Front End Toe

ok..so my front end toe is off a little bit. is it really bad to drive on it?
i was supposed to take it to a guy 2morro morning..but im declining it because everytime i leave there...theres seems to be some sort of new issue with it. so i dont feel comfortable takin it to him.

is it easy to fix it?
i saw somethin online(thats what i was lookin up last night when i found that gas video) but i couldnt quite understand it.

how do you know the toe is out? did you have the alignment checked or something?
if the alignment is off then it is not something you can fix yourself, you must pay a shop to do it.($80)

it was from when i the tranny done..i had it taken to them 10 days after it was all fixed...and the steering was off. they said it was the front end toe and to bring it in and they would do it manually(without a machine) so i give it to em to do and they said they did it and id notice the diference the next day or 2...never got better...plus now the service light came on. (also after the tranny was done was when the noise started...and when u said its the SC coupler and with them spendin 30 seconds listenin sayin it was a tensioner or pulley ive come to realized these people arent helping me.

If the alignment isn't exactly on, it can wear the tires noticeably. You can have a misalignment that effects steering, and then there's toe in/out. Toe in/out is the worst because it can chew up tires, even if the steering seems fine. Mine were out a fraction of a degree after installing tie rod ends, and the outside treads started wearing away (brand new tires) even over a couple hundred miles. Steering felt fine.

I don't understand how shifting the trans (cradle bolts) can affect toe. Would seem both wheels would shift equally left or right. This could throw off the steering, but probably cause less wear to the tire treads.

this asshole is pissing me off then. does he have any clue what hes talkin about? cuz my steering is off to the right. he told me it was the toe which was affected when the tranny was redone.

is this guy shady from the info ive given you over the last couple weeks?

does it pull right or is your steering wheel not straight?

as i said at the meet i didnt hear a squeak, all i heard was the rattle from the worn out coupler. (has like 1/2 inch of play)
i checked your idler and tensioner and they both felt good. belt was in good shape too. it still wouldnt hurt to get some new metal pulleys on there for assurance if you plan on keeping the car any length of time.

service writers at dealers and auto shops arent doing their job if they dont find a list of stuff "wrong" with your car. you just have to sift through the BS to find what actually needs to be replaced.
they see a car with miles,age,rust,etc and figure it probably needs _____ too. it's not shady, just the business.

steering wheel not straight.

so if you set the tires straight, does the car stay going straight?
if so, then it makes sense that a misaligned cradle can cause that. they should be able to fix it without doing a full alignment too.

Bring it somewhere that specializes in alignments.
Explain that the Transmission was just rebuilt and now your steering wheel is off center.
They can adjust your tie-rods to bring the wheels straight or they can try wrestling with the engine/trans cradle to straighten it.
My guess is they will adjust with tie-rods as it takes less time and effort.
Either way is O.K. since the steering wheel is not off by much.
If it were 90* out I would demand the cradle be manipulated to solve the problem but if it's just a small amount, adjusting the toe will be alright.
Then try and get the Trans shop to reimburse you for the alignment

thanks for the info. im not gonna take it to the guy....i didnt think of takin to another place and try to get the trans shop(aamco) to reimburse.

Matt. the car will drift to the right

You should have the subframe centered properly before they change ANYTHING in the alignment. Maybe a body shop with a frame machine could do it. Drop the bill off with your tranny guy.

A good front end tech can do it on a Front End Alignment machine. I've watched it done many times.
No need to confuse the issue and go to a Body Shop.
If you expect to get reimbursed just bring it to a place that does alignments.

BTW I was not suggesting you should expect any kind of reimbursement for the subframe placement. Only that you should have someone competent do it. A real alignment shop should understand what needs to be done.

Driving with a very bad alignment can wear out tires very quickly. As long as it's not pulling in either direction, you should be okay for the time being.

Quote :

Driving with a very bad alignment can wear out tires very quickly. As long as it's not pulling in either direction, you should be okay for the time being.

If you have severe toe-in or toe-out, the car will drive straight, and tires will wear badly. In Scotty's case, I don't think he would have a problem with toe from the transmission repair. If the subfame has shifted, both wheels are probably off center, so the car may be "dog tracking".

Toe-in vs. Toe-out:



Dog-tracking (example is for RWD, but same idea for FWD when front wheels are shifted to one side). You can see how the steering wheel is off center, like Scotty described:

man...i HAVE NO IDEA what the hell id do without u guys.
can we make a praise the Riv guys thread? lol

xxsupergman25xx wrote:

man...i HAVE NO IDEA what the hell id do without u guys.
can we make a praise the Riv guys thread? lol

here ya go!
https://rivperformance.editboard.com/board-news-f2/thanks-t4391.htm