Opinions on this trolley jack?

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I got the other control arm on this morning, it needed grease to allow me to wrestle it into position and then i ran out of time and haven't tried to get the steering pinch bolt back on. The comments above are good and i'm sure it won't be too difficult....

I have an impact gun but hadn't thought to use it to loosen nuts and bolts with a juddering action, i'll keep that in mind, i tend not to use it much in case i break or de-thread bolts by accident.

I'm not so happy with my Halfords axle stand as I noticed a split in it this morning, i'm reluctant to get under the car now and have propped it with an additional trolley jack.

View attachment 449803

Any recommends for a new set of stands? Mid-range in price.

Does look like there's no weld on that joint. However the leg is very securely welded to it and the only function of the bottom plates is to spread the load so the stand doesn't sink into softer surfaces - or even tarmac on a hot day. I'd probably give it a clout with a hammer just to be sure the weld is good but I'd be happy enough to use them as they are. Being as how I have welding facilities I'd be tempted to just run a bead down the joint for appearances sake more than anything. If you look on the other side of that joint is there any sign of a weld? My guess would be no as there's no sign of penetration from this side. Quite often axle stands, especially cheaper ones, don't have load spreading plates on the bottom of their legs so it's actually a bit of a plus for these ones.

Edit. I just found them on the Halfords website and was able to magnify the image for a good look see. Looks exactly the same as yours. I don't think you'll find this joint is intended to be welded. I very much like that they are the type with pins for adjusting height. My friend has a set with a sort of ratchet adjustment which I just don't trust.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Aside from jocks description of stopping the stands sinking they also stop the legs spreading, which they will still do, as pointed out the leg is very securely welded to both plates so you shouldn’t have a problem.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Aside from jocks description of stopping the stands sinking they also stop the legs spreading, which they will still do, as pointed out the leg is very securely welded to both plates so you shouldn’t have a problem.

Good point Andy, about stopping the legs from spreading I mean. Mine are all pretty old and made from welded up bits of angle iron and you can see they are braced with flatstock near the ground:

In that respect the way the Halfords ones are made is quite clever in that it saves on materials by making the bottom plates serve a double purpose.

The ones nearest the camera were the first I bought and then welded pads on the ends of the legs after they sunk into the tarmac. The next pair have also been with me for many years and I've welded slightly smaller pads on their legs too (t'was the only bits of scrap around at the time. The yellow pair are a recent addition given to me by an ex HGV mechanic who was retiring and wanted never to touch another vehicle in his life! I notice they're made out of "T" shaped section, might that be stronger than the angle iron? and I've not yet welded pads to them as I work mostly on the solid slabs outside my garage door. They are also the highest.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I got the other control arm on this morning, it needed grease to allow me to wrestle it into position and then i ran out of time and haven't tried to get the steering pinch bolt back on. The comments above are good and i'm sure it won't be too difficult....

I have an impact gun but hadn't thought to use it to loosen nuts and bolts with a juddering action, i'll keep that in mind, i tend not to use it much in case i break or de-thread bolts by accident.

I'm not so happy with my Halfords axle stand as I noticed a split in it this morning, i'm reluctant to get under the car now and have propped it with an additional trolley jack.

View attachment 449803

Any recommends for a new set of stands? Mid-range in price.

That looks pretty normal. Its not going anywhere while the main weld is sound.

 

[AnthonyH]

I'm glad the axle stands are ok, thanks for the info! I've not long got back home and went to check the welds on each stand and they are solid, so i'm going to trust the stands again.

