Easy toe measurement - no more tape measure!!

I recently had to set the toe on my XJ and searched around a bunch here for pointers to make the job easier. I also came up with something that should simplify things for people too. This is a quick write up on measuring toe with part of what I found in the search(the nail trick) and part of what I came up with. This eliminates stretching a tape measure and can be done by one person. I won't get into actually adjusting the toe or what the measurements should be since it has been covered a million times already. Hopefully you guys find this helpful. Technically you should have an alignment shop do a proper setting, but this will get you damn close and should be good enough for most people.

1) Make some marks on your tire. One at a time jack each tire up just enough so you can spin it. Take a board, scrap of plywood, 1X2, etc, and drive a nail through it. Place the board in front of the tire with the nail facing up and slide it back until the nail touches the tire. Stand on the wood to hold it steady while you are making your mark. Turn the tire backwards and let the nail make a scratch mark ALL the way around the tire. Repeat for the other side. Now you have a perfect concentric reference mark on each tire to measure accurately from. The marks on the tire will disappear within a few hundred feet of driving. DO NOT rotate the tire forward or you will be pushing the nail into the tire. If you look at the picture below you can see that I made a few trial marks as I was getting a feel for how the nail would mark the tire.


Since you jacked up your tires to make the marks drive the Jeep back and forth a bit to let everything settle back in and park it with the wheels pointing straight ahead. Now get 2 small jack stands and a piece of something long(about 6 feet) and stiff. I used some 1/2" X 1/2" aluminum angle I had at the shop. Angle won't bend and flex like round rod and works great. Start IN BACK of the tires and stretch it between the 2 circles on the tires. Put one end of the angle right on one of the marks and use a Sharpie to mark where the angle crosses the mark on the other tire. Mark it with an "R". Now bring it around tto the front and do the same but mark it with an "F". The distance between the 2 marks is your toe in (or toe out if things are misadjusted that way). Splitting the difference between the 2 marks would get you zero toe. Or you can bring the marks together to get the amount of toe you want. Leave the bar in front of the tires as you are adjusting the tie rod and you can gauge your progress as you are doing it. Suprisingly I was able to get mine down to a bit under 1/8" on the first shot. See the pics below. The last pic is the sticker that came on the aluminum angle i bought. National supplies big chains like Home Depot (which is where I think I got the angle from), Lowes, and Walmart. You can google it to see who has it. I did and Walmart has it for about $8. Take the Jeep for a test ride and recheck your measurement. Before you pull out of your driveway put a 2X4 in front of each front tire so you can pull right back up to the spot you were working in without running over your tools.

BTW...N247-270 is the part number I googled. You may get results with the UPC number under the bar code too.

tape measure seems like less work, but good idea

After I swap to WJ knuckles.............I'll pay the $50.

ehall said:

tape measure seems like less work, but good idea

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I have always used the tape measure, but I didn't have a set of hands to help me hold the end of the tape yesterday and I was brainstorming. Having done it both ways I will say that this was even easier than a tape measure. Once I marked the angle aluminum for the back measurement, and moved it to the front, it was great to be able to see the line on the tire moving along the "gauge" as I adjusted the tie rod. In other rods no need to turn the tie rod a little, stretch out the tape to measure, move it a little more, stretch out the tape again. Like I said I was able to get it perfect the first shot(even after road testing it to see if everything stayed where I set it) which surprised me. Maybe I got lucky on that part. Also..using the nail to mark the tire removes any possibility of measuring off of a high or low spot in the sidewall of the tire or even an out of round spot(runout) in the lip of the rim.

Jeep Driver said:

After I swap to WJ knuckles.............I'll pay the $50.

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I don't blame you. I plan on having a full alignment done too, but I needed to get tires installed yesterday because I am getting snow today. I knew the toe was way off since I just installed a 3" lift and it was darting all over the place. I will be curious to see what they come back with as to whether I was on the mark, close, or way off. I have to say that with the alignment I did and new tires installed the Jeep drives perfect. No wandering, no pulling, etc.

