how much to re set camber and wheel balance

[samk]

the lowering exercise will probably be undertaking within the next month funds permitting. With this in mind I was wondering how much it would be (approx) to get the camber re set and balance the wheels after?

Thanks,
Sam

[toomanytoys]

Whay do you need to balance the wheels after lowering? they only need balancing if you have vibration..

To do the front alignment you need to find someone that can do it.. your local tyre place is highly unlikely to be able to do it properly.. a good body shop should be able to do it..

I'd recomend giving Brickwerks a visit though... Si knows his stuff and can set them up sweet...

[_robin]

I was quoted near £100 recently by a place with one of those laser rigs. That was to do it all as its out by miles on every measure. Seemed expensive to me but at least I'll know is exactly right when (if) its done.

[ninja.turtle007]

I had my tracking, camber, castor etc done by merityre. Stay well clear!!! They had five monkeys trying to do it after I returned from their first botched effort. Still no good! They claim to do everything for £60 on their laser system in reality they only checked the tracking. When I asked why they hadn't checked the castor or camber they said " Don't normally do that."

In the end I used a tape measure, string, piece of wood and spirit level. Probably seems silly but after 5000 miles my tyres are wearing evenly.

Tom

[samk]

sorry, meant tracking not wheel balancing - confused myself for a min there!

would try brickwerks but i'm in London so there's no chance. Anyone know of a london or surrounding area option?

[hi_tower]

Could try these? http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Haven't used them myself.

[camper]

I had my tracking, camber, castor etc done by merityre. Stay well clear!!! They had five monkeys trying to do it after I returned from their first botched effort. Still no good! They claim to do everything for £60 on their laser system in reality they only checked the tracking. When I asked why they hadn't checked the castor or camber they said " Don't normally do that."

In the end I used a tape measure, string, piece of wood and spirit level. Probably seems silly but after 5000 miles my tyres are wearing evenly.

Tom

Agree & the printed sheet with alignment figures is co****ers.The green print showing the camber in spec for my T25 after adjustment was incorrect .I dont no what the problem is with there equipment.

[CovKid]

Tape measure, bits of wood and string are fine. We aren't setting up a formala one car here and you can get pretty accurate if you take your time. I used to set toe on bugs with a broom handle and a screw in the end, and they were always spot on. A DIY approach has already been covered on here. Its not that complicated to do.

[Simon Baxter]

Tape measure, bits of wood and string are fine. We aren't setting up a formala one car here and you can get pretty accurate if you take your time. I used to set toe on bugs with a broom handle and a screw in the end, and they were always spot on. A DIY approach has already been covered on here. Its not that complicated to do.

How do you get the rear wheels to follow the front? serious question!
I know what you are saying, and yes it will work but it's no substitute for a 4 wheel alignment where the tracking is set so that the steering wheel is central and the rear wheels align with the front.

[CovKid]

Rear wheels are a different matter

[Red Westie]

Simon..you have me a little confused by that question (not a difficult thing to do I know lol) ' How do you get the rear wheels to follow the front? serious question!' what adjustments are possible on the rear of your average 2WD T3?
Why (unless the bus had been involved in an accident) would you need to check the rear geometry? accepting an normal inspection would see collapsed bushes etc.

I agree that tracking needs adjusting with the steering wheel locked in a straight ahead position otherwise you end up with a wonky wheel and irratic self cancelling indicators and perhaps even fewer turns one way than the other of the steering wheel.

Martin

[camper]

Simon..you have me a little confused by that question (not a difficult thing to do I know lol) ' How do you get the rear wheels to follow the front? serious question!' what adjustments are possible on the rear of your average 2WD T3?
Why (unless the bus had been involved in an accident) would you need to check the rear geometry? accepting an normal inspection would see collapsed bushes etc.

I agree that tracking needs adjusting with the steering wheel locked in a straight ahead position otherwise you end up with a wonky wheel and irratic self cancelling indicators and perhaps even fewer turns one way than the other of the steering wheel.

Martin

Interesting reply Martin.But if you go to a competent alignment centre with these vehicles & on the occasion where i have had three T25s i have owned for front alignment.The printed report sheet showing camber caster & towing spec before and after adjustment also showed the rear wheel alignment to the front.On every T25 i submitted the rear was out of alignment to the front wheels on straight a head on the report sheet but nothing serious to effect the safety of the vans .These wheel alignment centres did not adjust camber or caster only front towing .Recently i took my vehicle to merit tyres who said they could adjust the camber for a extra charge whilst doing the front towing .Okay i said go ahead but could i be in attendance whilst it was being adjusted the manager agreed.In fact i gave them some tools to undo the long bolt going through the concentric washers on the wish bones.There computer read out equipment showed green and red scales on a screen whilst the camber was adjusted the idea being to get both sides in the green in relation to tow in adjustment at the same time.After the adjustment i was given the report sheet showing that front wheel alignment correct for the right spec .I paid my money with a smile on my face thinking its all sorted but a couple of months later with about 3000 miles the near side tyre was wearing uneven.So whats going on then with there equipment.

[Red Westie]

Tis really important that the gauges are mounted squarely to the wheels to get accurate readings. All the 4 wheel alignment rigs I've ever used have taken a great deal of care to fasten the mounts correctly to the wheels (one millimetre here can throw readings off by miles)
The other issue is adjustment specs on some vehicles are effected by suspension height, so need different settings when lowered. As far as I am aware T3's are set the same but with wider tyres I would be incline to set toe towards the positive side (toe in) of tollerance to offset the higher rolling resistance and rotational/torsional effect this has on suspension and steering.
Upper wishbone rubbers also have a tendancy to collapse resulting in negative camber and inner tyre wear.

Martin

[axeman]

http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=60735" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

this was a post that i started a while go. some more good points were raised. i chased up several companys about it, there are cirtian branches of kwik fit that will set caster, camber and toe, they charge £50 for 2 ajustments and then £15 per ajustment. i ended up going to a rally shop to get everything set as per baxters settings it is not 100% could not set the camber as per the settings it was a couple of degrees out . cost me £75 cash and took the bloke doing it about an hour to do,

hope this helps neil

[camper]

The point raised by Martin about its important the gauges are mounted squarly to the wheels.I returned the vehicle to Merityres at there Leatherhead branch & mentioned about the tyre wear on the near side. The manager said they would measure the camber & tow to see if it was out of spec.I asked again if i could be in attendance & with the person doing the work no problem was the reply but the camber was shown to be within limits in the green when measured.I had this gut feeling that some think was not right & thought if i replace the worn tyre for new a few months with some more mileage its going to wear .What i did was get a new tyre fitted & with a spirit level adjusted for more positive camber on the near side.Well guess what the van handled better & the tyres wear evenly.Before i had taken the van in for the camber & tracking done in the first place i replaced the wishbone bushes both side "so whats with merityre equipment".