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I need to adjust my front toe to correct for my suspension. I dont want to take it to a shop just yet and can do it fairly accurately to the mm if I can just get firm info on how to lengthgen and shorten the tie rods. I know I have to loosen a nut, is this nut threaded the traditional way or is it a backwards thread ? When trying to loosen the nut the whole rod tries to spin is this a bad thing and do i need to clamp the rod and then loosen the bolt ? Can the tie rod be adjusted without having the tie rod off the strut and the car in the air ? Meaning can i just do it from under the hood without doing anything else (taking off tires and rod off the strut )? Any info would be great thanks.

 
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hmm.. which part are you trying to adjust? the part thats directly attached to the strut(because i know for a fact that keeps spinning if not held on to) or the parts that on the steering rod. not sure the specifics but i know it takes alot of strength to loosen it

 
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From the picture above you should beable to losen the jam nut #16 then turn the inner shaft. You dont ened to remove the tie rod end from the strut to adjust it. Im just curious how you plan on measuring the toe with accuracy. I know how it can be done with a tape measure and a piece of chalk. but its still by no means that accurate.

 
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Clicky
Then follow the link in that thread too.

 
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Sounds like I May have to adjust my toe before the national event....
I'm thinking 0 Front 0 rear (its daily driven after all and i cant afford tires all the time)


Now only if i could adjust camber....

 
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ok i'll need to losen nut # 16..is that nut a traditional thread or is it backwards ? Oh well i'll just go one way and if it doesnt work go the other...Yeah on honda-tech there is a great article on how to adjust toe if you dont have the funds for a costly alignment yet. It also does work really well my friend did it to his car and later took it to get a toe alignment and they said he was almost dead on. Alright thanks for the diagram much appreciated

If you use thin tight string and make parallel lines on both side of the car and measure from one side of the rim lip and match it with the other. This should give you 0 toe. The bigger the rim like 17 you have a longer distance from center giving you much more accuracy to the mm of your ruller.

 
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to see whether its traditional or backwards, check the threads and see which direction they're threaded. you should be able to tell which way its threaded that way.

 
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i watched the guy bend my friend's rear beam on his Se-R to make his rear toe out 1/32". It was a long process, but that involved bending a beam and not adjusting a nut.

and Zzyzx, ya know you want a set of JICs! all the cool people have them That way you can adjust your camber.

 
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^^^ yes hes right ALL the cool people now have them.

 
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OLD school toe setting can be done with a piece of chalk!

1. Jack car up
2. have someone spin the tire while on the face of the tread you hold the chalk steady to make a line ALL the way around the tire. They use to make a special holder for the chalk many years ago.
3. Lower car down roll it back and forth so it settles into normal ride position ( assuming you dont have slip plates/ turn tables ) You'll want the tires both basically in the center forward sterring position( if they are steered one way or the other to begin with you wont get accurate toe setting)
4. Using a tape measure, measure the line from one front tire to the other on the front and the back side.
5. The difference from front to back is your either toe-in or toe-out measurement and adjust accordinly
6. the HARD part is getting the sterring wheel straight, but after setting the toe drive the car to figure what way the steering wheel is off.
7. now you need to screw one tie rod together and the other tie rod apart EXZACTLY the same amount from one side to the other.
8. rinse and repeat steps 6-8 untill steering wheel is straight to your liking
9. recheck toe setting to insure its good

On to camber and checking caster

Here is one i was able to locate. Ammco used to make a real nice one but i think they got out of the alignment business long ago. The one below is in the $150 range. Im sure if you look you can find some others that will do the same job for cheaper.

http://www.quickcar.net/chassis/ch_cascamga.html

In the long run if your off the slightest amount on toe you will not be saving your self money by trying to set it yourself.

 
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robbclark1, Boilermaker1... its tempting, but I'm just about sold on KWs v3 when it comes out. Some thing about Double adjustible shocks that makes me smile... I talked to Glen over at KW, he basically told me that the only reason the V3 wasnt out for our cars right now is because at the SEMA show they decided to make them More Agressive then they allready were...... should be interesting.