Frequent inspection and correction of wheel alignment are ordinarily not necessary under normal conditions of use. However, if the tires are worn unevenly, if steering is unstable, or if the suspension has had to be repaired due to an accident, the wheel alignment must be inspected and corrected.
1. General
Wheel alignment covers several items such as camber, caster, steering axis inclination, etc., and each item is closely related to the other items. When inspecting and correcting, it is necessary to consider all items and how they relate to each other.
2. Where to measure and cautions concerning tester handling
Recently a large number of new alignment tester models have come into use. However, note that the high-precision testers may be quite complex, and errors may occur without your being aware of it. Therefore, maintenance of the testers must be performed periodically to assure that they are always reliable. Always measure wheel the alignment with the vehicle parked on a flat, level area. This is necessary because, no matter how accurate the alignment tester is, correct values cannot be obtained if the place where the measurement are to be carried out is not level.
3. Necessity of inspection before measurement of wheel alignment
Before measuring the wheel alignment, each factor that could affect the wheel alignment must be checked and necessary corrections made. Proper execution of this preparatory operation will give the correct values. Standard wheel alignment values are determined by the manufacturer with the vehicle in its “normal” condition. Therefore, when inspecting wheel alignment, it is necessary to have the vehicle as close to its normal condition as possible in which standard values are determined. (See Repair Manual for standard values.) Items to be checked before measurement of wheel alignment area.
- Tire inflation pressure (under standard conditions)