Can an alignment be done as a DIY?
 

I have a W124, 1991 300d, needs an alignment. Now that I have a hydraulic jack, I didn't know if it was even possible to do an alignment by yourself. I think a shop would charge about $80.

$75 or so is about right for the shop rate these days.

Do you have a Bear or Hunter machine or access to one? I can't imagine how you could get it done right without the proper equipment, you need the camber and toe in just right.

(But that's only *my* opinion. If you can save money on repairs or maintenance by doing it yourself, fine, but I wouldn't think this is a good area for you to try to do it)

I would not recomend trying to align the car yourself. Getting alignments spot on is as much an art as it is a science. Guys who have been aligning cars for 20 years will know All the in's and out's, what works best for your driving style etc..


Do some research and find the shop w/ the guy who's been on the alignment rack the longest.

Jonathan

Well, it is possible to do tie rods without getting an alignment, if the car was in alignment before. I replaced mine and measured very, very carefully when replacing. I took it to an alignment shop anyway, the car was in their computer, the mechanic was amazed how easy it was (he was worried that it was an MB), and I was "off" - by less than 1/2 of a turn of a nut.

Answer:
 

wheel alignment DIY
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?p=988903

54 Pontiac DIY Wheel Alignment
http://www.cadvision.com/blanchas/54pontiac/alignment.html

Everything Auto
http://www.extremehowto.com/xh/article.asp?article_id=60130


http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ab_tires/article/0,2021,DIY_13697_2271482,00.html


http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=wheel+alignment+DIY+&btnG=Google+Search



Have a great day.

I don't know what the hydraulic jack has to do with it since the alignment needs to be done with the wheels on the ground.

Technically you can do an alignment but you will have to get/make specials tools and it will take quite a bit of very "picky" work. Toe-in is the easiest and I have done it a couple of times. As stated below, if changing parts you can take measurements before and get it real close. Also I have even "eyeballed" toe-in before and gotten pretty close. With toe in there is the issue of the "spreader bar".

Caster and camber get trickier. Probably not worth doing unless you are really interested in taking the time to figure it out!!

Mike

Old School Method
 

I don't know the difference between toe-in or camber. Nor do I have a clue how to do an alignment, but I used to watch an old man align front ends with a 2X4, a length of staging twine, and a framing square, in my boyhood hometown. People came from all over for his services, and swore he was the best in the business. It wasn't until I went off to the big city for college that I even knew alignment machines even existed.

I would not try to do it myself and would go to a professionnal with equipped with laser alignment tools (I tried several times and will not do it anymore) just because by design the adjustment of the angles are not indipendent, for sure on my W124, 260E, 1988.
Then the few euros / $ are worth spending. Moreover if it has to be corrected you can claim to the professionnal to have it redone for free.

The tech' ability to do an alignment without a machine is indeed a masterful skill that was undoubtedly a result of resourcefulness, attention to detail, and years of experience. (that's why people came from all over for his services).

So the answer is, "Yes", you can do it yourself. But don't expect to get results that measure up to an exceptional tech with years/decades of experience.

An alignment on these cars will "hold" for a decade. So the $80 is a good investment in my humble opinion. If you do it yourself and are off by a little (which is more than likely), you could cause more than $80 worth of wear on your tires... and the alignment still wouldn't be right.

jp