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Idahome
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All right since I replaced the inner tie rod ends on this truck and the old ones were bent. The old tires on this truck were cooked and the owner is bringing brand new set of tires for the drive home, we needed a decent alignment.
Adjusting the toe on these trucks could not be much easier if you know how. RWD trucks get set at 1/8" toe in. Why? You ask.... because a RWD truck when you hit the gas the rear axle drives forward which pushes the front tires outward, so the stock setting of 1/8" toe in (1/16" per side!!) allows the tires to straighten out when you hit the throttle.
Toe can be adjusted with some jack stands and string. First the steering wheel is set dead center, the tire pressures are all checked to be even!! Next jack stands and string are setup to be perfectly aligned to the rear tire.
Make sure string is at similar height front to back, target is the center of the wheel, for us that is 14.5" from shop floor
Next set the jack stands so the string is EXACTLY the same distance from the rear tire at the front and rear of the tire. Measurements are taken from the "crown" of the sidewall
Once it is set perfectly you now have a string that is parallel to your rear tire extending past the front tire. You can now measure the front tire to see how far the toe is out.
Write down your settings, I was using a MM gauge but wanted to show you can also use a tape measure no problem
The numbers do not lie, this tire is "toed out" too far, meaning at the rear of the tire I recorded 5.5mm and at the front 4.5mm so a full 1mm out.
To adjust it, I need to move the tie rod end 1/2mm and it would be set at 0 toe. I want 1/16" of toe in per side so I made appropriate adjustments
7/8" wrench to make sure the outer tie rod end does not move. 7/8" wrench on the jam nut to loosen it, 1/2" wrench on the inner tie rod for adjustments. Make sure you loosen the clamp on the inner tie rod end boot so that the ITRE can spin inside the boot
I needed 1/8" of adjustment so I moved the jam nut out that far
then I twisted the inner tie rod to match, check my tire again and then jam the nut back down.
At the tie rod with these front ends, adjustments are super simple.
Release the jamb nut, spin the inner tie rod in or out as needed to adjust the distance needed, check measurements and then jamb down the jam nut.
Both sides were done the same way.
End results this truck is 1/16" toe in per side. This method can be very accurate if you take your time and triple check all measurements.
Make sure the steering wheel stays dead center. :)
Front end TOE adjustment DONE
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I build custom RBV, specializing in drivetrain conversions, wiring, suspension and complete custom trucks