About David Scott Expertise Questions or advice regarding Suzuki 4wd vehicles as regards repair or modifications for offroad use.
Experience Been a professional mechanic over 30 yrs I've owned and modified 2 Sidekicks, and 3 Samurais, one of which I still have, and ocasionally drive, when my kids let me.
Expert: David Scott Date: 10/16/2003 Subject: Grand Vitara front end alignment
Question David, I own a 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara (2 wheel drive). I recently had the front end aligned, and the repair shop showed me the printouts of the before and after alignment settings. I think the alignment job is fine, and the vehicle does not pull to the left or right. My problem is that the steering wheel is now off center, just slightly in the clockwise direction. The off-center issue is not bad enough to return to the repair shop, but it still bugs me. It's my understanding that correcting this problem is simply a matter of adjusting the left and right tie rod ends by an equal number of turns. However, I don't know which way to turn the adjusters to properly align the steering wheel. I don't want to risk changing the front end alignment, so I would appreciate your input on exactly how to correct the problem. Thanks in advance.
Answer The way is to mark the tie rods with paint and a small brush prior to loosening anything. Then after loosening the locks, turn each rod the same amount. If you are concerned about keeping the toe-in the same, prior to doing any of the above, raise the ront end, take some white spray paint, and spray the center of the tire while rotating it. After the paint has had about 30 seconds to set a little, rotate it again, and use a nail or other sharp object to scribe a circumferential mark on the tread of each tire. lower the car, and roll it back and forth about ten feet before measuring, and after making adjustments so that tread squirm is not affecting the measurement. Measure the difference(if any, about 1/16 inch, or less) between the front and rear of the two front tires. That's the toe in. If the front is less than the rear, it's toed in, if more, toed out, if the same, toe is zero. Just make sure it is the same before and after adjustments. Contact me again as necessary till this is straightened out. Scotty