I'll shortly go onto Youtube to remind myself of how to re-attach the outer rod and droplinks, its not going to be too difficult but i need to check and will get on with that tomorrow. I'll leave the steering pinch bolt till last, for reasons unknown i didn't centre the steering wheel, I haven't moved it either but I'm sure I'm going to wish i'd centred it before long lol

I'm now in need of a torque wrench, i put that on the back burner, but none of the bolts have been tightened (except the steering rack and sway bar). I'm now quite wary of doing my usual trick of tightening everything as much as I can because i'm overtigtening everything. I'm currently watching one of the Lidl Parkside torque wrenches on ebay, I received an offer to buy it for £20 with free delivery, the problem being I don't want to wait for it to be delivered. He'd sold 8 of them and this was his last one, so its possibly a return anyway. I'll decide tonight whether I will visit another Lidl in deepest Cheshire that may still have them on shelves (or phone them) or get a Torque wrench off Amazon with next day delivery.

If anyone has any recommends for a mid-range Torque wrench on Amazon then i'll take a look.

If anyone has any thoughts on the order of tightening bolts then I'd appreciate the advice. Its currently raining so I'm not getting out there again today.

I like the picture of the axle stands, its kind of cool with many years of hard work behind them. They are stood there like soldiers or mechanics, i'm not sure which

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I like the picture of the axle stands, its kind of cool with many years of hard work behind them. They are stood there like soldiers or mechanics, i'm not sure which

Every one a personal friend!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I'm now in need of a torque wrench, i put that on the back burner, but none of the bolts have been tightened (except the steering rack and sway bar). I'm now quite wary of doing my usual trick of tightening everything as much as I can because i'm overtigtening everything. I'm currently watching one of the Lidl Parkside torque wrenches on ebay, I received an offer to buy it for £20 with free delivery, the problem being I don't want to wait for it to be delivered. He'd sold 8 of them and this was his last one, so its possibly a return anyway. I'll decide tonight whether I will visit another Lidl in deepest Cheshire that may still have them on shelves (or phone them) or get a Torque wrench off Amazon with next day delivery.

Maybe not actually his last one? might be a ploy to "panic" someone into buying?

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

If anyone has any thoughts on the order of tightening bolts then I'd appreciate the advice. Its currently raining so I'm not getting out there again today.

Just had a look in the Haynes manual - Grande Punto, Punto evo & Punto 2006 to 2015 - there's no recommended tightening sequence for the subframe bolts so just do them up going round them a few turns at a time 'till they're tight. That way it should settle in nice and even. Torque figure given (M12 bolts) is 130Nm. Maybe, when the bolts are just finger tight you could try giving the subframe a bit of a "shuggle" so it equalizes out any free play around the bolts? Careful you don't pull the car off the stands though!

I'll shortly go onto Youtube to remind myself of how to re-attach the outer rod and droplinks, its not going to be too difficult but i need to check and will get on with that tomorrow. I'll leave the steering pinch bolt till last, for reasons unknown i didn't centre the steering wheel, I haven't moved it either but I'm sure I'm going to wish i'd centred it before long lol

Because you took the track rod ends off the steering rack side rods you'll need to have the Toe reset. This is probably best done by a specialist. Various workshops have the necessary equipment, most commonly that'll be a tyre store who will likely have a "super duper" laser aligning bench. But many smaller workshops will have the older simpler manual gauges (which folk like Mike, myself and others) will be familiar with which, in the right hands, can give a very good result. If you're ever removing track rod ends in the future then mark the nuts and side rods with something like tippex or you could score them lightly, anything really that lets you retain the position of the nut on it's thread. Then just "crack" the locking nuts off enough to free the rod end and unscrew the rod end. When it's time to reassemble the marks on the nuts will let you align them to the side rods (track rods, or whatever you call them) so that they are in the exact same position as before stripping and all you've got to do is screw the rod end ball joints back on until they butt up against the lock nuts and tighten them. Assuming the Toe was correctly set before you started it should now be ok. If you're fitting new Rod ends this procedure will get you pretty close to where it needs to be but manufacturing tolerances in the new ends probably mean you would be best advised to get the toe checked.

I'm very fussy about having toe correctly set - it doesn't need to be very far out to cause strange handling (pulling to one side etc) and, of course, if either toed in or out by more than the recommended figure will cause unusual and rapid tyre wear. Unfortunately this operation is one of the most abused and most cars, unless fairly new, would benefit from having their toe setting checked. Whether the operative actually doing the job achieves a good outcome is a bit hit and miss as there are a number of factors that can make life difficult for the chap doing it - not least of which being siezed lock nuts! For this reason I've always done my own. Easy enough when I had access to the workshop gauges (Dunlop type in my case) but not so easy working at home. I experimented for a number of years with various setups before finally modifying an earlier design and coming up with a very simple tool. It looks very low tech but, as long as you are careful using it, produces very accurate results. I did a wee feature on it some years ago which, if it interests you, you can read here: https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/jocks-tracking-gauge.460442/ Don't laugh at it, it really works, requires no calibration. I've checked cars set up using it against a professional workshop tool and the results as as near as makes no odds.

 

[AnthonyH]

Just had a look in the Haynes manual - Grande Punto, Punto evo & Punto 2006 to 2015 - there's no recommended tightening sequence for the subframe bolts so just do them up going round them a few turns at a time 'till they're tight. That way it should settle in nice and even. Torque figure given (M12 bolts) is 130Nm. Maybe, when the bolts are just finger tight you could try giving the subframe a bit of a "shuggle" so it equalizes out any free play around the bolts? Careful you don't pull the car off the stands though!

OK, will do.

Because you took the track rod ends off the steering rack side rods you'll need to have the Toe reset. This is probably best done by a specialist. Various workshops have the necessary equipment, most commonly that'll be a tyre store who will likely have a "super duper" laser aligning bench. But many smaller workshops will have the older simpler manual gauges (which folk like Mike, myself and others) will be familiar with which, in the right hands, can give a very good result. If you're ever removing track rod ends in the future then mark the nuts and side rods with something like tippex or you could score them lightly, anything really that lets you retain the position of the nut on it's thread. Then just "crack" the locking nuts off enough to free the rod end and unscrew the rod end. When it's time to reassemble the marks on the nuts will let you align them to the side rods (track rods, or whatever you call them) so that they are in the exact same position as before stripping and all you've got to do is screw the rod end ball joints back on until they butt up against the lock nuts and tighten them. Assuming the Toe was correctly set before you started it should now be ok. If you're fitting new Rod ends this procedure will get you pretty close to where it needs to be but manufacturing tolerances in the new ends probably mean you would be best advised to get the toe checked.

I'm very fussy about having toe correctly set - it doesn't need to be very far out to cause strange handling (pulling to one side etc) and, of course, if either toed in or out by more than the recommended figure will cause unusual and rapid tyre wear. Unfortunately this operation is one of the most abused and most cars, unless fairly new, would benefit from having their toe setting checked. Whether the operative actually doing the job achieves a good outcome is a bit hit and miss as there are a number of factors that can make life difficult for the chap doing it - not least of which being siezed lock nuts! For this reason I've always done my own. Easy enough when I had access to the workshop gauges (Dunlop type in my case) but not so easy working at home. I experimented for a number of years with various setups before finally modifying an earlier design and coming up with a very simple tool. It looks very low tech but, as long as you are careful using it, produces very accurate results. I did a wee feature on it some years ago which, if it interests you, you can read here: https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/jocks-tracking-gauge.460442/ Don't laugh at it, it really works, requires no calibration. I've checked cars set up using it against a professional workshop tool and the results as as near as makes no odds.

I bought the car with the front driver side tyre bald on the outside only, which was indicating some kind of tracking problem. And also the car had a wheel wobble that was getting worse before I changed the subframe. Oddly the bald tyre and wobble noise came from the driver side whereas the subframe was cracked on the passenger side. The wheel wobble and subframe were playing on my mind as a potential crash problem.

I had to cut one of the outer rod nuts off with an angle grinder because it was so seized and the other side was only marginally easier. The car hasn't been aligned for years if ever. It could be that this was causing the worsening wheel wobble rather than the subframe crack?

