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MG TD TF 1500 - Safety Fast: Keep your wheels aligned

I've just learned a lesson or a couple of them really. Last drive in our late '51 TD "Olive" my wife commented on how worn the driver side front tire was. I scoffed, since the tires (Firestone bias ply) have maybe 3000 miles on them. She was right though... the tread was just about gone in places, though the passenger side was not bad and the rear were fine. Then a little nagging memory kicked in... of the DPO, when I was buying the car, saying something like "You might want to check the wheel alignment." So finally I did just that... using the system Frank Grimaldi has explained on this board. The wheels were toed out by over 1 1/4" -- enough I guess to erase treads in a few thousand miles. Anyway, I've aligned the wheels using Frank's simple method and swapped the worn tire with the unworn spare. Now the car drives better at 60 mph than it did (not that we stay at those speeds...) So: 1. listen to the co-pilot 2. Keep your wheels aligned... it's hard to source replacement TD tires in Canada, as I am now learning.
Peter Pope

An inch and a quarter? Holy cow!!
Gene Gillam

That does seem like a lot,,, but I'm sure that Peters car did not have the dreaded 52+mph shimmie with that amount of toe out. I'm courious if it appears now with the wheels properly aligned.

SPW
STEVE WINCZE

shimmie?? I adjusted mine per the shop manual but have never noticed any kind of shimmie. Interesting.
L Rutt

The 50+ mph front end shimmie has happened in quite a few T Types,,,, More toe in or toe out makes it go away, but this is a "bandade" solution,,,

SPW
STEVE WINCZE

Steve: The car was pretty steady at 60, when the wheels were misaligned but with some vibration. That seems less now with the wheels aligned... nothing I would call a shimmy. So I guess I'm lucky. I think the DPO just never got around to doing an alignment, after he rebuilt the car.
Peter Pope

amazing after rebuilding a car you wouldn't align the front end...regards, tom
tom peterson

"amazing after rebuilding a car you wouldn't align the front end..."

You'd be surprised. I've seen many a flawless show car that I wouldn't drive to the mailbox.
-David
D. Sander

Would anyone be able to point me to the thread that describes the alignment process? Thanks
Michael Derrick

Michael,
In the archives kook for "TD Front Alignment"

Al
A W Parker

Hi Michael: I found advice using the phrase "wheel alignment" - Peter
Peter Pope

For those of you that missed my Front Axle Toe Checking procedure, Here it is again:

Checking/Setting Front Axle Toe-in

Toe-in can be easily checked on any automobile and with a little effort corrected to the required 1-mm plus or minus 1-mm or 1/32nd plus or minus 1/32nd. To complete the task you will need masking tape, a tape measure, preferably metric, a pen and an able helper.

You start by driving the car forward and backward on near level ground for at least 5 tire revolutions in each direction while fiddling with the steering wheel to ensure that the wheels are pointed straight ahead. The last step in this part of the process is to back the car to its starting point and stop the engine. Now, take your hands off of the steering wheel and have your helper push the car forward for about two tire revolutions. If the car tends to roll use the hand brake only to stop and hold the car in place.

The measurement phase consists of placing a piece of masking tape, about 2-3 inches long, at the rear of each tire. The tape should be place vertically between the center and the outer edge of the tire tread. Next, using your pen, place a small horizontal tick mark at the inner or outer edge of each piece of tape. The tick marks should be as high off the ground as possible while still being able to have a clear line of sight from tick mark to tick mark. With the aid of your assistant, CAREFULLY measure the distance between the edges of the each piece of masking tape at their respective tick mark locations. Be sure that the tape measure does not touch any part of the underside of the car. Now, PUSH the car forward, without touching the steering wheel, while carefully observing the masking tape. Stop the car, using the hand brake only, when the tick marks are as high off the ground as possible while having a clear line of sight between the tick marks. Remeasure the distance between the tape edges at their respective tick marks. Now, subtract the two measurements to obtain the toe value. If the distance measured at the rear of the tire is greater than the front, your front axle will be toed-in. It is easier to get an accurate measurement if you use the 100-mm or the 4-inch as the starting point because we are not interested in the actual distance but rather the difference between the front and rear.

This method of checking front axle toe is very accurate because you are measuring between the same two points on each tire while the points are at both the front and rear positions. Tire and wheel run out and tread pattern irregularities are accounted for.

If you find the your toe is out of specification you can make proper adjustments. Start by changing the front distance by one half of the error. Then push the car forward (never backwards) and remeasure the rear distance. Make a small toe adjustment if necessary, and repeat the entire process until you have reached the desired toe-in value. After you think that the toe is correct take the car for a short drive and repeat the measurement process.

Although time consuming, I can assure you that this toe measurement technique is at least as accurate, and more reliable than alignment shops offer. This is a direct measurement that does not rely on equipment calibration to ensure accuracy. If you want caster and camber measured/corrected or a four-wheel alignment on a modern car you must go to an alignment shop. Use the above method to check their work. You will be surprised! Have you ever noticed tire wear after 6-months of driving after an alignment, taken the car back and told that you must of hit a curb or a chuckhole. Sure…

PS - I am submitting this procedure in a new and separate thread.
Frank Grimaldi

This thread was discussed between 02/05/2013 and 12/05/2013

MG TD TF 1500 index

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