If you own an XJ, with the stock-style steering, you need to learn to set the toe-in.
It changes anytime the ride height changes, either from suspension changes, weight being added or when the springs sag.
It is so simple to do.

Add a digital level to your tools and you now have the ability to also check the caster and camber.
http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoAlignment.htm
When setting a new front end up, I like to put the axle on stands, set at ride height, with the the wheels removed, to check the alignment based off the front brake rotors.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/sets/72157625133726358/
I have used this method for years with success.

lazyxj said:

If you own an XJ, with the stock-style steering, you need to learn to set the toe-in.
It changes anytime the ride height changes, either from suspension changes, weight being added or when the springs sag.
It is so simple to do.

Add a digital level to your tools and you now have the ability to also check the caster and camber.
http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoAlignment.htm

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That article was excellent and gave me some good info.

lazyxj said:

When setting a new front end up, I like to put the axle on stands, set at ride height, with the the wheels removed, to check the alignment based off the front brake rotors.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/sets/72157625133726358/
I have used this method for years with success.

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You did pretty much the same thing I did, but you indexed off of the wheel mounting surface. Using the nail on the tire will do the same thing since you are spinning the tire and making a concentric mark all the way around. It will cancel out any irregularities in the tire and/or rim. 2 ways to skin a cat...
The only thing that would throw either of our methods off would be if the hub bearings (unit bearings) were bad. Mine was less work though and probably more accurate since there are less areas where things could move/slip/flex/etc or otherwise throw measurements off. :gag: Sorry...I couldn't resist.

Vintage Smoke said:

I have always used the tape measure, but I didn't have a set of hands to help me hold the end of the tape yesterday

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I don't quite understand how this is only done with 2 people.
Just did this by myself yesterday. And usually any time I do it.

Johnnie Walker said:

I don't quite understand how this is only done with 2 people.
Just did this by myself yesterday. And usually any time I do it.

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Where are you measuring your toe from with the tape measure?

Usually inner sidewalls, equal height front and rear. Sometimes at a matched lug in the tires.
I have had my XJ on an alignment rack in the past, and it was in the 'green' where it should be.
I am not knocking your method. I like seeing different idea's that others have.

Agreed. It's a bit of a PITA but I use a stiff tape measure and use matched lugs off my tires (i.e. if your tire has deep and shallow lugs make sure you're targeting two deep lugs).

Johnnie Walker said:

I don't quite understand how this is only done with 2 people.
Just did this by myself yesterday. And usually any time I do it.

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My last toe in adjustment with a tape measure and a helper, left me with death wobble from hell, and a bucking horse-jeep at 5 mph. Rechecked the toe in and it was set at 3"

So much for using helpers, LMAO. We redid it and got it to 1/8", but next time I will do it myself with this method. Thanks for sharing.

GSequoia said:

Agreed. It's a bit of a PITA but I use a stiff tape measure and use matched lugs off my tires (i.e. if your tire has deep and shallow lugs make sure you're targeting two deep lugs).

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Maybe it's the machinist in me used to measuring to the nearest thousandth that makes me go overboard on measurements, but I am always looking for the smallest possible margin of error.

Considering that most recommendations for toe go from 0" for a Cherokee with full a time 4WD txfer case to 1/6th to 1/8 inch for part time, that leaves you with a very small window for accuracy. In other words very little room for error.

If you took a bare rim and bolted it up to your hub so you could spin it, you would probably see 1/16th to 1/8th inch run out (wobble) in the rim edge itself. Now put a tire on it with a non-rigid rubber side wall and it could be even more. I bet if you jacked a tire up off the ground enough to spin it you would probably see 1/4" run out on some tires at the side wall and at the various lugs. Rims aren't manufactured to the tightest tolerances(unless it is a new machined aluminum wheel) and tires are flexible. Neither of which is good for making a measurement/adjustment to within 1/8th of an inch.

