How to do a quick and dirty alignment (that is often better than the pros.) 

Your videos are always worth watching. Keep them up! You speak well, exude confidence, and explain things to us novices that will inevitably attempt to do these projects at home with limited experience. For that, thank you! Hopefully you can continue to grow your viewership so these videos will pay off!

Thanks for the help on this vid man. I went to a well know big tire store and they told me they couldn't do an alignment unless they replaced all my bushings and dust covers etc. I watched your video (and took way to much time before I actually used it) and now my truck drives better than ever. Huge thanks and I love all your other stuff. Tons of great info.

i love the eclipsing method to align the fronts with the rears. it's a really simple, ingenious method!

I've done this on several vehicles that I've done front end work on. I always tell the customer to get it aligned (I'm a back alley mechanic) and a few never got it aligned. Thousands of miles later, these vehicles still drive fine and do not wear the tires unevenly. I use newspapers to slip the tires on the pavement.

I know this video is 8 years ago, but... you were saying how you did fantastic job of doing your job even though you didn't really know how to do that particular job. Well... you.. take heart in everything you do. That's what makes a difference.

Thanks a lot! I used this guide to align my car after viewing like 12 other guides involving either tape measure, string, or whatever. It may not be perfect to the exact degree, but it sure works. And even then, the last time I had a shop align my car, it still leaned slightly to the right. Thanks!

Thanks for the explanation of caster/camber. Never really grasped caster before. Big O tire shop in Louisville, CO has done good on my alignments. I run stock tires and automatically get an alignment when buying new tires. Have never had high speed emergencies due to failing steering parts. No low speed ones either. You're a blast to watch and real accessible as a person. Your wife is lucky to have you !

Brian, I'm looking at this video 10 years later. And the information you presented here is still 100 percent correct. You've probably saved me over $1000 for alignments. Thanks for a great video !

All i have to say is THANKS! your videos have helped me a lot and saved me hundreds in mechanic fees!

A GREAT & CREATIVE idea that makes perfect sense. I also took my 2000 Dodge Ram short bed 4x4 with 9 inch lift. Took it to "4 WHEEL PARTS and had the same situation. Thanks for the COMMON SENCE IDEAS. Seemed they were more concerned about where lunch was gunna be.... Thank you, I'll keep watching. Richard in NORTH TEXAS.

This is Awesome! I just replaced ball joints, drag link, track bars and tie rod ends today on my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500. I know it is not as beefy as the 3/4 ton but the set up is identical and now I can try your ideas on an alignment as I also put brand new BFGs on it 2 weeks ago and have no desire to ruin them anytime soon. Thanks for the tips.

Great "How to.." video. After watching your video, i watched several others and decided to give it a try. I had attempted to use another guys measurement technique that was a fail. So i fallowed your eclipsing method. It worked out perfectly i must say that getting those connectors to turn took quite a bit of determination. In the end it all worked great It gos to show ya gotta listen when a Utahan is telling how it is. Thanks again.

Wow, Mr. Brian. This was the easiest video that I found on the explanation of the wheel alignment process. Thanks a TON!!!!

Finally! A DIY video that was very informative, had really good camera angles and absolutely nothing to annoy the viewer. This was the first of your videos that I've watched and I've subscribed to your channel. - Now looking forward to watching many more. Keep up the great work!

Every time i look for videos on car repair i always take them with a grain of salt.When i find yours, I KNOW i got the right one. Thanks.

This is simple and so brilliant...never thought is possible to see the missalignament by the tire's surfaces.I like you very much...you knowlege and your approach to things is very motivating.

A lot of the times the alignment rack isn't always spot on when it comes to adjusting lifted trucks like yours I as an alignment tech at time struggle to make the eclipse effect you illustrated which to me now makes so much sense. Thanks for the tutorial.

Keep these how to vids coming ma man, for us who don’t have access to all the technology the dealers have you rock! Ty great vid I love doing things myself

Great video man! Have been doing my own alignments for awhile now and love it...especially doing it quicker and not having to sit waiting bored to death and your right they never care if the sides match as long as its in the green even if thats a broad spectrum. I use the string method with jack stands since front meats stick out farther then rear meats? I like the explanation about caster it was perfect! I run 0* toe and it seems fine using a engineering rule with 64th.

