Ideas for a home alignment caster/camber wheel jig to lock to 14inch to 20 inch wheel rims

If you are going to do a REAL alignment, get yourself the fastrac unit - as I recommended in a previous discussion - it can chech camber AND caster. Lots of options for toe

Hi Clare,

Thanks for that advice to just get the Fastrax camber jig, where you had kindly previously explained that we can basically do everything with a wheel angle measurement, in that, as I recall, you had said to me that o Caster comes first, then camber, and lastly toe And where the caster is simply based on the measured camber at ±20° (or was it ±15°?) wheel angle from straight ahead (for each front wheel).

I'm going to need a camber gauge no matter what, where the Fastrax comes with a camber gauge, and where Fastrax has optional toe adapter arms (but no turning plates).

That FastTrax camber jig for 13" to 18" wheels is about $200 at Eastwood:

CJPonyParts has the price at $170 for the 13" to 17" Fastrax camber jig

Amazon does better on price for the Fastrax at about $150

If I build the camber jig myself, I'll need to buy a magnetic gauge where the price range is _huge_ starting at about $15 for this one

While greased plastic bags serve as redneck turn plates, the professional turn plates would add another #230 for this brand

The wheels I'll most likely be checking are from about 14" to about 18".

If I just get the camber gauge, I'm not sure which is the best bang for the buck in terms of accuracy & repeatability, where I noticed a ton of magnetic angle gauges on the market outside of camber measurements.

For example, this digital angle gauge is about $30:

I'm going to check caster, camber, and toe first on about a half dozen vehicles to start with, to iron out the basics first, where once I do them, I'll know more than I do now about making tool decisions, where, until then, I can greatly benefit from your advice and advice from others who have done a DIY alignment at home.

Crisco shortening on a steel plate - or even hardwood faced plywood - works as turn plates and doesn't attack the rubber of the tire.

Hi Clare, Thanks for that advice, where I remember you advised me on what turned out to be a VERY EFFECTIVE way to pop out the pilot bearing from the flywheel of an SUV by stuffing chewed foodstuffs into the center hold and pounding with a dowel - when I couldn't find a pilot bearing removal tool with a small enough ID at the local parts stores!

Your experienced advice was and is always tremendous, simply because we depend on your expert advice since we can only afford one gauge, and where making a bad decision would be something we have to live with for the rest of our lives given we're all old men who don't do this for a living.

For example, you once recommended these Gunson products, as I recall: o Gunson 77099 camber gauge

Where the meat is in the angle measurement accuracy & repeatability.

The good news is that the turntables, while nice, can be rednecked by marking a ±15° or ±20° line in the concrete of my rather flat garage floor, which means that the _last_ tool I'll purchase is likely to be those turning places since, as you noted, adequate DIY substitutes abound. o Steel on steel sandwich with Crisco in between o Hardwood-faced plywood, face to face o Plastic bags with WD-40 in the sandwich o Linoleum tiles, greased with bearing lube o etc.

Also, the toe plates can be rednecked: o

What's _most_ important, I think, is the angle-measurement, which is o A parallel attachment mechanism (e.g., Fastrax wheel attachment) o An angle measurement tool (e.g., MMT-3 Maximum Motorsports gauge)

Based on the description of the OP, an acquaintance hacked out a DXF: o

And where I'm researching which free CAD solutions will modify that DXF o AutoCAD

With my initial results being shown here using this Windows freeware: o Blender

Hence, any and all advice from those who have done an alignment will be helpful, as what matters is to get a "good" set of tools, if not the best tools, but certainly a "good" set of reasonably accurate tools to measure caster, camber, & toe at home.

Bear in mind, your advice Clare, has always been right on the money! (e.g., you told me I didn't need to have a special tool to remove valve stems, and, even though I bought the tool, I almost never use it because you were right - I didn't need it.)

Also, you told me to not use a floor jack when I was trying to cut corners when replacing a clutch last December where you advised me to get a dedicated transmission jack with enough tilt in all three dimensions, which I did, and which I was THANKING YOU to myself, as I used it for hours under that SUV, having seen directly how WONDERFUL it is for the job it's intended to do (especially after I removed the rear

In summary, since I'm not experienced like you are, I take your advice very seriously, and I try to remember your well-meant helpful advice, such as when you suggested the $60 MMT-3 Maximum Motorsports cheap and accurate camber gauge accurate to 1/8 degree for about $60 bucks, as I recall.

The advice given here is great where I much appreciate the help as the goal is to get one tool that works well enough to do DIY measurement at home.