Rear end toe

I took my B to have the front end aligned and the shop said the toe readings on the rear were +0.40 degrees on the left and -0.40 on the right. I may have changed this when I put new bushings and shocks on the rear, but I am not sure, because I do not know what the readings were before. The fellow at the shop said it would be better to get the rear correct before they adjusted the front because the front readings and adjustments would be based on the rear. They did not offer to adjust the rear but told me I should try. I put this issue on this forum and got a few suggestions. I tried one of the suggestions and attached a picture of what I did. I researched and found out that 0.40 degrees is equal to a little more than 1/8". So I chiseled a mark on the leaf springs and I used a large tie down strap and loosened the u-bolts and to my surprise I was able to adjust each side 1/8". I am taking my car back to the shop and I am hoping I corrected the rear toe. Thought this might be helpful. Thanks, Phil

Also, I have already painted my rear drums back to black.
Thanks for your opinions.

Sounds like the axle was slightly twisted in relation to the body (looking from above or below). That would move one side forward and the other back, creating inversely proportionate toe. IF you got it to move, everything should be fine. One way to check would be to measure from a fixed location (like the front cross member) to the center of the axle tube on each side. The measurements should be the same.

Did you happen to measure the distance from the front wheel to the rear wheel on both sides? This might not be the absolute measure of success, since there are other variables, but it would tell you how much you moved, and would be one way to measure this type of alignment.

Good Lord! That's a "thrust" alignment and any decent shop should be able to correct it for a small extra charge (labor, you know).

Sheesh. Dunno if I'd want to revisit them.

Get away from that dumb shit, he's nit picking to the max. Get the toe in set, that's all you can do on that car and worry about the rear end if it doesn't drive right after that.

philmckinney Wrote:

As mentioned, this measurement is called "Thrust Angle" and a good alignment shop should adjust it for you. Unfortunately, in this age of FWD vehicles, it may be a lost art - but it can noticeably affect handling, vibration and tire wear - both front and rear!

Phil, just take hub center to hub center measurements on each side, until you get both sides the same length (although you have the hot set fo 1.5 mile oval, lol), then take it back to the alignment shop and tell him to set the toe. Most of these computer alignament machine have made techs dyumber not wiser, an old school guy would have fixed this for himself. I have a issue right now with F350 truck, and the computer guys are dumbfounded, I took it to my buddy who truely understand this stuff, he has bif bars to tweak my I-beams with, end of story. The computer machine has bascily let the tech check their brains at the door, they are ony as good as the machine lets them be, it had been a Honda (eaiset 4 wheel alignmant on the planet) thew tech would have known exactly whay to do. When I did this for living (tire dealership) I had a Hunter computer alignment machine, my guys would trip me out when my buddies brought race cars in and the the techs couldn't fiquire out how to convert decimals to fractions, machines have made us stupid. :)

1/8 off from side to side on these cars is pretty good from some of what I have measured over the years.

I would not call this "toe" since the tires are not pointed inwards towards each other or outwards away from eachother.

The only way to achieve "toe" settings with a solid axle is to bend the axle.

Your alignment person needs to learn a bit more about his choosen profesion.

Pete

I agree that you'd have to bend the axle to get toe-in (or toe-out). Of course, Philip has started with toe-out (+0.4) on the left and toe-in (-0.4) on the right. :)

Oh, I misread the .04 degree (I thought we were talking about .400"), when the hell did toe ever get read in degrees anyway, if it's 1/8" or .125" off, I'm with JDW, screw that, tell him to set the toe and go with it. Here's what I would do, tell the tech to do a thrust alignment and set the toe, and forget about the rear readings.

Speedracer Wrote: