You're very welcome!

Wow, thanks!

​@@bruceo1987 do I have to pay to get the software updated ?

@@vibeshubja6133 yes, Hunter sells their updates.

I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. It must be frustrating. I’m glad my video works for you. Be sure and watch my “Alignment Settings 1and 2” videos to help you understand how to match up settings to symptoms.

Thank you for the compliment. It sounds like you’re a well experienced technician so I really appreciate it.

Nice! I’m sure it’s spot on.

Great, glad to hear it.

Glad it helped

Nor do I.

I appreciate that!

All good suggestions. Thanks.

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you!

My pleasure!

Glad it was helpful!

There are very few that are adjustable. Hell my 1990 isn't . You have to hammer out a hub, shove plastic shims, test, kick the wall, do it again. One pot hole and it's worse.

The settings menu and the program allows you to set up rolling compensation in one of two ways: You can line it up on the turn plates, roll it back and then roll it forward back to the turn plates, or you can position it behind the turn plates and just roll it forward onto the turn plates. I believe the back-and-forth method is more accurate.

I appreciate it.

I agree the roll-forward-only compensation is easier, but I have not found it to be quicker overall. In a busy alignment shop (like the shops I have operated) the variety of vehicles necessitated a learning curve to get the head positioned just right. Having to readjust the head and then back up and go forward again happened too often, so I just set the machine up to do a rolling back-and-forth compensation. File it under "operator preference." Thanks for the complement and pointing out a different method of compensation.

Agree. I always follow a large adjustment with a tape measure verification.

Welcome

Thanks for the compliment. The toe setting is the most critical for tire wear. It should be adjusted as close to specification as possible. Caster affects pulling and tracking, which are usually secondary concerns to tire wear. When toe is far out of specification, correcting it can have an affect on camber and caster, but you would not normally adjust toe out of specification just to get camber or caster in.

@@bruceo1987 Happy New Year. Hopefully, one day, you will make a video on how to adjust caster and camber. I cannot get to do one to completion at work.

I was not able to locate it on Hunters website. You might try checking with a Hunter rep.

Yes, And I think we’re saying the same thing. When I say “for the customer” I’m talking about the printout. Even if the customer doesn’t understand alignment printouts, it’s easier for us to explain them when the numbers match from left to right.

Calibration once per year usually. Plus updated spec libraries and general service.

Regardless of the steering system type--most of the basics of alignment interpretation apply. Be sure and catch my two videos "Part 1 Basic Alignment Angles and Effects" and "Part 2 Basic Alignment Settings and Symptoms" for further details. Thanks for the complement.

Thanks so much.

Hi Jimmy. When you perform the rolling in compensation, it picks up the positions of the sensors and adjusts them automatically. It would be unreasonable to think the technician would put each target perfectly in the center of each wheel, so the machine needs to compensate for that.

You’re right of course.

I start the car, move wheel back and forth, try to find the middle of the play.

Glad you think so!

I'd love to, but that takes time and a bunch of vehicles. If I were you I'd cruise KZfaq videos for other who have demonstrated various adjustments as they work through their jobs.

It depends on the number of adjustments provided on the car, how far out the alignment is, and how competent the technician is. An alignment can be as quick as 20 minutes or take an hour or more.

Please watch my other two videos about alignment settings and alignment adjustments. See if the answer isn’t there.

Depending on the car, that angle may or may not be adjustable. I’m assuming this is a front wheel drive car. -2° on the rear will likely wear the inside of that tire, however it should be very slow wear, as it’s not a drive tire.

I'm not sure of the model number of the machine, but the software that is used on various Hunter machines is called WinAlign. The versions numbers advance as they modify and perfect the process, but the software works on many machines that they have supplied shops over the last 10 years or so.

Yes

Yes, definitely. This was kind of rushed during a COVID shutdown with no compressors.

Honestly it depends which bolts. You can snug bolts with an impact, then use a torque wrench to tighten. Adjust settings with an impact? Usually not.

I had a really bad alignment the mechanic was using a impact gun to adjust the eccentric bolts. The front tires wore 1/2 down on the sides. The garage verbally agreed to replace tires then the next day said they would not replace them.

Camber is not adjustable on this car. Sometimes you can get a tiny bit of movement by loosening the lower strut bolts and pulling or pushing on the spindle. That said, .4° is so minor (remember there’s 360° in a circle and this is less than 1°) that there’s probably no symptoms.

Sorry, I see now that your question was about caster, not camber. Caster is also not adjustable on this vehicle. The difference from right to left is less than 1 degree (.7), so may or may not cause a pull. If it did pull, it would be to the lower number (right), and would not wear tires. Since the Camber angles are angled slightly toward a pull to the left, they may offset. To diagnose the caster issue, there are additional measurements that can be made with this machine that can identify other suspension issues. Ultimately though, I doubt a customer would want to spend additional dollars to replace suspension parts for such a slight pull. Thanks for the question.

@bruceo1987 I'm that customer you speak of! I WANT MY ALIGNMENT NEARLY PERFECT! Lol. I deserve it, my whole suspension is fully adjustable. One would think that this is an easy job but nooooo most shops are incompetent and have been use to dealing with customers who just look at the green and so "OK. Thank you for taking my money"

J JJJ - Doing a correct (not perfect, but correct) is about addressing customer symptoms and reducing tire wear. There are no perfect settings, there is a range of angles that can be adjusted to address a symptom. I would suggest that you ask your employer to invest in you by sending you to training. The best shops do just that.

I always adjust rear camber and toe to be in the middle on bargraphs, or best i can if seized or partially stuck. On most car front ends, from the factory only toe is adjustable. On toyotas, newer honda accords/civics, and many subarus you can adjust the front camber. You click on the little box near the camber and select jack up axle. Carefully lift the front by the subframe and lower to locks if you have space, then let the computer know youve jacked it up. One side at a time, loosen the 2 strut bolts to get the camber better, when you loosen them the wheel will want to fall outwards and will become as positive as it can be. To adjust it negative and dial it in where i want it, i place a pad or something else under the outer half of the tread and partially lower the front end till its where i want it, then tighten bolts, i use my 1/2 impact on a midlevel torque setting, with swivel adaptor and 22mm socket, sometimes 19mm on toyotas anyway, with a same size wrench to tighten. After both sides are set and tight, hit the same small box under camber section again and select lower axle. Lower it and pull down a few times on the front to settle the suspension and tell the machine its lowered. Then finish with the toe. If you dont have a steering wheel level i recommend it, just search amazon for it, saves a lot of stress and time for me, gets steering wheel perfect everytime. The solid axles im not so great at, they are the trickiest to get right.

The gm full size trucks/suvs are easy to adjust camber and caster if they arent seized up, just need patience. You dont want the vehicle that high when you adjust camber and caster because after jacking up front you adjust when standing and access over the tire in wheelwell. you hit the small box under camber and select jack up axle, jack up front end by lifting under lower control arms with rubber pads. Tell machine you lifted it. They have plastic inserts on the alignment cams from the factory, these need to be removed, prybar and hammer does the trick. Then i use my snapon ratcheting swivel head breaker bar and 21mm socket and wrench, loosen up both top nuts and use wrench to turn cams, its a balancing act to dial in camber and caster. Then tighten bolts down TIGHT, i make them as tight as i can im sure i get over 100-150ftlb. Then hit lower axle on screen, lower and bounce front end and tell machine, finalize toe. On durangos/grandcherokees/ram 1500s you lift by subframe/frame like toyota car, loosen 3 bolts on each side on lower control arms and use a massive prybar to pry the lower arm in and out. Im not a fan of this design because you often cant get the camber AND caster where you want, usually a compromise, though i suppose it is much less likely to have adjustments become seized. I tighten arm bolts snug, hit vertical bolt quick with impact, then I torque the vertical bolts and front lower arm bolts to 100lb ft after lowering, the rear arm bolts dont have good access to torque. Im sure theres a official torque spec to look up, i dont know it.

