I put my "new" manaul steering rack in today, and how can i tell how far i should screw the tie rods in? Will i just have to have it aligned or what? I have it about right to the look of my eyes, but it could be off. And i tried screwing it in a set amount of turns on each side but it didn't really work. And the the little hub part with the knuckle on it, the peice that connects the tie rod to the control arm, the stud in it just spins when i try to tighten the locking nut on it? wtf?

 

you'll most likely want to do an alignment.

 

that what i was figuring, wonder if it will more expensive than other cars, since you have to under all that ****.

 

shouldnt be more expensive. every place charges the same amount for the same kinda car

 

You can actually do an alignment in yer garage pretty accurately with common tools, it's not that complex... and I personally prefer to do things like this myself on my car rather than trust some 'mechanic' at the neighborhood shop... most of them don't even understand what they are doing, they are just staring at a computer screen turning in random directions til the red area turns green... at least thats how it was where I worked (CarX).



go to google.com, search for DIY alignment.



some url's I came up with:

http://au.geocities.com/ozbrick850/wheels-...-alignment.html

http://www.vtr.org/maintain/diy-alignment.html

http://howto.henryvo.com/diyalignment.html



You can at least use this method to get it damn close then take it to a good shop and pay $ to get it perfect... you won't be ruining those brand new yokohama A520's on the drive there at least.

 

sorry two of those urls are the same article, i didnt notice in time to edit it.

 

crazy, my brother has access to an alignment tool at his school so i will just do it with him, but if i decide to goto a shop i will sit and watch them. no one gets to be with my car alone, with the keys.