I'm going to have a go at aligning it myself and i'll start by reading through your guide, there's no harm in trying and if I can't do it myself it'll be easy for a mobile mechanic or garage now the outer rods have been loosened.

I took pictures of the outer rod nuts so I could see the number of threads at a later time, the left is about 13 threads and the right 15. I guess I'll be using these as an approximate guide but as the alignment was wrong before i started they're not going to be exact.

My question is... how close does the alignment need to be? Can I be 1, 2, or 3 threads off? Roughly when will I notice a wheel wobble?

 

[bugsymike]

OK, will do.



I bought the car with the front driver side tyre bald on the outside only, which was indicating some kind of tracking problem. And also the car had a wheel wobble that was getting worse before I changed the subframe. Oddly the bald tyre and wobble noise came from the driver side whereas the subframe was cracked on the passenger side. The wheel wobble and subframe were playing on my mind as a potential crash problem.

I had to cut one of the outer rod nuts off with an angle grinder because it was so seized and the other side was only marginally easier. The car hasn't been aligned for years if ever. It could be that this was causing the worsening wheel wobble rather than the subframe crack?

I'm going to have a go at aligning it myself and i'll start by reading through your guide, there's no harm in trying and if I can't do it myself it'll be easy for a mobile mechanic or garage now the outer rods have been loosened.

I took pictures of the outer rod nuts so I could see the number of threads at a later time, the left is about 13 threads and the right 15. I guess I'll be using these as an approximate guide but as the alignment was wrong before i started they're not going to be exact.

My question is... how close does the alignment need to be? Can I be 1, 2, or 3 threads off? Roughly when will I notice a wheel wobble?

View attachment 449839

View attachment 449840

If I was doing it I would start by looking at the discoloured part of the threads both sides to work out roughly the original position of the track rod ends, then take the measurements of both sides in case any difference, to use the average length as the starting point.
This way both adjusters will be equal which is an important starting point for setting correctly.
Any further adjustment must be done the same number of turns of adjusters both sides exactly, even a difference of half a turn or less can affect things.
Next I would thoroughly wire brush and clean all the threads, lightly oil so it is possible to run the track rod ends easily along the adjustment area.
Next clean up the locking nuts, so that the mating surfaces where they meet the track rod ends are flat to give a good locking area when tightened, also make sure the spanner will fit easily on the nuts in all positions so remove any burrs from the nuts, again make sure the nuts will run freely on the threaded bar.
Once all that is done I would assemble correctly to the original average starting position equally on both sides and nip up gentle the locking nuts.
Note, there must be a good safe length of thread screwed in, at least roughly 25 mm plus the lock nut afterwards, yours appear to be slightly more which is good.
With car back on the ground all assembled I would drive it, if safe to do so a short run around the block to settle the suspension/steering, it shouldn't pull to one side if everything is correct, if that part is OK, next notice if car feels like it is "hard to keep in a straight line as speed increases" this often indicates "Toe out", whereas if after turning a car the steering wheel appears to quickly "self centre" this can indicate too much "Toe in", although modern power steering sometimes makes these symptoms less obvious.
Either of these if excessive can cause tyre squeal and rapid tyre wear.
All the above is a basic guide starting point, as the only accurate way to set your steering alignment is with the proper garage/tyre depot equipment and an experienced qualified mechanic.
Once all this is done I suggest you then check every nut and bolt you have disturbed in your work to ensure safely secured.
Please note I am highly concerned even offering this simple advice as your and other road users safety is involved, so as soon as the basics have been done I would advise you to get the car booked in for an MOT as a safety measure!

 

[vexorg]

I'm going to have a go at aligning it myself and i'll start by reading through your guide, there's no harm in trying and if I can't do it myself it'll be easy for a mobile mechanic or garage now the outer rods have been loosened.

My question is... how close does the alignment need to be? Can I be 1, 2, or 3 threads off? Roughly when will I notice a wheel wobble?

