Front wheel alignment

[BLACKJACKф]

I know how to do the alignment I know the spec for the alignment is 1/16 of an inch toe out on the front. I know how to adjust the alignment but what I want to know is. I've done all this and it keeps pulling to the right. I know how to center the steering Rack but how do I know when the front wheels are correct. I've done the alignment it is exactly 1/16 of an inch toe out on the front but the car keeps pulling to the right and my steering wheel is not centered straight anymore. is there anything else that would cause this to happen. So if I take the Allen Bolt out of the steering rack put a set pin in so the steering rack doesn't move how do I then know that the wheels are straight?

Nothing is bent everything is brand new nothing is wrong with rear subframe

[1071 S]

Lots of things..

Bad tie rod bushes/bent tie rods/uneven caster.

Uneven tyre pressures

Dragging brakes

Dodgy rear subframe

Worn knuckle joint/collapsed rubber cone..

????

Bad toe won’t generally cause pulling to one side...

Cheers, Ian

[BLACKJACKф]

The question is how to do wheel alignment not anything else that you mentioned

[bmcman.ie]

This may sound silly, but when tracking the car, have you adjusted the trackrod ends evenly on each side?

[111Robin]

How are you measuring the toe ?. If the steering wheel is offset and it is pulling but you say you have the correct measurement then either you haven't measured it correctly or something is indeed out of spec'. You ask how do you know if the wheels are straight when the rack is centered, this is the whole point of measuring the toe, the measurements will tell you when the wheels are both straight ahead then you adjust the toe evenly each side. If you don't adjust both sides evenly then the wheel can be offset and don't try to straighten it by winding all of the adjustment on one side.
I'm not trying to teach you to suck eggs as you seem to understand the principles but if you do it correctly and nothing is damaged or "wrong" then it should be straight forward.

[Polarsilver]

you have been given loads of very good suggestions to follow .. regards steering right i will add another to that list ..Check rear Radius Arms are Not Bent or set up odd... then find an empty Supermarket flat level car park.. set steering straight & push the car over a sensible distance.. look what happens may give an idea what is going wrong.
Also if you add your location its just possible another local member has a set of tracking gear you could borrow
whatever tell us the final fix as it helps others.

[Maddog]

If you do a full four wheel alignment that will give you a much better idea of what is wrong. The front end could be tickety boo, but if the shell isn't square, or the rear subframe is not square, or a radius arm is bent, you will end up chasing your tail.

You can do a four wheel alignment as long as you have a good flat garage or similar surface, with some jack stands, string (I prefer flouro fishing line) and a couple of lengths of dowel or stiff tubing to hang the string over with a weight on each end, plus a square and ruler. I cheat and use an internet calculator to save me the maths, but the results are very instructive. If you would like more information PM me and I can provide some resources.

Cheers Maddog

[swifty]

I use nothing more than a piece of string wrapped around all 4 wheels . It’s easy to see if you have toe out or in by the string touching the rear of the tyre on the front wheels . … Shirley

[DougR]

@swifty
Hi, I don't know how your car is set up but in the case of a "standard" mini this method will not work. The track of the rear is smaller by two inches. Therefore your strings are not going to be parallel. This will result in toe out to a great degree (pardon the pun). If you want to do a home job I suggest getting two sixteen foot floorboards and make sure they are perfectly straight by looking along the edges. Organise some supports (bricks or similar) to support the boards against the centre of the wheels and to support the boards out front. Ensure the boards are lightly pressing against the front and rear of the front tyres. Measure the distance between the boards in front of the wheels and again between the boards at their ends out front. It requires a bit of trigonometry and algebra to work out your tracking but I've done it and it works. Otherwise take the car to a tyre guy who will have tracking gear.

[Peter Laidler]

Or just use a builders level with inbuilt laser level. Bungee to horizontal plank across front wheel and follow simple instructions as described with pictures elsewhere

This thread is really all about front wheel alignment of the fixed centralised steering rack type Mk2's

[BLACKJACKф]

Hey guys thanks for all the help I figured it out the rear wheels were not tracking properly.