If your car’s wheels are not aligned, it can cause the car to pull to one side or the other. It can also cause your tires to wear out unevenly, which will shorten their lifespan. In addition, bad wheel alignment can negatively impact your gas mileage. Fortunately, repairing wheel alignment is a relatively easy and inexpensive process.
Signs of Misalignment
There are a few different ways that you can tell if your car’s wheel alignment is off. One way is to simply look at your tires. If they are wearing down unevenly, it’s likely that the wheel alignment is off. Another way to tell is to take your car for a test drive. If it seems like your car is pulling to one side or the other, it’s probably time for an alignment.
How to Take Care of Wheel Alignment Yourself
If you decide that your car needs a wheel alignment, there are a few different ways that you can go about getting it done. One option is to take it to a professional mechanic or dealership. They will have the necessary equipment to properly align your wheels. However, this option can be fairly expensive.
If you prefer to maintain your car at home, you’ll be relieved that undertaking wheel alignment is a simple process when you have the right tools, provided you have some basic mechanical skills. The first step is to remove the wheel from the vehicle. This can be done by loosening the lug nuts slightly, jacking the car up, removing the lug nuts, and then lifting the wheel off.
Next, disconnect the tie rod ends from the steering knuckles. To do this, you will need to remove the jam nut and cotter pin before separating the tie rod end from the steering knuckle. Once the tie rod ends are disconnected, adjust the toe of the wheel until it is within factory specifications. For this task, you will need to measure the distance between the tires at both the front and back of the vehicle. Once you have adjusted the toe of the wheel, you can reconnect the tie rod ends to the steering knuckles and tighten everything back down. Finally, you can reverse the process of pulling the wheels off, finishing by tightening the lug nuts.
Keeping your wheels aligned is an essential aspect of car maintenance. You can opt for a mechanic, or you may be able to do it yourself. By following the aforementioned steps, you should be able to repair a wheel alignment on your own.