Adjusting the Tie Rod on a 26 T

[Mopar_man]

I'm getting ready to adjust the Tie Rod now that I've rebuilt the whole front end. The first thing I'm going to do is drive the car just down the street and back to settle everything. Then I'll check the air in the tires. Here are the steps I'm doing with the areas I'm confused about

1. Measure the hub of the wheels from to back to make sure that the front wheels are straight.
2. The Model T video that the vendors sell say to measure in between the rims of the two front wheels.
3. the Ford Fix WEB page says to measure 10" off the ground front and back.
4. The Ford Manual says measure the center of the tire on the bottom and the top.
5. In each case the difference should be 1 and 15/16 inch. OK 2 inches.

I think I'm mixing up two measurements I've seen the picture looking at the front of the car and another one looking at the top of the car.

If using the tire do you pick a tread line ?

[Chris Barker]

I think you are confusing two things and making it too complicated.

Before you go any further, I suggest you jack up the front and spin each wheel to assess sideways 'run out'. If that's excessive (maybe more than 1/4" side to side variation as it turns) you must at least take account of it, and maybe try to fix it.

Viewed from the front of the car, both wheels should have positive camber - they should lean outwards at the top. The Ford photo shows measurements between the tyre sidewalls and says that they should be approximately 3 inches further apart at the the top than the bottom.
It's hard to measure because the front wings (fenders?) are in the way
BUT there is nothing you can do about this. It's quite likely to be a lower figure now but as long as both wheels appear to have similar angles, don't worry.

Viewed from above, the wheels should 'toe in'. This you can measure with a cooperative helper and a steel tape. The Ford photo again shows measurements between the tyre sidewalls, back and front (at hub level) and says they should differ by 3/16" to 1/4". It may be easier to measure at the centre of the tyre tread. The difference will be a few percent more than at the sidewalls, but not to worry.
If you did see significant run out when you spun the wheels, measure the toe in at quarter-turn intervals - moving the car forward in between each check. Then take an average.
This you can adjust, but only in half-turn steps of the tie-rod end. You disconnect it from the steering arm at the driver's side.

And while your doing this, just make sure your axle leans backwards, not forwards!

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

https://www.mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic. ... in#p190741

[Kenny Edmondson]

Do your initial drive, then start off on a hard flat surface (driveway, parking lot where safe) by raising the front wheels off the ground and then use a scribe to mark a line on the tires while spinning them. That will take any runout issues out of the equation. After the tires are marked, lower the car to the ground and then with the wheel in the straight ahead position, roll the car forward about 30’ to simulate how the front wheels would be loaded going down the road. Then with a helper measure at a consistent height from line to line at the front and back of the tires. Any difference will be toe in (tires are closer at the front) or toe out (tires are wider at the front). If any adjustments are made, repeat this process. I like to have 0-1/16“ toe-in at the center of the wheel. I’ll add some pictures later when I get out to the shop.

[Allan]

Adjusting the tie rod can only effect the toe-in. Camber and caster are adjusted by other means. The usual setting is 1/4" narrower at the front. To get around mis-mounted rims and tyre run-out, jack up the front axle, spin each wheel and mark a centre line on each tyre. Now you have a register mark which takes care of any run-out.
With the car back on the ground, roll it back and forward a bit to get it to settle. At the height of the hub, measure the distance between your scribed centre line at the back and front of the wheel. Adjust the rod to suit. The thread is very fine, so each turn will result in a small adjustment. Roll the car at each adjustment to allow the wheels to settle. You do have to rotate the tie rod end a whole turn at a time, so you may not be able to land right on the recommended toe in measurement. Just get it as close as you can.

Allan from down under.

[Mopar_man]

Thanks guys. I bought my axel from Dan who makes the inserts. He straightened it and machined the ends. The spindles are NOS. I'll check everything but I betting that those will be ok. I just wanted to make sure that the Tie Rod adjustment was correct. Thanks for the input. I do think ai was getting two things mixed up.