Thanks for posting this instructional video. It was super helpful for my 5.9 96 4x4 alignment. Looks like you spent some good money on those bushwackers, rims and tires. I love your setup, I'm jealous.

I'm glad you admit to doing alignments for a living at one point but not knowing what you were really doing. That's why I'm here because the dealership did not know what they were doing at all and it's worse than when I brought it in. So thanks for learning whats going on and teaching the rest of us

It's to add stability. Front and rear wheel drive vehicles have opposite toe because they torque differently when accelerating etc. It's to compensate for that. Black Hawk helicopters are kind of the same way with their tail rotor. It's not straight up and down- it's tilted to help stabilize the roll of the heli. Any time something twists or turns it has angular momentum and angular procession applies as well as just vehicle torque flex.

Thanks for the refresher. I actually certified back in the 90s for brakes and alignment. Been years since I've thought about it real hard.

Can't thank you enough for this video. I just used this technique on my car and she flys straight down the road without the steering wheel being all cockeyed. Took a total of 20 minutes from start to finish.

This was in the recommended videos for me. Funny to see it as I've eye-balled MANY alignments and have had good success. Sometimes I'll measure the toe in/out with something but it all starts with eye balling it and maybe throwing a level on the rim to make sure camber is about zero if I had the ball joints, struts etc out. The Durango I have in my older videos where I did the ball joints on camera, I never took in for an alignment. I just did my magic and it never pulled and never wore the tires funny. Meanwhile just this last week my coworker had to take his work van in to the alignment shop more than two times to get it right! He'd pick it up and the thing would change lanes automatically because they trusted their alignment machine and yet it was so off!

Thanks for the video Brian! good job. Perhaps it would be beneficial to mention that Castor, the rearward tilt of the axle, is typically responsible for the "pull" of the steering. Typically, the vehicle pulls to the side with the least amount of caster. Also, I'm jealous of that gorgeous 2500 Cummins. I had an identical truck to that and the 2011 GM I'm driving now really doesn't compare. Its also important to mention that 2wd trucks, as with all rear wheel drive vehicles, are intended to have some toe in, and FWD or cars, have toe out

I’ve used string lines before around all four tires as a temporary solution to align and then took it to the shop and it ended up being good !

That's a great idea when fenders permit it. You're welcome! Thanks for watching

I had a Pathfinder with wide wheels that was horrid after they did the alignment, almost too dangerous to drive. They had to get a senior out and he did it without going by the computer and it was perfect afterwards!

Way to get to the point! This has been so helpful for my 2001 Ram 4x4. Guy before me got it stuck, pulled it out by the steering gear after they ripped off the torsion bar.

your videos are awesome, i learn something every time i watch...thx man, just got myself an 03 f150 4.6 about 7 weeks ago and i like doing diy stuff to it, keep up the vids.

Thank you for being thorough Brian, I appreciate your videos.

It was a great intimate moment when you were laying on your back talking to us lol

I have a 03 Cummins turbo diesel crewcab dually. And i went through the alignment shuffle too! My truck was eating tires though. I ended up doing my own alignment. And its a little better. Im gonna try your way after I replace a few parts. Thank you!

funny how this one came up brian, you can see your growth in the seven years. Keep them coming.

Your trick worked great on my truck. Straight down the road now. Steering was a little harder just to get it centered. Thanks

Thanks for this video ! I just aligned my Hummer H2 using this method, and it works great. In fact, it now tracks better than with any alignment I've ever had at a professional shop. BTW, I found the alignment pins were missing from my left upper control arm cams. I don't know why the shops didn't fix that before attempting an alignment. They told me my H2 had a bad rack and pinion, so it would never hold an alignment.

Great video brother, my alignment on my dakota was a little off, with this video I was able to correct the problem. Keep the videos coming.