Very, and you've next to no chance of getting it yourself. Fractions of a turn matter.
Best you can do is hope for is about 0° by checking the front and rear of the wheels are same distance.
That should be fine until you get to a garage.

 

[portland_bill]

Good point Andy, about stopping the legs from spreading I mean. Mine are all pretty old and made from welded up bits of angle iron and you can see they are braced with flatstock near the ground:

I don't know how you use them Jock, they all seem different heights. Is this to compensate for a sloping drive?

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

If I was doing it I would start by looking at the discoloured part of the threads both sides to work out roughly the original position of the track rod ends, then take the measurements of both sides in case any difference, to use the average length as the starting point.
This way both adjusters will be equal which is an important starting point for setting correctly.
Any further adjustment must be done the same number of turns of adjusters both sides exactly, even a difference of half a turn or less can affect things.
Next I would thoroughly wire brush and clean all the threads, lightly oil so it is possible to run the track rod ends easily along the adjustment area.
Next clean up the locking nuts, so that the mating surfaces where they meet the track rod ends are flat to give a good locking area when tightened, also make sure the spanner will fit easily on the nuts in all positions so remove any burrs from the nuts, again make sure the nuts will run freely on the threaded bar.
Once all that is done I would assemble correctly to the original average starting position equally on both sides and nip up gentle the locking nuts.
Note, there must be a good safe length of thread screwed in, at least roughly 25 mm plus the lock nut afterwards, yours appear to be slightly more which is good.
With car back on the ground all assembled I would drive it, if safe to do so a short run around the block to settle the suspension/steering, it shouldn't pull to one side if everything is correct, if that part is OK, next notice if car feels like it is "hard to keep in a straight line as speed increases" this often indicates "Toe out", whereas if after turning a car the steering wheel appears to quickly "self centre" this can indicate too much "Toe in", although modern power steering sometimes makes these symptoms less obvious.
Either of these if excessive can cause tyre squeal and rapid tyre wear.
All the above is a basic guide starting point, as the only accurate way to set your steering alignment is with the proper garage/tyre depot equipment and an experienced qualified mechanic.
Once all this is done I suggest you then check every nut and bolt you have disturbed in your work to ensure safely secured.
Please note I am highly concerned even offering this simple advice as your and other road users safety is involved, so as soon as the basics have been done I would advise you to get the car booked in for an MOT as a safety measure!

Anthony, please read all this carefully, it's all good basic stuff. Follow this advice and you'll have a vehicle which can be reasonably safely driven to somewhere that can set up the toe (tracking many call it) accurately.

My question is... how close does the alignment need to be? Can I be 1, 2, or 3 threads off? Roughly when will I notice a wheel wobble?

How close does it need to be? It needs to be exact - We're not talking even one complete turn of thread. When adjusting I find I'm often chasing just 1/3rd a 1/4 or even less of a turn to get things spot on. If you've never done this before you probably need someone with you - see if the garage/workshop will let you watch it being done although setting it up on a laser bench will be very different to if you were watching me with my home made rig, but it will give you a taste for what's involved.

There's a lot more to it than simply winding the track rods in or out of the track rod ends. Adjusting these until the wheels are relating to each other correctly, ie. setting the correct amount of toe in or out, is only part of the procedure. You've got to achieve this whilst at the same time ending up with the steering wheel in the straight ahead position when the wheels are pointing straight ahead. You only have to put slightly more adjustment on one side to end up with the steering wheel "squint". In "the old days" you'd take the steering wheel off the top of the column and move it one or two splines either way until it was straight but with modern cars you can't usually do that because the column will only line up with the rack pinion in one position - as you've found out - and the steering wheel will usually now have a master spline so only fits on the top of the column in one position. This becomes a bit of a problem with simpler aligning tools (commercial DIY type kit or home made stuff like mine) because you can relatively easily adjust the track rod ends until the toe is correct but, unless you've been very lucky, you then find the steering wheel isn't quite in the straight ahead position when driving in a straight line. I always set the wheel dead straight ahead before starting any adjustment but invariably end up with the steering wheel just slightly "cock eyed" which then means I've got to slacken both locking nuts again and wind one track rod slightly further into it's track rod end then wind the other out by exactly the same amount - to retain the correct toe setting and allow the steering wheel to be straight ahead when actually going straight ahead. Today's professional equipment equipment allows the steering wheel to be locked in the straight ahead position whilest adjustments are made so ensuring the steering wheel is in the straight ahead position with the road wheels pointing straight ahead. Makes life much easier for the operator and the whole operation can be very quick if the track rod ends and lock nuts aren't seized - which will be the case with your's of course now it's all been loosened off.