My rear right camber read is -2.14 degrees and shows as red, even after the hunter mechanic was finished. Should this be cause for concern?

Yes, actually! A couple of things happen when tightening the tie rods: The tires move and the tie rods move. If you try not to let the tie rods tilt when tightening this will help stabilize the readings. After tightening, you may need to push the tires a tiny bit one way or another to get the screen to show perfected readings for the customer. Do this just prior to printing your report.

Because they are lazy!!! Plain and simple.

The entire reason there is an "acceptable range" is because parts wear differently on each car due to all the moving parts and differences in how people drive. Because of those same moving parts, it is also really difficult to hit EXACT specification numbers while doing an alignment. Moving Caster will change your Camber. Changing Camber will change your Toe. Changing Toe can change your Caster, as you see in the video (Though he didn't remeasure Caster, so his numbers are not accurate). The two main goals while doing an alignment are 1) Keep the tires from wearing out prematurely and 2) have the vehicle drive as straight as possible. Sometimes, you can only achieve one of those things, and you need to discuss it with the customer.

@@TomFooleryGaming ah... I see. Thank you for sharing the information. Appreciate it.

You should take it back so they can correct it. The steering wheel should be straight and it’s totally adjustable.

@@bruceo1987 i just looked at my alignment results paper. Ive told you wrong. I have the before parameters and not after :( Dont know if i want to take it bake to that tire shop.. i guess there very competent and all but.. it did not turn out well on my car. If any component are bad steering wheel should be straigt? if isnt that bad components are so bad with play that the steering wheel center line somewat dynamically adjusts as i drive. Dont know if calibrating the BCM/DSTC system are required on my car. In the diagnostic software on computer i can calibrate it but it tells me its only if any components in the brakes or steering are replaced.. like clock spring or brake hydraulic unit.. Can you please check in your software if thats the case? Volvo S40 1.8 2006 maybe its possible to save the specifications from the settings database to a PDF? Would be nice.

@@bruceo1987 booked new alignment at another tire shop for a second try. At least getting my steering wheel center and not to the right slightly. Told them to check suspension and steering parts also for any play or issues. I needs to go to the bottom with this. It's only possible to adjust toe on my car I believe. Camber are fixed with lower control arm. Caster are fixed as well.. I believe. Not sure about camber and caster

@@bruceo1987 alignment are finished now.. Caster are way off. Diffs 1.5 degree. Toe was slightly off front and rear. But not much. Overall ok. But the big concern was the Caster diff front. He said that the lower control arms are the usual component especially when they're not same manufacture and replaced one at the time. 4 degree on the left and about 2 on the right. He said it can be a tweaked subframe also.. who knows. Steering wheel are straight now and that's good. :) he used a level at the steering wheel to achieve a more accurate reading.

I turn the wheel back and forth (with the engine running) and try to pick the middle as much as possible. Too much play and the vehicle will wander. I report too much play to the customer and recommend a repair.

@@bruceo1987 what can cause too much play?

@@jjjj2411 Loose steering box/rack. Loose steering parts.

@@jjjj2411 any bad or wear out front end Suspensions can cause problems. I always lift up the vehicle and inspect all that before I aligned vehicle so customers won’t lose a dime. Not every car will be perfect especially lifted truck with big tires, I’ve been having issue to put on the laser.

Play in any part allows variance in the settings. You can adjust the settings, but when you drive down the road the settings will change.

Yes. You can look up the specs on most any vehicle and enter them manually. After that the machine will work from that dataset just as it were stored.

Some dealers use drive-over equipment that can tell if the toe setting is off. They drive almost every car coming into the shop which generates additional alignment sales. I'm not sure of the accuracy of such equipment but I know the driver needs to be really careful driving over it for it to work.

It’s virtually impossible to get the same results alignment machine to alignment machine. You could have one shop do an alignment drive it couple blocks to another shop have them check the alignment and have their machine say it’s not within spec. And just cause the bars are all green on the alignment printout doesn’t mean the alignment is actually good lol

You don't know who was wrong though

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It is.