Poor working practices will result in inprecise alignment and a waste of technician time
Aligning best practice Offering accurate suspension alignment enhances customer safety and value, while being a hugely valuable revenue stream but are you doing it right? Rob Marshall asks leading providers about best practice in this complex but fascinating field.
ALIGNMENT
While motorcars have become increasingly sophisticated and sensitive to accurate geometry settings, so too have professional aligners. Optical tracking gauges appeared in workshops during the post-war period, to adjust toe only. Should the steering wheel be misaligned afterwards, the technician would simply unbolt and reposition it on the column splines. Obviously, those days are long gone.
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1. Alignment turn plates must move freely. Their range of movement must not be restricted to a circular direction but also side-to-side and back-and-forth. This is especially important for accurate caster measurements. Conventional MOT type turn-plates, which rotate only on a centre pin, are unsuited for wheel alignment.
Later hang-on gauges use battery-powered filament bulbs, or lasers. Yet, the alignment procedure tended to be very time consuming. Additionally, camber and castor checks demanded extra hardware and even more technician time. Charge Coupled Device (CCD) 4-wheel geometry aligners appeared first during the 1980s, which use the same measuring methods but employ cameras, in addition to later refinements (such as Bluetooth connectivity) to enhance accuracy and time efficiency. 3D aligners introduce high definition cameras to establish the wheel hub's centre, without disturbing the suspension. Whether a static or portable system, they remain highly accurate and popular among workshops. As most garages possess either a CCD, or 3D system, the following best practice tips relate to those systems to help you work at your best.
2. A rear sliding plate must be used, if you adjust 3. Annual calibration is crucial for CCD systems in rear toe/camber. It removes all stress from the particular, because the sensors can be knocked suspension and avoids flexing the tyre, which out of alignment easily in a typical workshop generates inaccurate readings. The plate should environment. While this problem is less relevant move freely without sticking, although turn plates to 3D aligners, they benefit from a check every can also be used to support the rear wheels. 12 months.