Using the nail to scribe a line compensates for any run out(wobble) in the rim or tire. Considering that checking toe is something you do maybe once a year or even less often, and having improper toe can drastically affect handling and tire wear, it makes sense to be as accurate as possible. From the time I moved the Jeep up to my garage to the time I finished putting the tools away was less than a half hour. Including making the nail tool and searching around my metal rack for the piece of angle. You can't get much quicker and easier than that!!

Vintage Smoke said:

Maybe it's the machinist ... I am always looking for the smallest possible margin of error.


If you took a bare rim and bolted it up to your hub so you could spin it, you would probably see 1/16th to 1/8th inch run out (wobble) in the rim edge itself. Now put a tire on it with a non-rigid rubber side wall and it could be even more. I bet if you jacked a tire up off the ground enough to spin it you would probably see 1/4" run out on some tires at the side wall and at the various lugs. Rims aren't manufactured to the tightest tolerances(unless it is a new machined aluminum wheel) and tires are flexible. Neither of which is good for making a measurement/adjustment to within 1/8th of an inch.

Using the nail to scribe a line compensates for any run out(wobble) in the rim or tire.
it makes sense to be as accurate as possible.

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Totally agree. I have tried using the lug to lug measurements, some times it is accurate, many times not, because of all the reasons you mentioned.
Drawing a line down the center of a spinning tire removes all the various tolerances and produces the actual center line.
It doesn't take more than twenty minutes to set the toe-in using this method.
Your expensive tires will appreciate having the proper toe-in.

Just curious but I have always done the same thing only using chalk. I have done my fair share of tape measure alignments and usually it works out but not always.
Using the nail or chalk method will get you a better alignment then "most" shop's.

Afireinside said:

Just curious but I have always done the same thing only using chalk. I have done my fair share of tape measure alignments and usually it works out but not always.
Using the nail or chalk method will get you a better alignment then "most" shop's.

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I used a white-out stick pin to mark mine last month. You do mean marking the tire right?

One thing no one mentioned is that you must mark the exact center of the tires!!!!! On both sides, or all the way around.

Ecomike said:

I used a white-out stick pin to mark mine last month. You do mean marking the tire right?

One thing no one mentioned is that you must mark the exact center of the tires!!!!! On both sides, or all the way around.

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I guess I'm not following you why you would need to mark the center...OP procedure is very clear

Duga324 said:

I guess I'm not following you why you would need to mark the center...OP procedure is very clear

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It doesn't have to be the exact center, depending on the tire that may not be possible! Just a good scribe on each tire, doesn't even have to be in the same place for each tire. I've been doing this for 45yrs , that's the way the old alignment racks used!

Chalk is fine as long as you use a sharp piece of chalk and make a thin crisp line around the tire to measure from. It is tough to get a fine line with chalk though. That and after marking the tires (before I measured), I drove the jeep forward and back along my driveway to let everything "settle in" after jacking up the individual tires to mark them. I was afraid that doing this would rub off the chalk marks. If you get a crisp line and don't lose the chalk marks you are fine. Also...I figured it would be easier to stand on the board and let the nail scratch the tire rather than try to hold the chalk in position to make a perfect circle around the tire. BTW...you aren't gouging the tire with the nail, just making a witness mark with the nail. The line was probably gone withing 100' of driving.

You don't need to mark the exact center of the tire. You are looking for a DIFFERENCE between front and back of the wheels with the wheels pointing straight ahead. It doesn't matter. There would be less room for error if you mark the tires in the same place on each tire, but not enough to be that critical.

I have had great luck using a tape measure by myself, as confirmed on an alignment rack. I use long pipes (pipe clamps in my case, but any long straight thing will do) against the center of the tire and held in place with leaned jackstands. I level them to be sure they are parallel vertically. It is easy to use a tape measure by yourself at the front and back of the tire, hooked on the pipe, as long as the tape is reasonably stiff. If you can stand well away from the Jeep (50-100ft), the advantage of having long pipes is that you can also use the method to center the steering wheel, as they give you such a great visual reference. I understand that this depends on your tire being pretty consistent, but IME, it has worked just great, well within 1/16".

Paul