FUCK YEAH. Took my car to an alignment shope with their 30 thousand dollar 'computerized' machine. still the car veers slightly right when you even out the 9 and the 3 on the Steering wheel.
Important note, you should always adjust the rear alignment before the front because it dictates the neutral direction of the car. Doing the front first is a bad idea because you can end up with a car that wants to be diagonal whilst driving. tldr. ALWAYS START IN THE REAR WHEN ALIGNING, NOT FRONT
I’ve nevvvvvver figured out how to do a alignment ever untill this video, camber bolts, no ones shown me that before! Really cool man, you’ve made another Subaru guy happy!! 👊 thanks for your help! Cheers
The track width of the axles affects the string method's accuracy. On my outback the rear wheels are .2 inches closer together than the front which means the strings will not be perfectly parallel. In that case I think this method would still get it within Subaru's tolerances, but it's something to be aware of. It's also more accurate to measure from the string to the rim because tires can have slight bulges or other imperfections in the side wall.
My 2009 outback is similar to yours. 58.9 inches on the front versus 58.7 inches in the rear wheels. That's 1/10 of an inch on either side. I'd think that as long as you measure the string from the center of the hub on the front wheels and making it the same distance on the back wheel, you'll be all set. Good point about measuring from the sides of the rims and not the wheels.
This is exactly what I was going to mention. Great video otherwise. Considering the difference in track width, I'm going to guess his toe on the rear will be a bit out (front of tires angled out), though it should be pretty close. Now to go watch the next video to see the measured results...
well, I got at least 3 ripped off deals at different alignment garages, so now I do my own alignment jobs , it was not good , the last time I went to the alignment garage, the staring wheel all down to the left, that means that my 2 front wheels was to far to the right, yes if we do the job right and good I do believe that we are getting a better alignment job, they even left a big pair of snap on connected to the tire rod and when I took it from the garage the vice grips hit the road.
You are so right, it allows you to understand your car to learn more about it and help someone else in the need hope your Christmas as well have a great year
Thanks this tutorial i made wheel alignment myself. You just saved me 2000 Norwegian crowns for that service in workshop. I hope more people like you walk on earth.
Thanks heaps, best video iv seen so far on how to do anything really on youtube really. Straight to the point and no bla bla bla about shit we don't need to know. 10/10
Cool! Ive been doing my own alignment for yrs. All I do is straighten out and tie down my steering wheel and pretty much align by eye. oh, I toe in about an 8th.
When you set the string on the wheels don't use the edge of the tire for alignment because the size and pressure of the tires is not reliable. Instead use a socket as a measuring spacer to align the center of both axles to be the same distance to the string. This removes the error caused by the tire pressure.
Aren't you suppose to do all 4 at once and make sure both on each side are of equal distance so you're not cheating by pulling the front or back closer to get it to hit the wheel? And keep the string line 2inches from the hub than measure the distance from the front of the rim to the string and then the back of the rim to the string and make them Match or 1/16-1/18 inch toed In
Thanks man, just replaced a tie rod on my 05XT and this helped. Before tie rod replacement the steering wheel was about 5 deg off. Replaced tie rod, fixed some toe out on the drivers side with this. Wheel is dead on now, car still tracks straight. Going to roll with it and just keep an eye on the tires
So i finally got around to it and im happy to say that my wrx is riding straight now. I must admit it does take allot of time and patience to do the front toe if your by yourself. Next time im definetly going to have someone help by holding steering wheel straight. It kept moving on me. I had to heat up one of the rear nuts to break it loose, i used a wet towel to protect the axle boot back there, worked pretty good i think i will use a wet towel from now on everytime i have to protect something from heat. I will monitor the tires and hopefully no more buying tires every 6 months. Thanks bud for posting this video.
What tool did you use to get your zero camber? I know that you use the nut in the boat that comes with the car except for the back did you use a gauge or did you just use your leveler?
Good video, but a quick question. This doesn't account for the Rear and Front track differences. The forester is wider in the front than the rear, so how does that work out properly?
Instead of the string touching the wheels, make a perfectly parallel rectangle with the string and use a measuring tape or ruler to get even gaps on the front and back of each wheel
Well due to weather. I've slid into a curb in my little 2000 OBS. Tagged the rear passenger wheel in a sideways slide out of left hand turn. Bent the outer bead area quite badly. Still holds air tho made it home with a wicked handling issue. Ass end was all over the place. Also steering wheel holds told the left, to drive straight. And rear camber has crazy wear on the inside of both tires. Any predictions from anyone???? I'll be tearing into it when she thaws here soon....let me know if anyone would like to advise me or see it unfold. Thanks in advance...
I hope you get to see this comment I know I'm late I hit a curb in my 2001 forester and now the rear wheel has alot of positive camber basically it's on an angle but none of the suspension is bent could I need camber bolts
Very useful video. Thank you. It looks very easy, but the 19 mm bolt on the suspension-stag isnot easy to loose. Rust have fastened it so much...is there any trick to solve this?
My Forester XT is pretty much a clone to yours! I'd like to attempt this myself. My only concern is that my driveway is not perfectly level. It slopes downwards 1.7 inches as measured from the center of each wheel. I know that driveways do have some slope but this is probably a bit out of tolerance. Does this method have to be done on perfectly level ground? So ready to give this a try! Thank you for this video!
Stupid question, to adjust the front camber I'm assuming you have to loose the bottom bolt too? Or can I just loosen the OEM top camber bolt for adjustment?
Great and informative video. I would do it but this is too much information to retain. I’d rather go to car shop. It save me time. It can’t be that expensive to pay someone to do it.