@Avinash1943 That can be pretty effective too. On this truck there's obstructions that prevent that from being possible on the back of the wheel. It also takes a bit more time to put a tack in the tread to hold and hook the tape. I'm also doing this with just me so hooking the tape can be tough. For the effort vs effectiveness I choose to do it this way. As the title says "quick and dirty."

I have to let you know that because of me using this idea for an alignment (is awesome by the way, although I don't have concrete so I didn't need the platters), but this showed me that one of my rear axle tubes on my 12 valve is bent. which is why it (even with the front set perfect) still pulled hard to the left. I figured I'd let you know that if it wasn't for your string idea I was wouldn't have any idea. THANK YOU BRIAN!!

I did alignments for a year and learned to hate the Lazer computer.. we had the mechanical set up and I loved it.. I ought to put one together and show you what we did.. it would even compensate for a tire or wheel that is bent or not quite strait (for toe adjustment anyway) I ought to make the camber/caster gauge but that will be a bit tricky.. loved the cookie sheet idea though. that is a good trick!

Thanks for the compliments and the heads up.

44 yr master mech and engineer here. I have done this type of alignment on my vehicles and has worked well. But you forgot the front tires need to toe in one eighth inch each. And never align with rear tores due to that area does not have the same camber angle! Measure back of front tires and front and get equal in tape measure then toe in one 8th inch per side in front

Hey Brian, Great vid! Last time I did mine I did it the same way except being a carpenter I used a string line!

@midlantic1 Scotty gets my respect though- He's got some serious editing and enthusiasm. That means on Sesame Street on a day brought to you by the letter "E" he'd epicly kick my butt! He aims at a more general audience to get more views. That's probably more profitable and if I was getting close to retirement age I might do the same thing. I'm glad you like my videos- means a lot to me! Thanks for watching/posting.

I have a 97 B2500 Dodge van....same front end mostly...and you really helped me out Great Video tks man!!!!!!

Thanks man! i never thought of trhe screwdriver in the sleeve trick! I adjusted rach side and it was a bit hard then jsut all at ocne !

@bran1har You're welcome. Thanks for the kind comment.

Just found your channel (subscribed) and two huge thumbs up and many thanks. I will have to eventually have to adjust the valves, etc.. on my crf450r (no idea since I've always been a twostroke racer) and then saw you also help with common truck problems. Your vids are down to Earth, uses common tools and will save me ALOT of money I'm sure. Wish you had a paypal account set up so I could donate a few bucks for what you will no doubt save me. Thanks Brian.

Thank you for your specific feedback.

Thanks. The camber adjustment on this solid axle would be a special upper ball joint replacement. Depending on your control arms you may have some excentric bolts with cam washers to accomplish that ie. Chevy.

Great Video, My 2005 Ram 2500 pulled to the right, for a while until now... Thanks Brother, You saved me a bunch !!!!!!!!

This video is awesome. I recently bought an 86 F-250 4x4 and i'm trying to see how little cash I can spend getting it back in shape. Both tie rod ends need replacing and therefore an alignment must be done. I also heard you can use plastic trays from the food court to do this. Thanks for the handy video!

Hi! Thanks for the great tip! I've tried another "ruff" way of toe adjustment with something called a "toe rod". Don't know if that is anyhow more accurate but with that method you can put it 1-1,5 degree negative and just not zero it. Newer driven a truck with zero of toe but a normal passenger car can't be fun!

I've been using a string down the side of the center of the tires to do alignments for years, works great.

Hello just came across your tutorial. Nice. It's nice to see someone who enjoys their profession. A thinker. I have mechanical background and enjoy working repairing my own vehicles and anyone else's vehicles if asked. Some things I can't do on my own I seek out references.

Watching Brians videos is like switching to Gieco, you'll save tons of money. Thanks for all the help bud.

lol everyone you gave shoutouts to, i'm subscribed to. i like how every one of you car guys have different knowledge and a different feel to your videos. keep em coming!

This works if your front and rear track width are the same. If the rear is wider, not only will it look different when you check by eye, but you're likely to end up with toe in and if the rear is narrower, you may end up with toe out. A small toe out (less than half a degree) should be fine for a permanently driven front axle. This is just my opinion. Track alignment was part of my tire fitting job, but it was a good 25+ years ago. ;¬)

You can use a couple of floor tiles with the smooth sides together and a bit of grease between them for slip-plates. Also, try using string attached to jack-stands to line up front-to-rear.

