Alignment question - is DIY really precise enough?
 

I was offroading this past weekend, and as I was driving home, I realized that my steering wheel is pointed at 2:00. No tire wobble that I noticed, and if it is, it's only slight.

I've seen the Do It Yourself writeups for doing your own alignment, but shouldn't it be done by a professional with some kind of electronic measurement? It seems like if it's a thousandth of an inch off, then it will wear the tires down prematurely.

Any thoughts?

For my light trucks and 34,000# bus, I've never gotten as good a toe-in from the alignment shop as I can do for myself. If I get a full alignment on the F150 with castor/camber adjustments, I still hafta do the toe in myself because the tires will feather and/or the wheel won't be straight.

When I ask the shop about it, they say: "Its a truck. As long as it goes down the road OK we call it done."

Anyway, assuming everything is mechanically centered, you can usually center the wheel by simply aiming a wheel the way you want it to go with the tie rod ends. You can "read" which way to adjust because if the wheel isn't straight there will be feathers along the tire tread edges. If the feather is building on the outside edges of the tread, the wheel is aimed out. Feathers along the inner tread edges mean the tire is aimed in. When the feathers go away and the steering wheel is centered, the toe-in is perfect and the steering is aligned with the steering box.

You also need to check the amount of toe-in with a tape measure. If you have the book, try to hit their number. Without a book, 1/8 inch or less usually feels pretty good on big tires. Never run with toe-out.

Again: The steering must be mechanically centered for this to work. When the steering wheel is straight, the steering box must be at its center. When you get this right, the front wheels will be aimed the right direction with the steering box centered and the steering wheel straight.

I didn't get this all correct on the first try, but nowadays my rigs go straight down the road with a straight steering wheel and a well centered feel. The tires wear even, they don't grow any feathers, and they last so damn long I hafta replace them due to age.

If the front end of the vehicle is messed up somehow, it hasta be made right before any alignment will help very much.

Can I pull this off with my Jeep? Haven't had to try yet, but its a truck, right?

Edit: Should mention that the steering does not get out of alignment from an adjustment "slipping"; rather they bend themselves out of alignment. That's why repair may be needed first. (This may be less true when a Jeep is modded with adjustable pieces.)

What components do you have with the lift?

No Adjustable control arms (or cam bolts), and nothing can be done with the caster.
No adjustable ball joints, and nothing can be done with the camber.
No adjustable trackbars, and nothing can be done for axle centering.

A wrench and 5 minutes of your time with straighten the steering wheel. (you will need to try and verify if something is bent, or if maybe the steering shaft slipped out and back in?)
A wrench and a tape measure and 15 or 20 minutes of your time will adjust the Toe-In. Start with factory specs. Some people adjust it for bigger tires. Several have even posted about going Toe-Out with larger tires. (I don't know enough about it, so keep mine at 1/8" in... :dontknow2: )

The other note on the DIY write-up is that for the Caster, the write-up uses an angle finder. This measurement is different than the numbers from an alignment rack. (straight lines as opposed to some type of an arc on the rack). Just a heads up for when you see caster numbers in posts, you need to look for which method was used.

WOW, after reading what you're saying, I must admit I feel slightly overwhelmed by all of the terminology and such, sounds a little daunting. Just seems stupid to pay $90+ for something that appears to be somewhat easy.

Just to clarify, I have a budget boost, so all of my trackbars and steering components are stock.

From what I have inspected, no bars or linkages appear to be bent or shifted. I know cars can get out of alignment from hitting things like large potholes, so I'm assuming something similar has happened to the JK on an offroad level. I still don't sense any wobble or vibration from the tire, and I notice a bit of "feathering" on the passenger front tire.

Hmmm....

Chances are you tweaked some metal enough to turn that right wheel a bit in or out. "Read" the feathers per the post above, then work with the right side tie rod end to see if you can get things right. If it doesn't work, it may take some thought and effort.

Good luck with it!

Thanks!

Any last pointers or tips from anyone before I go attempt this? :)