wagon?Been looking into various kits available for our wagons,best price I
have found so far is just over 400 dollars!

It's a complete rearend out of a police car.

^^^^ seatbelt fastened

Yeah I love those rims, they are so nice !!