Thanks Brian good video. You could use grease plates instead of cookware. On jet aircraft when we would align are nose gear steering, we would use two scrap pieces of metal sheet with grease between them.

I actually watch Scott K usually but saw you first and you have a truck like I do. Great vid 👍

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Doing things by eye works for me and once you showed the driver's side eclipse, bingo, simple and easy . No string or other tools needed.

Awesome video.. I have been wanting to do this for a long time due to crooked steering and new ball joints I put on along with tie rod ends.. Thanks for the intel.

Thanks for the tip. Thinking about it, I have a bend in mine. The bar isn't adjustable like yours, but I had hit a curb, bending it. I need to replace parts.

You da man. This along with the string trick 👌 made my tire eating monster not so hungry 👍

I use a tape measure front and back of the wheel to determine that the wheels are straight. Tough with the tread pattern on your tires though, much easier if there is a center groove. Nice to see that other people are like me and not afraid to do things themselves. :-)

Thanks for the video, I just got an old chevy and new tires arrive tomorrow. I didn't wanna pay anybody to align it because I figured there was a good at home way to do this, especially for me since I drive a car every day, the truck is only for occasional use.

You should get the underbody rustproofed (oil sprayed). The oil keeps all the oxygen from reacting with all the iron and creating what we know as rust. Metal loves oil:) Up here in Canada we have Krown Rust Control and they do a good job at it using a vegetable-based oil.

Thanks for the info Brian! I'm changing out my steering linkage (Dodge Death Wobble) and this should help.

Thanks! Did all tie rod ends on my 06 2500 Ram and it didn't feel "right" driving around the neighborhood, both tires were toe'd in slighly. Felt like the steering was fighting itself driving down the road. Followed your advice and now she drives straight down the road, or at least enough to get me to my alignment next week.

Thanks Briansmobile1, I've been having to go in for an alignment every 2 or 3 months. I figured it was something simple like this. with a little practice I should be alright.

Great video. I have had the same experience, getting a bad alignment. I have been impressed with The Alignment Guys in A.F. I got referred to them by a mechanic friend, and have not been disappointed. Not sure how far you are from Happy Valley though. And yeah, Scotty Kilmer has some sweet little vids.

Nice video, I use a string line to do that and it works great.

@epiphaknee I'm sure it would work, but it would have to be mounted on a jig that spanned the diameter of the wheel.- Something you could line up consistently.

right on bro your in the section Scotties in. excellent vids from both of ya

right on thank you! cheers from Wv. I have a 2000 1500 ram and the outside edges of the front tires are wearing faster than the rest. Id assume it has some mild tow in. Imma try this method out! thank you!

great video. The main idea is that you want the tire edges to eclipse right at the same time. That will get you close enough that your tires don't get shredded and it will drive predictably. How you adjust is different for every truck. Thanks.

Thanks for doing this. Just got my Tacoma aligned and it's better, but not great (needs more caster). Now I think I'll take a shot at it myself.

Thanks Erwin- you should see it now- I have some videos on the winch bumper I built for it from scratch.

I like the video and it helped a great deal. However, I have a 2005 Ram 1500 and there is no adjusting knuckle. The only adjustment was to take lose the tie rod end and turn it in/out. I have never seen anything like this. Have you? I used a string and after getting it close, I took it out on the interstate and it drives like new. I didn't have a breaker bar so I sprayed some "Fabulous Blaster PB Powerful Penetrating Catalyst" spray and it worked with very little effort. I would highly recommend using this on any bolts/nuts hard to break free. This was my first time replacing tie rod ends and your video was the best I could find. Thanks.

Thanks! This in combination with the string method did a better job than taking my truck to the shop, and it's FREE!

I duck taped a string from the back of back tire really well , & pulled it tight across the front tire ,& adj, tie rod so the string touches the side walls front & back at perfact same time.