To achieve an accurate setting obviously there must be no worn components in the system - so no play in ball joints (track rod ends, bottom ball joint or the inner joint on the trackrod where it meets the rack) The rubber bushes on the suspension arms must be in good order. The rack itself mustn't be worn etc, etc. There's absolutely no point in attempting adjustments if there's wear in any of this. This is all stuff a good mechanic will check out before even starting to do an alignment so there's a good chance he may pick up on anything you've not done right thus acting as another pair of eyes to check the safety of your work. Drive it very steadily on the way though - just in case?

 

[vexorg]

It's more than just toe in or out too. They will check with the rear wheels and compensate for any misalignment on the subframes or body.

I don't know how you use them Jock, they all seem different heights. Is this to compensate for a sloping drive?

There's a little pin on them that adjusts the height, it's pretty clear in that photo.

 

[AnthonyH]

I had some time this morning and spent it getting the droplinks back on. I often go passed the garage section of superstores and think "I really need to buy some rachet spanners" but I never do because they seem to have a limited usage. Except today when I was inching the droplink nuts on 1/32 of a turn at a time

If I was doing it I would start by looking at the discoloured part of the threads both sides to work out roughly the original position of the track rod ends, then take the measurements of both sides in case any difference, to use the average length as the starting point.
This way both adjusters will be equal which is an important starting point for setting correctly.
Any further adjustment must be done the same number of turns of adjusters both sides exactly, even a difference of half a turn or less can affect things.
Next I would thoroughly wire brush and clean all the threads, lightly oil so it is possible to run the track rod ends easily along the adjustment area.
Next clean up the locking nuts, so that the mating surfaces where they meet the track rod ends are flat to give a good locking area when tightened, also make sure the spanner will fit easily on the nuts in all positions so remove any burrs from the nuts, again make sure the nuts will run freely on the threaded bar.
Once all that is done I would assemble correctly to the original average starting position equally on both sides and nip up gentle the locking nuts.
Note, there must be a good safe length of thread screwed in, at least roughly 25 mm plus the lock nut afterwards, yours appear to be slightly more which is good.
With car back on the ground all assembled I would drive it, if safe to do so a short run around the block to settle the suspension/steering, it shouldn't pull to one side if everything is correct, if that part is OK, next notice if car feels like it is "hard to keep in a straight line as speed increases" this often indicates "Toe out", whereas if after turning a car the steering wheel appears to quickly "self centre" this can indicate too much "Toe in", although modern power steering sometimes makes these symptoms less obvious.
Either of these if excessive can cause tyre squeal and rapid tyre wear.
All the above is a basic guide starting point, as the only accurate way to set your steering alignment is with the proper garage/tyre depot equipment and an experienced qualified mechanic.
Once all this is done I suggest you then check every nut and bolt you have disturbed in your work to ensure safely secured.
Please note I am highly concerned even offering this simple advice as your and other road users safety is involved, so as soon as the basics have been done I would advise you to get the car booked in for an MOT as a safety measure!

