Adjusting toe on multilink rear suspension

[TylerL]

I had an alignment done last summer on my ford escort and the printout show the Left rear wheel has a toe of .18 inch.
The specified range is -.03 to .13 inch.
I thing the .18 means the front side of the wheel is pointing in 18/100 of an inch.
The right rear has a toe of .01" so that side is fine.

Should I do something to fix this?
If I should, how would I go about it.

Here is a picture of the rear suspension from autozone's website:

 

[tom slick]

is your left rear tire showing uneven wear?

 

[TylerL]

The tires on the car are almost worn out and they haven't been in their current position for that many miles and I don't remember the original positions, I put them on according to tire condition.

The summer tires had only like 2000 miles, so really no wear.

I just want to be on top of things so I don't get uneven or rapid wear on my new winter tires or summers.

 

[mechtech2]

I have the exact same suspension on my Ford ZX2.
It is the easiest car in the world to adjust the rear toe.
The adjustment is on the inside of link '2'.
Loosen the bolt, and tap the lever on the cam, then retighten the bolt.

I don't know what the .18 is. Degrees or inches or millimeters.
In or out?
You want the rear tires of this car to point in a hair, and evenly on both sides.

Drive straight in to park it, with the front wheel at normal straight position [whatever that is when you are going straight down the road].
Take a string and wrap it tightly around the tires at the same height, without hitting the car body. Use tape if necessary or tie it . You can see which rear tire is in/out.
Use a tape measure to check for total toe in/out . Use the rims or tire treads as a reference.

 

[TylerL]

So I need to pull that rear lateral link to the center of the car because I'm almost sure it has too much toe in. and the right rear is toed out 1/100 of an inch.

Thanks man, thats helps a lot.

 

[TylerL]

Ok, I think it's good now.

What I did was tie a string between two jack stands about the length of the car apart and put it at axle height and one centimeter out from the hub cap.
Because I couldn't get a good measurement from the rim to the string I used the technique of spray painting a white line around the whole tire.
I placed a needle on a block of wood,
then got the wheel spinning.
Lastly I moved the needle on the block next to the white paint stripe so it made a super fine line to measure from.
You can't even see the line in the picture.

 

[alreadygone]

"and the right rear is toed out 1/100 of an inch."


THINK

About that number,,,,,,,,,,,,,it's less than the thickness of a cigarette paper! Do you honestly think anyone could loosen the lock nut, move adjustment cam and get it any closer than that???

Also your measurement with car elevated from normal ride height,weight on suspension is meaningless.

Bob

 

[TylerL]

I didn't mess with the right side, 1/100 of an inch is good enough.

It was in the air for adjustment only.

It took about 8 times and two hours to get it right.

 

[Squishy]

I thought that rear end looked familiar.

Good to know how easy it is to adjust. I had ours checked a few months ago and the rear is still perfectly within spec even after ten years.

 

[CapriRacer]

Caution!!! Caution!!! Caution!!!

You have to be very careful, using the string method. It requires some special calculations if the front and rear track aren't the same (track = distance between the tires.)

 

[tom slick]

how are you measuring less than .018 using a string/rule? 1/64" is .016 and that is difficult to measure using a machinists rule.

 

[TylerL]

I think it's 0.16" as in about 1/6 of an inch.

If the track is the same on the front and back then I think I'm good because I got it lined up within 1/2 a string width (less than 1mm).

Capriracer, I'll check the track.

 

[bdcardinal]

why would you adjust in teh air? never adjust in the air, always on the ground. only adjustment i ever did in the air was on my mustang when i had c/c plates and on cars that were push/pull for camber.

dont trust the string method, take it to an alignment shop as your front alignment is now out.

 

[TylerL]

Checked the track online, it's 56.5 inches front and rear.
So I'm good their.

It seemed easier to
check
raise
adjust
lower
check
repeat

 

[mechtech2]

The string method is only to tell which side is in/out more.
NOT for actual measurements!
On this car, the track frt/rear is the same.
But String works on any car - you can use identical shims under the string at the sidewall, if necessary.
This will eliminate dog tracking and tire wear. Toe is the tire killer, camber is a minor player, unless it is WAY out.

After you get it right, you really have to drive it and check it again when things seat and settle.
On this car, a little toe in is good - it will splay out neutral

when driving.

 

[mechtech2]

Icon was unintentional^^

 

[cosynthetics]

Have a shop align it. You should be able to find one that is pretty inexpensive and maintains a good reputation. You'll never be able to get the accuracy those machines have.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
why would you adjust in teh air? never adjust in the air, always on the ground. only adjustment i ever did in the air was on my mustang when i had c/c plates and on cars that were push/pull for camber.

dont trust the string method, take it to an alignment shop as your front alignment is now out.


A well done string job is more trustworthy than a random alignment shop job.

 

[TylerL]

What! take it to an alignment shop.

I thought BITOGers are all about DIY

I did take it to the shop (Midas) last summer, but the guy just didn't adjust the rear toe on the left rear. The total rear toe was in spec so maybe he figured he didn't need to adjust it or he didn't know how to adjust it.

Thanks people

 

[XS650]

Mechtech, the string method TylerL is using is good for determining toe measurements too because he has the string spaced way from the wheel.

Capriracer, as long as he sets the two strings up parallel, there are no funny calculations except to compensate for off set if the front and rear track were different (they aren't in this case). Again, it's because his method spaces the strings away from the wheels.

BDCardinal, there is nothing wrong with doing initial adjustment in the air. First you take your measurements on the ground and determine how much adjustment you need. Then when the car is in the air, adjust it that much in the right direction. If a wheel has 0.2 degrees too much toe-in when it's on the ground, then add 0.2 inches toe-out to whatever angle the wheel is at when it's off the ground.

TylerL, a couple of suggestions.

A relatively fine, bright colored mono-filament fishing line instead of regular string makes precise measurement a bit easier.

You can make setup easier by taking a couple of pieces of 1/2 or 3/4 EMT electrical conduit or 3/4 PVC pipe and accurately drilling holes for your string that are the right distance apart so that the strings will clear your tires by the 1 cm or other measurement you desire. You can hang the tubing from the jackstands to get it at the right height. This will assure the your two strings are always parallel to each other with any fussing around with the 4 jackstands. Then you will just have to move the tubing to get the string on one side of the car properly located, the string on the other side will automatically be the right distance from the tires and parallel to the first string.