S14 DIY wheel alignment - how to?

[Type X(J)]

My car is pulling a little to the left when I go over 30mph. I want to correct the alignment myself (front & rear). any advice on how I shoud approach this minor adjustment? ty.

[guyaverage]

My advice is take $45 down to the local tire place and let them do it. You will never get it right doing it yourself.

[slydin'240]

My advice is take $45 down to the local tire place and let them do it. You will never get it right doing it yourself.

I totally agree. Something so cheap that makes a huge difference. The only thing you will end up doing is making it worse.

[benemorius]

I have always despised it when folks would come along and refuse to answer your question, but rather tell you that it isn't possible and you should take it to a shop. Well damnit... they're right. There's just no way around it. It is possible that you can improve it without an alignment computer, but not likely. Would I try it? Yes, but I'm a stubborn mother****** and am also very familiar with how it goes with an alignment computer. You'd probably be taking a shot in the dark if you've never done an alignment at all. If you simply must take a stab at it, find an FSM for the info on how to do it, then work very slowly. Turn the tierods only one turn at a time and test drive in between. You will virtually never get it good enough for an alignment computer to say that it's ok, but you might be able to get rid of the pull you're experiencing. I would only mess with toe, and only on the front. Any other adjustments are not only virtually impossible to eyeball, but also probably aren't causing any trouble.

The first thing I should have said is this - make sure all your tires are properly inflated. A low tire can easily cause a pull to one direction or the other. If that's not it, do your best to find a friend who either works in a shop or has access to an alignment computer at school or something. I couldn't bring myself to pay for an alignment either...

[gumby]

There are do it yourself methods for alignments but its only so you can drive it over to the alignment shop. Besides the 240sx requires a 4 wheel alignment because of the independent rear suspension.

[Silvia007]

I've tried it myself... like the guys suggested, worse then when I haven't messed with it. When messing around with the rear suspension's alignment, changing the camber also changes the toe.

[onosqv]

I'm reviving a dead thread to link this, hehe:

http://www.negative-camber.org/jam149/t ... nment.html

from http://www.negative-camber.org