This is excellent advice and exactly why I post here. There's no manual or youtube video that will tell me this stuff properly. I also understand that you'd feel responsible if the advice you gave was misunderstood and caused a crash - I can assure you that i'm a cautious person in real life. I've never had a crash in 37 years of driving! And it won't be happening after my car repairs. The reason I post what may seem to be small details is because I'm cautious and I don't want to miss something important.

Very, and you've next to no chance of getting it yourself. Fractions of a turn matter.
Best you can do is hope for is about 0° by checking the front and rear of the wheels are same distance.
That should be fine until you get to a garage.

I will give it a go and assuming its not right get a mobile mechanic to come and and align it.

Anthony, please read all this carefully, it's all good basic stuff. Follow this advice and you'll have a vehicle which can be reasonably safely driven to somewhere that can set up the toe (tracking many call it) accurately.


How close does it need to be? It needs to be exact - We're not talking even one complete turn of thread. When adjusting I find I'm often chasing just 1/3rd a 1/4 or even less of a turn to get things spot on. If you've never done this before you probably need someone with you - see if the garage/workshop will let you watch it being done although setting it up on a laser bench will be very different to if you were watching me with my home made rig, but it will give you a taste for what's involved.

There's a lot more to it than simply winding the track rods in or out of the track rod ends. Adjusting these until the wheels are relating to each other correctly, ie. setting the correct amount of toe in or out, is only part of the procedure. You've got to achieve this whilst at the same time ending up with the steering wheel in the straight ahead position when the wheels are pointing straight ahead. You only have to put slightly more adjustment on one side to end up with the steering wheel "squint". In "the old days" you'd take the steering wheel off the top of the column and move it one or two splines either way until it was straight but with modern cars you can't usually do that because the column will only line up with the rack pinion in one position - as you've found out - and the steering wheel will usually now have a master spline so only fits on the top of the column in one position. This becomes a bit of a problem with simpler aligning tools (commercial DIY type kit or home made stuff like mine) because you can relatively easily adjust the track rod ends until the toe is correct but, unless you've been very lucky, you then find the steering wheel isn't quite in the straight ahead position when driving in a straight line. I always set the wheel dead straight ahead before starting any adjustment but invariably end up with the steering wheel just slightly "cock eyed" which then means I've got to slacken both locking nuts again and wind one track rod slightly further into it's track rod end then wind the other out by exactly the same amount - to retain the correct toe setting and allow the steering wheel to be straight ahead when actually going straight ahead. Today's professional equipment equipment allows the steering wheel to be locked in the straight ahead position whilest adjustments are made so ensuring the steering wheel is in the straight ahead position with the road wheels pointing straight ahead. Makes life much easier for the operator and the whole operation can be very quick if the track rod ends and lock nuts aren't seized - which will be the case with your's of course now it's all been loosened off.

To achieve an accurate setting obviously there must be no worn components in the system - so no play in ball joints (track rod ends, bottom ball joint or the inner joint on the trackrod where it meets the rack) The rubber bushes on the suspension arms must be in good order. The rack itself mustn't be worn etc, etc. There's absolutely no point in attempting adjustments if there's wear in any of this. This is all stuff a good mechanic will check out before even starting to do an alignment so there's a good chance he may pick up on anything you've not done right thus acting as another pair of eyes to check the safety of your work. Drive it very steadily on the way though - just in case?

Excellent advice, just how do you chase 1/3 of a turn? With the lock nut? Its a lot more complicated than i imagined. I will post pictures of how I tightened it up when its done - before driving it.

I'm off to a different Lidl again shortly, i'll see if i can find that torque wrench. If not amazon it is.

 

[AnthonyH]

I just tried a test fitting of the outer rods and one of them has failed, the bolt part of it is just turning as i tighten the nut. It just doesn't look right especially as the other tie rod bolt does stays in place and allows me to tighten the nut.

