I changed the center link steering component and noticed the wheels looked wacky afterwords. So I used line of sight to make the two outside edges of the front tires to meet up with the rear all at the same point (looking from the front of the vehicle towards the back, eye at height of hubs, adjusting tie rods, truck sitting on flat surface.)

Test drive seems perfect, does this mean I do not need to go to an alignment shop?

(94 2wd with body lift and 235/75/15 tires)

 

Just because it looks straight doesn't mean it's aligned. When you get it aligned they align it to compensate for the crown in the road ( which means it's slightly curved) and some other things. So I would just take it in and have it done to be on the safe side.

 

Are you saying if I have it aligned in a country where you drive on the left side of the road it is out of spec for driving on the right side of the road?

 

I'm not 100% sure about that but all I know is what we do in the states.

 

I've used your eyeball method after changing steering parts just to take it to the alignment shop. Looking at the before and after on the printout I've never been close with the eyeball method even though it drives fairly good. This is probably because the front track is wider than the rear so this method will always lead to toe-out. Firestone sells lifetime alignments. It's roughly $200 up front but alignments are free after that. Pays for itself after 3 alignments.

 

It will keep you on the road to you get a real alignment.

If you got junk tires I would put them on if you plan to drive it other then to get aligned

 

Do I need to set torsion bars back to stock setting before bringing truck in for alignment? The previous owner of the truck had the cranked way up and I backed them off a bit.

 

No sir. If you like where it sits then get it aligned at that height.

 

final allignment will be toe-in just a little. you can do a toe adjustment yourself after replacing steering link components. you need 2 jacks placed on or as close as you can get to the lower ball-joints. once the tires are jacked up, use an awl, or flathead to scribe a fine line in the tire immediately after painting a light colored band on the tread while spinning. use a block of some sorts to keep the scribe in one path. next, you need an assistant to measure the distance between the scribe marks on the front and rear of the tires. adjust for 1/16th to 1/8" toe-in.