How can you align your car tires by yourself?

Answer 1

Really not a DIY job. Most dealerships use laser guided equipment which is much more precise than what you'll achieve DIYing it.

You'd have to figure out what size socket and wrench you'll need for the bolts which hold the clamps at the end of the tie rod. You'll need that size socket and wrench... you might need to use an impact to get the nut off the bolt.

You'll need a jack and jackstands, as well as something to chockk your rear wheels with.

You'll need a pipe wrench, to turn the tie rod.

The one you probably won't have - you need an alignment bar.

Chock the rear wheels, raise the front end, put the front end on jackstands. Mark a spot in the center of each tire. Ensure the wheels are oriented straight. On the end of the alignment bar with the measurements, ensure that it's at zero. Put the alignment bar behind the tires, and rotate the tires around so the marks face the alignment bar. Line up the side with the measurements first to the mark on the tire (keeping it at zero), then do the other side... the side without the measurement, you slide the indicator until it lines up. Then you do the same at the front of the tire, except the side with the measurement is the one you move. At that point, the measurement bar tells you if you have toe in or toe out, and how much. On the tractor-trailers I work on, we aim for 1/16" toe in... not sure what the specs for your car will be. You rotate the tie rod as needed to adjust your toe out or in... normally, rotating towards the back of the car increases toe out and vice versa. And you use the pipe wrench to turn the tie rod.

That's how you adjust the toe, and, if you don't own those tools already, it'll be considerably cheaper to have a shop do it.

As for camber and caster, those are much more complicated, and a lot more difficult to explain.