I need a front end alignment. A couple of well established companies in my city do manual alignments. My question is whether a manual alignment is as good as an alignment with a machine like a Hunter or Bear alignment.
Frank
Huh? What’s a “manual alignment” uness it’s the old measuring stick that JC Whitney used to sell?
Without a machine it’s impossible to measure anything but toe in, and you cannot do that accurately. And most of today’s cars also have independent rear suspension that also needs adjusting.
I’ve never seen an actual shop without a machine that claims to do alignments.
Sorry but I disagree. I had an alignment done with the computer and the guy was evidently incompetent. Took it to an old Bear Alignment shop with a guy that has been doing them for 50 years on the old alignment equipment and he got it perfect. Nothing wrong with the old manual equipment if the person is skilled. And manual equipment is not the same as the string from JC.
I assume by a manual machine you mean an older alignment rack that is non-computerized?
If so, they are just as accurate as the newer computerized ones and those older machines are often Hunter or Bear racks.
Bing, we’re not really in disagreement. I couldn’t figure out what the OP meant by “without a machine like a Hunter or Bear”. It never occurred to me that he/she might have been referring to pre-computer equipment.
The older style alignment rack in question needs to be able to use the thrust angle as a reference for aligning the front toe. Ask the alignment shop the follwing questions: 1.“Can you explain what a thrust angle alignment is?” If they can’t give you a good answer go elsewhere. 2."Can your rack do a thrust angle alignment? If not go elsewhere. A thrust angle alignment is one where the front toe angles are
set according to the rear toe angles, instead of to the vehicle centerline. This allows the front wheels to be “squared up” with the rear wheels- really important. If an older style rack can do all this, great. The only difference is that with the older rack they won’t be able to give you a printout with: 1.The specifications; (what the wheel angles are supposed to be) 2.The values (What the wheel angles
were/are; “before” and “after”). The printout isn’t absolute proof the alignment was done just right but in my opinion it keeps the tech honest. Hey, if you can find that old guy, “Mr. Alignment”, and he can do a thrust angle alignment on an old or new rack, go for it!
Without a machine it’s impossible to measure anything but toe in, and you cannot do that accurately. And most of today’s cars also have independent rear suspension that also needs adjusting.
Yes it can be done. I rebuilt a front end once and using a level, a ruler and a jig I made, I got the alignment right on the money, confirmed the next day on an alignment machine. You have to have the specs for what I used to call the kingpin inclination angle. With ball joints, it goes by another name but its the same principle.
A computerized alignment machine is very useful especially if you want to know how your car behaves on the rack. But it is not necessarily for a frond end alignment unless the thrust angle is way off like previous poster mentioned.
Here’s a basic model:(A flat level surface is required though):
http://www.dunlopge.co.uk/productmoreinfo.php?cat_ID=4&prid=65
and scales:
http://www.longacreracing.com/catalog/catlist.asp?catid=1
Checking the thrust angle (or track) on an old machine is no problem at all and while not mandatory, many check the track as part of a 2-wheel alignment.
The track can be brought into alignment by adjusting the front tie rods.
On the older, non-computerized machines some guys would write the before and after specs on the repair order. Some did not.
The fact that one machine may give one set of specs and another machine may give another does not automatically mean the rack or the tech is at fault.
Any looseness at all in ball joints, tie rods or ends, wheel bearings, control arm bushings, etc. can cause different readings.