So I have been having issue's with my alignment on the HI-STEER on the S.A.S. so I came up with a REDNECK way to align the HI- STEER just wondering if anyone has done this before and what were the results?

First I tied a piece of wax string from the rear of the drivers side and wrapped it around the front and then to the passengers side front tire back down to the passenger side rear again circling the entire wheelbase.





Left side was to dark to get a picture of but it looks basically the same as this side and I tried to keep the string as close to the center hubs as possible.

Next I loosened all the lock nuts holding the tie rod ends in place then the steering stabilizer and adjusted the rods till the tires sidewalls were flat to the string front and back making them all completely flush.

The end result seems to be very close as in the distance from the front inside of the right tire to the front inside of the left is at 48" and the rear of the tires is 48 1/4 does this sound right?

Looks good from the front and the rear as in they look as close as possible to being flat to one another with no protruding of the tires to the rear tires with the naked eye anyway sort of a 4 wheel alignment type deal.

 

looks good to me i saw a guy use chalk let us know how it works

 

Tape measure and a friend.
Front of tires should be toe in by 1/8". Tighten down the jam nuts.
Cake.

 

Looks like it'll work.

Here is how I do mine:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...html#Alignment

 

Thanks Guy's and I checked out your link 4crawler now I just wonder do you think a 1/8 inch is going to make a huge difference? I think I may go and have someone throw it on the machine if it is to big of a deal this is my first time trying this so your guy's advice/input is going to be very important.

 

1/4" might start to show a little uneven tread wear, likely on the outside edges of the tires, but it may be OK. I also like to recheck my alignment with the weight on the wheels, I find mine toes out a little bit with the weight on it.

 

Place the steering wheel so that it is in the center of it's movement left to right. Bolt on the pitman arm using the stock nut and washer. Connect the left side of the steering Drag Link to the the front most hole in the right side steering arm. Tie rod ends should have approximately 3 three exposed threads. Do not expose more than 1/2 of the tie rod end threads as this can cause an unsafe driving condition.

With the truck on the ground, set the tow-in of the front tires at 1/8". This is done by turning the Tie Rod with the jam nuts loose. Measure the widest part of the tire at the front and rear of the tire. Adjust the Tie Rod until the front is 1/8" narrower than the rear.

Once completed turn the steering wheel all the way left and right. Verify that the wheels turn the same amount left and right. If not, adjust the length of the drag link or adjust the position of the pitman arm.

Tighten the pitman nut to 130 ft/lbs. Tighten the jam nuts on the Tie Rod and Drag Link using an adjustable wrench.

 

OK Thanks again I will try to get someone to give me a hand tomorrow in the sunlight and with the tires on the ground.

Nice to have a guide there WABBIT pretty much what I did but I lifted the tires about 1/2" off the ground so like I said above I will drop them on the ground and see if I can get a hand in the day time tomorrow and Thanks again for your input and the directions

 

No problemo. I've done all my SFA trucks this way and they all track straight as can be and don't wear out tires unevenly. IFS is a whole nother issue.

 

Sounds like you're on the right track with the string idea (as Wabbit and 4crawler have said). But it got me thinking. If this is a SAS like you stated, is the rear axle the original IFS axle? Are you running wheel spacers on the front? If not, won't that make your strings taper from back to front and make it slightly toed in the way you discribed?

 

Well the rear is also swapped to spring no more coils and yes the front have the 1" spacers but both very good question's and thanks for checking me on them.