Wheel alignment — general information Ford F150
1. A wheel alignment refers to the adjustments made to the front and rear wheels so they’re in proper angular relationship to the suspension and the ground (see illustration). Wheels that are out of proper alignment not only affect steering control, but also increase tire wear.
2. Getting the proper front and rear wheel alignment is a very exacting process, one in which complicated and expensive machines are necessary to perform the job properly. Because of this, you should have a technician with the proper equipment perform these tasks. We will, however, use this space to give you a basic idea of what is involved with front end alignment so you can better understand the process and deal intelligently with the shop that does the work.
3. Toe-in is the turning in of the front wheels. The purpose of a toe specification is to ensure parallel rolling of the front wheels. In a vehicle with zero toe-in, the distance between the front edges of the wheels will be the same as the distance between the rear edges of the wheels. The actual amount of toe-in is normally only a fraction of an inch. Toe-in adjustment is controlled by the tie-rod length. Incorrect toe-in will cause the tires to wear improperly by making them scrub against the road surface.
4. Camber is the tilting of the front wheels from vertical when viewed from the front of the vehicle. When the wheels tilt out at the top, the camber is said to be positive (+). When the wheels tilt in at the top the camber is negative (-). The amount of tilt is measured in degrees from the vertical and this measurement is called the camber angle. This angle affects the amount of tire tread which contacts the road and compensates for changes in the suspension geometry when the vehicle is cornering or traveling over an undulating surface. Camber is adjusted by loosening the lower control arm-to-frame bolts and moving the arm in (to increase camber) or out (to decrease camber).*
Note: * Replacement eccentric bolts must first be installed.
5. Caster is the tilting of the top of the front steering axis from the vertical. A tilt toward the rear is positive caster and a tilt toward the front is negative caster. Caster is also adjusted by loosening the lower control armto-frame bolts, but instead of moving the arm in or out, the outer end of the arm is moved toward the front (to increase caster) or toward the rear (to decrease caster).