DIY alignment tools? recommendations?

Anyone do their own alignments at home?
I remember reading the trick about using grease for turning plates instead of spending 300 bucks on a used set.

And I mean live and drive with it, not just enough to get to the alignment shop.

I even see some machines on craigslist for under a grand, but not sure if those are usable.

longacre has some as well as summit, but reviews vary wildly and I don't know enough to know if they are the loose nut behind the wheel reviews or actual issues.

Sure it can be done at home. I used to do it with a digital level, measuring tape and lines on the garage floor - parallell with the vehicle and 20 degrees out both ways at both wheels to get the caster. You will have to do the math afterwards to find/read the caster. Two pieces of sheet metal with grease between makes a good working turnplate. Might be a little messy. I finally got a used 20 years old rack for about 300 dollars. It was interesting to see how close my old school alignments was when I checked them with the rack. Do a search on here and you will find more info.

Specialty Products Company 91000 FasTrax Camber/Caster Gauge:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PG6OW2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Longacre Toe Plates (Set) Includes (2) Tapes:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VAOHB2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought a turn table off Ebay. I don't see the type on there now?

Anyhow, done it on the floor without turn table before. Need to roll the car back and forth to settle the tires between adjustments.

I ain't done it at home but I will. there are some good utube videos I believe that will help & one guy said use salt instead of grease. I would get the camber plumb with a 2ft carpenters level vertical on the sidewalls and the toe in straight with a tape with st wheel centered & box halfway between lock to lock and the suspension height where you like the wheel fitment in the wells and drive it for several miles to settle everything then recheck/reset everything with a half tank of gas and your weight in barbells in the dr seat & tires aired up & front wheelwell/tire fitment OK to you and just me I would turn the cams to get max positive caster then bring the rear cam forward as needed till the camber is zero or a skosh neg & let the caster fall where it may & call it good & if the front cam(s) do need to be also turned to get plumb on the camber then that too. EDIT & first you'd wanna string it to get it level & I have some plates from Lowes that I will use when the time comes (stack them under each tire till the 4 sections of string anchored between the top plate and bottom of tire treads are level)

I had 68HemiB come over some years ago and help me do one in the garage...he brought a magnetic mount caster/camber gauge and I made my own plates. (I had made up a toe gauge thing too)

Worked great and car has been like that ever since.

I bought the Longacre unit

I figured I was getting a cool angle finder that pops out/in with just a magnet.... Haven't used it for anything else yet though.

So the more I read, the more people say use digital, the bubble ones don't go accurate enough.

Autoxcuda why the bungie cord if it is magnetic?

so does a rack have all the pieces as part of a rack and the computer part is just to tell you the numbers instead of figuring them out your self?

I have a fast track tool and it's a bubble deal and plenty accurate. That is BS that a bubble is not accurate enough. Never have worry about battery's going dead with a bubble.

Link

Use your smartphone and an alignment app.

Did you use "i align" or is there a free app I didn't see.

RR, a carpenters level on the sidewalls won't work well as the sidewall bulges more on the bottom.

Noted!

i just started checking the alignment on my '72 Challenger tonight. I rebuilt the front end on my '74 last fall and bought a bubble gauge to try the alignment. it worked great. i made turn plates out of lexan and calibrated it with a degree wheel. the bubble gauge was simple to use too. I had to make plates for my Cragars so the magnet would stick to it. all in all, i had to tweak it a couple times but it drives straight as an arrow.

Yes I did. But I also used an app called "CamberMeas" later on.

I just got this with the magnetic bubble level form e bay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Wheel-Alignment-Rack-Tool-for-Camber-Caster-Gauge-Adapter-Rim-Clamp-Mount/232031133083?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D37471%26meid%3Dd0bbf08d787444f3ba6aef37ba61b1e4%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D371674228650

I use a Howe magnetic caster/camber gauge. You remove the grease cap from the spindle, then it sticks to the hub. If you have an aluminum hub, you remove the spindle nut, put a big steel washer on, then tighten the spindle nut back on. THe magnet then sticks to the washer. It is a bubble, and it is acurate and easy to use.

I called a bunch of local garages and asked if they had a set of turntables that weren't using. Scored a pair for dirt cheap. Ugly but they work.

What do you guys think of this tool?,according to the seller,its the best!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Compact-2-Wheel-Alignment-System-Camber-Caster-Toe-Gauge-Tool-BEST-ACCURACY-/281779213264?hash=item419b5993d0:g:3GMAAOSwVupTqJDt&item=281779213264&vxp=mtr

alignment tool