Great job & informative. I just replaced the ball joints & saved $600 now I'm off to try this :) thanks.

I'd never seen that adjustable drag link. Cool. I have an old E250. If the steering wheel is off you have to adjust both sides again. I did get all point perfect after about five tries... mostly for the sake of the steering wheel That eclipsing method Isn't a bad idea, but some vehicles have a wider front tracking than rear. Mine is front track, 69.4 in. Rear track, 67.0 in. Eclipsing would cause tow-out. You do not want tow-out on a rear wheel drive vehicle. I used the tape measure on the outside treads of both front tires. The tires were new so the treads were reliable. Measure behind and in front of the wheels. Adjust the collars so the same measure is front and back. Then pull in one wheel or the other about 1/32 of an inch. That gives 1/16th difference front and back with toe-in. That's just about right for most heavy duty vehicles. If the steering wheel is off to the right then put that 1/32 adjustment on the left wheel, and vice versa. Repeat if necessary. Toe-in is essential. When the rear wheels push, the weight of the vehicle flexes the steering links. Toe-in assures the wheels run true when in motion.

I own and operate a shop and have done this method for 35 YEARS sighting off the rear tires toeing the fronts in about an eighth of an inch (centering the steering wheel of couse...using 2 bungee straps anchored to the brake pedal helps keep the steering wheel from moving) It may not be exact but I guarantee it is real close! I always recommend my customers get a front end alignment but they never do because they trust what I do.

@epiphaknee You have to center the wheel first and then make the primary wheel straight to it. Then set toe on the other wheel. It's an order of operations thing. Some teachers I've had say you can't center the wheel, but then I just would any way.

That's a GREAT idea- you're smart AND resourceful!

Weird how things can feel more accurate when you eyeball it. I have the same problem with tuning guitars. People always use those little electronic tuners. I find that a lot of times with cheaper guitars you have to trust your ear. Either the intonation, the timbre or competing resonant frequencies... something makes the precision tuned guitars sound off, but if you make it sing first and trust your ear it sounds better.

You need to start with centering the steering wheel first assuming it hasnt been pulled and put back on crooked, thats what centers the steering pitman arm and more importantly the worm gear inside the steering box which is tight to the pinion gear in the center and compensating as it goes to the left or right stop its imperitive the wheel / box is centered first on a backyard job or shop. once that is centered, then align the front to rear wheels as you have shown, each one separate as necessary, best for most use a carpenters string line pull tight around back of truck over center of rear wheels and then forward, tape a spacer to the rear wheel and its easier to keep the space the same than try and have the string tough tires, its fail safe. once both are done then adjust the toe in 1/4 turn on each side evenly until a tape measure shows it 1/8 of an inch narrower in front than back, do NOT go zero toe thats what inspired this response it is dangerous and to answer the question below of how you adjust the camber there are elliptical cylinder " camber / caster shims " that work with the ball joints for that. yes you can do this at home and do a better job than a new school shop that has no common sense, think it out, be safe

great video and nice truck and F4I!

Thanks alot bro, I just did my alignment on my Grand Marquis....very helpful!

I mad a set of "shoes", out of 2"x12" boards, and rested the front end on jackstands, so the front end was light enough to slip on the concrete. Then I used a tape measure, and made sure the front and rear measurements were the same. Still rolling on it!

Thanks for the video, much more informative than what you'll get from Scotty. Scotty, too much click bait these days.

@tommyguns4life Glad I could help- You're welcome!

Amen brother! The other cool thing about a center groove is you can run those Klingon looking snow chains! (MITA Next Generation Snow Chain)

He is an artist at low cost high reward repair, but alas it can be high risk too. That's life. The world is a better place because of his work though. I believe in options. I believe in freedom. He creates options. I respect that.

@DodgeMan360 That's normal. Using baby powder between layers of painting plastic under your tires. You can get the toe set pretty close. It will save your tires in the mean time before getting it aligned.

You can use two 12x12 linoleum tiles, topside in and put some grease between them for under the front tires. Cookie sheets are a good idea but they might scratch up the floor in the garage if you need to swing the wheels back and forth

Very helpful video man, keep up the good work.