new tie rods.... how long till allignment?

[PhilipJCaputo]

I'm going to be replacing left & right tie rods this weekend..... if I adjust the new ones similar to the old ones.... how long can I put off getting an alignment...

reason is... I'm going to be getting new tires soon, and I'd like to have it alligned when I get the tires...

I guess if it pulls real hard one way or the other I'll be more inclined to get it alligned sooner....


hope this takes out a lot of the play (crossing my fingers)

[632 Regal]

measure real good and it should be close enough to drive it to the alignment shop. I wouldnt wait at all, you'll see.

[DonC]

Agree. Measure well and set the new arms as close to the old as possible then hither thyself to the alignment shoppe - DON'T WAIT

[PhilipJCaputo]

ok... I won't wait :-(

[PhilipJCaputo]

Quick follow up.....

is it better to have it aligned with old or new tires... or does it even make any difference??

[632 Regal]

dont let em scare you but theres only the toe alignment to do. I think it was Bill R that posted a picture with the specifications.

[Mobius]

Yeah. I thought "Hey, if I make the new ones as close to the same length as the old ones as possible, I can probably wait a week for an alignment! Sure!"

Oh **** no. I thought I had those things dead even, and my wheel was almost 90º to the right, and the car didn't like listening to where I wanted it to go.

So yeah, count on getting it done soon after. You can probably get them close enough that you can drive to the shop, but you won't get them close enough that you won't need an alignment.

[632 Regal]

same thing, I was so damn careful to get them exact so that I wouldnt need an alignment and didn plan or have the money for it at the time...guess what, I planed and coughed up the cash the next day.

[Scott C]

same thing, I was so damn careful to get them exact so that I wouldnt need an alignment and didn plan or have the money for it at the time...guess what, I planed and coughed up the cash the next day.

It is only toe in that is adjusted..
So you can make a device to measure the relative position of the tires front to back and set it yourself. I used 2x4's with screw eyes and when I did get new tires, found that I had adjusted it well within specs...

The dealer will tell you to align with new tires.

Scott

[western99]

I'm going to be replacing left & right tie rods this weekend..... if I adjust the new ones similar to the old ones.... how long can I put off getting an alignment...

reason is... I'm going to be getting new tires soon, and I'd like to have it alligned when I get the tires...

I guess if it pulls real hard one way or the other I'll be more inclined to get it alligned sooner....


hope this takes out a lot of the play (crossing my fingers)