I'll have to get two new outer tie rods. I've checked previously and the price was quite reasonable.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I had some time this morning and spent it getting the droplinks back on. I often go passed the garage section of superstores and think "I really need to buy some rachet spanners" but I never do because they seem to have a limited usage. Except today when I was inching the droplink nuts on 1/32 of a turn at a time

Aye, ratchet spanners, many professional mechanics swear by them but you need to buy high quality stuff as cheap ones are very likely to fail under duress. With this in mind and the expense, I've never bought any and got on just fine without them.

I will give it a go and assuming its not right get a mobile mechanic to come and and align it.

Without specialist equipment you're not going to know if the toe is correctly set, Until you've done several thousand miles and possibly ruined some tyres. The other possibility is that the steering pulls or the car feels unstable. The chance of the toe being correct after what you've been doing are vanishingly small so you really will need to have it properly checked and adjusted. Without considerable experience and the knowledge that comes with that, the possibility of you managing this at home is pretty much zero. Best option for you is just to get a specialist to do it.

Excellent advice, just how do you chase 1/3 of a turn? With the lock nut? Its a lot more complicated than i imagined. I will post pictures of how I tightened it up when its done - before driving it.

"Just how do you chase 1/3 (or less) of a turn?" With great difficult and a high degree of frustration is the answer!

I'm off to a different Lidl again shortly, i'll see if i can find that torque wrench. If not amazon it is.

I think you mentioned the possibility of ringing them somewhere up above in this thread? I've found you can't ring the shops them selves and the number given connects to a central answering service who don';t know local stock levels. You just have to visit the store. I've had a number of very good tools out of Lidl/Aldi but their backup for parts etc is virtually non existent so, for something like a torque wrench, I'd be tending to either buy a very "big" name (like my Britool, Norbar or even Halfords, I notice my Halfords 3/8 inch bar is actually a Norbar) or go somewhere like Machine Mart who I find are as good as most for spares availability. Torque wrenches need to be calibrated from time to time and sometimes this means parts are needed. One option I would consider if I were you and if you may be doing other "stuff" in future which will need a torque wrench is a digital adaptor. I bought this one: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/040215238/ and I can highly recommend it. It can be set to either give an audible tone when the set torque is reached or it can display torque being applied on the readout as you tighten. It runs on two button type batteries (CR2023 I seem to remember) with a low battery warning for when they need replaced. You also run a very simple calibration each time you turn it on to allow for battery degradation since last it was used. I contacted Clarke themselves and asked a lot of questions about it before I bought and was satisfied with all their answers. One interesting thing which came out was that, as long as it's used as intended, within range and not over stressed/abused, because it works basically on a strain gauge principle and not springs (which weaken and change with use) it doesn't require periodic calibration.

I'm very happy with mine. Only one downside I find with it. Once it's assembled onto a suitable tool - I tend to use it on my power bar - and a socket is installed on the other end, it's quite a "deep" tool. This can be problematic when working on stuff like drive belts which are usually in restricted spaces between the front of an engine and an inner wing. In these situations I revert to one of my more conventional torque wrenches.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

One option I would consider if I were you and if you may be doing other "stuff" in future which will need a torque wrench is a digital adaptor. I bought this one: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/040215238/ and I can highly recommend it. It can be set to either give an audible tone when the set torque is reached or it can display torque being applied on the readout as you tighten.

Another thing I didn't mention is that it has an incredible range of measurement. It takes all three of my conventional wrenches to span the same range - take a look at the spec page in the link I sent you. Also, being digital and not relying on mechanical springs and levers, it stays pretty accurate at the extremes of range whereas the conventional torque wrenches are well known for only being truely accurate mid range. Less of a problem if you buy a really expensive one but likely to be much more significant on a budget purchase.

Edit: Just a pity it's a bit of a "fat ass".

 

[vexorg]

I'll have to get two new outer tie rods. I've checked previously and the price was quite reasonable.

I'd have changed them anyway given the work you've done, same with the ARB links, they are cheap and easy to do when it's all apart.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I know little about mechanical stuff, but is it the case that torque wrenches are only used for final checking, not the tightening process?