Front Alignment
Checking And Adjusting The Wheel Alignment
Note! When checking and adjusting front wheel alignment the following applies:
- Any camber angle adjustment must always be made before adjusting the toe-in
- Because the rear wheels have adjustable toe-in, the front wheels must always be adjusted in relation to the car's geometric driving axis line. This is to achieve the maximum stability and minimize tire
Note! All measurements must be made with the car empty. Check the tire pressure on all tires. See specifications for the relevant tire.
Lift Up Front end
Lift under the control arms as close to the ball joints as possible.
Check for play in:
- the steering gear or tie rods
- the wheel bearings
- the upper spring strut mountings
- control arm ball joints and bushings.
If there is play in any of the above components it must be corrected refer to the relevant repair information.
Set Up The Test Equipment
Set up and calibrate test equipment according to its instructions.
Position the turntables under the front wheels. Use turntables which take up lateral movement.
Note! The car must stand level when the front wheels are on the turntables. So that the correct values are obtained when checking camber a caster.
Bounce the front suspension heavily a few times when the car has been set onto the turntables. This must be done for the front suspension to return to the normal position.
Checking Camber Angle
Check the camber angle on both sides.
Correct value: 0° ± 1.0°.
The camber angle may vary by a maximum of 1.0° between the left and right wheels.
If the camber angle is outside these values, see Adjusting camber angle.
Adjusting Camber Angle
Note! Adjust the camber angle if it lies outside the 0° ± 1° tolerance when checked. The variation between left and right sides must not exceed 1°.
Carry out the following when adjusting:
Raise cars and remove wheel
Cars with sleeves in the stub axles;
Remove the upper, if necessary both sleeves from the stub axle. This depends on how large the adjustment needs to be. A sleeve gives an angle change of approximately 0.5°. For both sleeves the change is approximately 1°.
Cars without sleeves in the stub axles;
Replace screws and nuts and adjust as follows.
Note! Install new screws and nuts to stub axle
Tighten the screws slightly but not more than that necessary to allow the stub axle to be moved with some resistance, in or out in relation to the shock absorber strut. Turn stub axle in or out as far as the play between the holes a screw allows.
Post adjustment, tighten both the screws to 65 Nm (47.9 ft. lbs.) a angle-tighten 90°.
Install Wheels
Lubricate hub guide for rims with suitable rustproofing agent.
Install wheel studs lightly. Tighten crosswise to 110 Nm (81.1 ft. lbs.)
Check camber angle and toe-in again.
Checking Caster Angle
Check the caster angle on both sides. Correct value: 3.35° ± 1.0°. The caster angle must not vary by more than 1.0 ° between the left and right sides.
Checking Toe-In
Check that the instruments are adjusted in relation to each other on front and rear axles. This is important so that the front wheel toe-in be adjusted in relation to the car's thrust line. Thrust line is the line created when the rear wheels toe-in angles are equally divided, see illustration.
Note! The difference between the wheel symmetry line and the thrust line is called the thrust angle. This angle may deviate by a maximum of 15° from the symmetry line.
A. Wheel symmetry line
B. Thrust line
C. Thrust angle
Note! The differences in the adjacent diagram are exaggerated in order to illustrate the differences.
To set the rear wheel toe-in, see checking and adjusting the alignment of the rear wheels
Toe-In
Correct value: 20' ± 6' measured over both wheels.
Measurements are taken at the height of the hub as an angular measurement or as the difference in mm between the front and rear of the wheel at points A, B. or C (tread of the tire, inner shoulder a flare of the rim, respectively).
Example.
The measurement at A must be 3.6 ± 1 m greater than at a.
Adjusting toe-in
Adjustment is made with the tie rods after loosening the lock nuts. Longer rods give a greater angle and vice versa. See the table above for the correct values.
Note! The lengths of the tie rods must not vary between themselves by more than 2 mm. Measure between the lock nut and the edge of thread. Treat the tied rod threads using suitable rustproofing agent after they been tightened.
Steering wheel position
Minor deviation, adjust at the same time as the toe-in adjustment a
For major steering wheel deviation, refer to Steering, Steering Column, Service and Repair.