new tie rod ends

my old rule I live by, if you change anything major suspension related, a 3 axle align is cheap insurance. if you are changing the tierods, definitely get at least a steer axle align, since you just had a 3axle done, you can get close counting threads, but close will wear out steers quick. just my .02 as a ex-driver/current mechanic.

 

It's not hard to check toe in, just a tape measure is fine.

 

Get an alingment. I did the same thing measure three times and truck steered straight. But guess what. My steers. Wore out in two weeks on the out side shoulder .

 

O.K. this should end this thread. I am going to have new parts put on in a week or 2, depending on the shops schedule & mine. then going to have alignment done. thanks for all the advice.

 

You're just wasting your money. A 5 minute check with a tape measure is all you need. If anything other than toe in is out, the original alignment wasn't done correctly.

 

A tape measure, like counting threads, will get you close...but it won't be precise. It doesn't have to be off by much to chew through a set of steers.

 

Jack up one front wheel, rotate tire while spray painting a stripe all the way around the tire, drive a sharp pionted nail through a board, rotate the tire while holding the point of the nail against the painted section of the tire with the board on the floor for stability. Be sure the line all the way around the tire is straight, meaning hold the board steady. Do the other tire the same way. Drop both wheels to the floor.

You now have two perfectly straight lines all the way around each front tire. With the help of someone, or some good tape to hold the ruler to the tire, check the distance between the marks in front and behind each tire. I like 1/32 to 1/16 toe in at most. Done right, and if the king pins and wheel bearings are tight, you will be as close as any computer alignment machine doing this.

 

I've always checked my toe in regularly, and every single 3 axle alignment has matched exactly what I measured. It's by far the easiest to check out of all the alignment variables.

Spec is 1/16th +/- 1/32 so essentially 1/32 to 3/32. It is not very hard to get it in that range. This isn't rocket surgery or brain science.

 

sorry I am not smart enough to follow these directions.

 

You just paint a stripe all around the tread, then use a nail driven through a board, held against the painted section of the tire, to make a line completely around the entire tire. You will have a line that is perfectly true all the way around the tire to measure from one side to the other for the toe settings. No tire tread runs perfect, this makes up for that.

That's the way it was done for years on trucks and cars before computer alignment. I learned that from the front end man when I worked at a Freightliner dealership many years agp.