Made a toe gauge

[YY1]

Noticed some tire wear on the fronts.

Looked like inboard camber wear but the camber looked OK.

Decided to check the toe, even though most toe wear I've seen has fraying or scalloping whereas my wear was smooth.

I had the white parts although it was all one part and I cut it in half.
Not sure where it came from but was perfect for this project.

I also had the aluminum angle stock.

The cross bar is a $2.68 5 foot 1/2 EMT electrical conduit.

I also bought thumb screws and drilled and tapped for them.

Works great. Easy to slide in and out, and stands on it's own, although I think I will mount some wider stock on the bottom to increase stability.

 

[YY1]

It's a good thing I did this because it turns out I had almost 3/8" toe OUT!

That would explain the wear.

I turned the tie rod 4 turns after marking the end and threads with a paint pen.
That gave me 5/16th toe IN.

I backed off one turn and need to measure it again.
I think I will be close.

I need to also push and pull on those tie rod ends to see if they're going bad.

 

[66Satellite47]

Check it again after a couple miles. Wish I had made one years ago. Another project for me.

 

[69b3rt]

A simple tape measure works for me.

 

[Pikser]

Sorry but I had thought it was a camel toe gauge until I saw it.

 

[66Satellite47]

A simple tape measure works for me.

ya done that for decades, the ability of closer measurement seems worthwhile

 

[YY1]

I looked at doing that.

What are you measuring?

The way i was taught was to put a push pin in the center of each tire tread about a foot up in front.
Measure that, then roll backwards until the pins are 1 foot up in the rear, then measure that.

(1 foot is a good starting point as it's close to the hub center on 14 and 15 inch common size tires)

Can't do that on the 73 because there's no straight shot for the tape in the rear.

I've seen plates you put on the outside of each wheel, but it seems to me there's too much chance for error because of the potential rocking action caused by the tire.

We had a gauge similar to the one I made in school, only the ends were at 45 degree angles and the center was marked with measurements.

The one I made is actually better because it creates it's own 1 foot reference height on each side.

As long as you are in the same spot on the tire front to back (I use just outside the letters- you can easily feel it).

 

[Bb70charger500]

The way we did it was pick a tread and make sure it's the same tread front and back then adjust from there ,this was on dump trucks s I'm sure it's the same for cars I never had to bring a dump truck to get it aligned!

 

[69L48Z27]

It’s also easy to put two 4’ levels parallel to the tire and use two tape measure, one in front and one at the rear. Measure same distance from wheel centerline front and back. Also allows you to center the wheel if you run a line to the rear wheel.

 

[not so famous bob]

It’s also easy to put two 4’ levels parallel to the tire and use two tape measure, one in front and one at the rear. Measure same distance from wheel centerline front and back. Also allows you to center the wheel if you run a line to the rear wheel.

You cant get a tape measure up behind the rear of the front tire to the half way point on a lot of cars ,would need to be centered on tire heigth . The orig posters rig would probly allow that .

 

[YY1]

Yep.

Super accurate and super easy to use.

 

[YY1]

Drove it yesterday after backing off to three turns on pass tie rod.

Drove MUCH better and steering wheel was almost 100% dead on.

Re-measuring is on the list for today but I'm claiming victory.

I'm guessing I have about 1/8" toe in.

 

[69L48Z27]

You cant get a tape measure up behind the rear of the front tire to the half way point on a lot of cars ,would need to be centered on tire heigth . The orig posters rig would probly allow that .

I don’t think your following me. Levels stay on the ground. This is what I’m simulating.
https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/816...AA13HzrjFHGcnes7WnS0ZfTP-GWI2llQaAtNNEALw_wcB

 

[not so famous bob]

I don’t think your following me. Levels stay on the ground. This is what I’m simulating.
https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/816...AA13HzrjFHGcnes7WnS0ZfTP-GWI2llQaAtNNEALw_wcB

I dodnt recall any posting about jegs toe plates , I commented on not being able to get a tape measure thru the car at tire center heigth --------------

 

[YY1]

How do those toe plates do with the bulge of the tire?

...or really. how do you guarantee a flat surface to measure when dealing with a measurement where 1/16th is crucial?

I measure to 32nds.

 

[69L48Z27]

I dodnt recall any posting about jegs toe plates , I commented on not being able to get a tape measure thru the car at tire center heigth --------------

You don’t need to get the tape half way up the tire. I don’t recall saying anything about an tape 1/2 way up the tire. The 4’ level lays flat on the floor parallel to the tire against it. You lay tapes across the floor from level to level like the toe plates I gave you a link to.

 

[YY1]

Wonder where the MFG specifies the distance to measure from to get the recommended 1/16th to 1/8 inch of toe in?

I always assumed either the center of the tire sidewall or the edge of the rim.

Seems like measuring at the ends of a plate or level would change the reading as the distance gets greater (on the rear) or closer (in the front)

 

[not so famous bob]

You don’t need to get the tape half way up the tire. I don’t recall saying anything about an tape 1/2 way up the tire. The 4’ level lays flat on the floor parallel to the tire against it. You lay tapes across the floor from level to level like the toe plates I gave you a link to.

AH SO , gottcha , wondering about the tire bulge too, a lot of tires dont bulge the same ,even tho they have the same pressure and same size --------------??

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

It is always best to scribe the tire tread then measure the scribe lines on the front then the rear, this will compensate for the runout in the tire. It will surprise you how much runout there is in a tire.

 

[69L48Z27]

AH SO , gottcha , wondering about the tire bulge too, a lot of tires dont bulge the same ,even tho they have the same pressure and same size --------------??

Thought about that too. Surprisingly the straight edge, level or toe plate, hit the tire squarely. I didn’t think it would work the first time someone told me to try it. Just give it a little push after adjustment against the tire.

Whether on the alignment rack or floor with make shift tools, always make sure tires are at the proper inflation and the same. I use this to rough stuff in, luckily I still have a good alignment guy to take stuff to and get it dialed in. Toe is usually within a 1/4” once hooked up on the rack.