It is not difficult to make a wheel alignment on the VAZ-2107 with your own hands, but you will have to adhere to a number of requirements and recommendations. Otherwise, the rubber will not last long. Camber is a term that determines at what angle relative to the vertical the wheel of a car is set. In those cases, if the upper edge of the wheel looks out, this is a positive camber. If she looks inward, then negative. When adjusting on computerized stands, the angles are indicated with the prefixes "+" and "-".
Basic adjustments
If the camber is adjusted incorrectly on one side, then the car will drift to the side when driving. During a straight line, take your hands off the steering wheel and see where the car will “pull”. But before that, be sure to make sure that the tires have the same normal pressure. In case of problems, you need to do the alignment with your own hands on the VAZ-2107.
Toe-in refers to how the front wheels are positioned relative to each other when driving on the road. But when adjusting, the angle is measured relative to the normal position. On sevens, the toe angle is positive, for front-wheel drive models it should be negative. This is to ensure that the front wheels are level after starting off and while driving.
If you set the wheel alignment incorrectly with your own hands, the VAZ-2107 will “eat” tires very quickly. Therefore, it is extremely important to monitor the angles of the front wheel settings, because the cost of the cheapest tire is about 2000 rubles. And the adjustment procedure takes no more than an hour. After a successful repair, you will receive the perfect condition of the car. The car will drive smoothly, no more pulling to the side, which will increase safety and convenience.
When to adjust the camber and convergence
Before adjusting installation angles, make sure you have the following set of tools:
- Caliper.
- Open-end and box wrenches.
- Ticks.
- Strong thread.
- Metal hooks or push pins.
- Wooden blocks - 2.2 cm and 6 mm thick.
This is the minimum set you will need. The presence of penetrating WD-40 lubricant will not hurt, since the nuts and bolts are close to the roadcoating and constantly accumulate dust and dirt on them. Rust is possible, so you need to thoroughly clean the threaded connections before starting repairs on the car. On the inside of the wheels, you also need to remove all accumulations of dirt.
When to adjust
Make sure that you really need to adjust the alignment with your own hands on the VAZ-2107. Be sure to do the adjustment if the following symptoms are present:
- The trajectory changes despite the fact that you keep the steering wheel level. The car is still slowly moving away. But this must be checked when driving on a flat road, with the same tire pressure.
- If there are visible deviations in the installation of the front wheels. In the presence of such symptoms, the rubber will wear out unevenly, and gasoline consumption will increase. Suspension and steering elements often fail.
- If you were involved in an accident in which the components of the car's suspension or steering were damaged, do-it-yourself wheel alignment on the VAZ-2107 is done. The photo of the stages of the procedure is given for clarity and understanding of the processes.
- Be sure to check wheel alignment when repairing suspension or steering components.
Required conditions
The most accurate check is possible only in the workshops on the stands. But in the absence of such attributes, you can use the checked"grandfather" method. It is advisable to install the car on an inspection hole, as you will have to unscrew the nuts and bolts of the suspension, and without it it is problematic to do this.
When carrying out work, carefully inspect the entire suspension, the condition of silent blocks and ball joints, tie rod ends. If there is play in them, then setting the wheel angles will not bring any result, and all the work will be done in vain, the car will change its trajectory spontaneously.
Preparatory work
Do-it-yourself alignment on the VAZ-2107 on the rear wheels is not carried out, since the hubs are set in one position and cannot be shifted to the side. The procedure is done only on the front axle of the car. And it does not depend on whether the car has rear or front-wheel drive. Before starting work, do the following:
- To make the adjustment as accurate as possible, you need to load the machine. The weight of the load must be 320 kg and it must be distributed evenly on all four wheels. You can seat four people with approximately the same body weight in a car and throw a bag of cement into the trunk.
- The obligatory condition is a full tank of gasoline. The capacity of the fuel tank in the VAZ-2107 is 39 liters. Make sure the petrol level is close to the maximum mark.
- Tire pressure must be kept at a normal level - if necessary, align it. Depending on the type of rubber, the pressure may fluctuate in the range of 1.8-2.5 atm.
That's all, now you can do the alignment on the VAZ-2107 with your own hands, the preparation for the procedure is over.
Front camber control
It should be noted that it is rather problematic to set the camber angles on your own, as there are many difficulties. But to check how much the angle deviates from the normal position, you can easily. To do this, you need to act according to the following algorithm:
- Put the vehicle on level ground and secure it by chocking the rear wheels.
- Get in the car and turn the steering wheel until it is level. The wheels must be parallel to the vehicle body.
- Depress the shock absorbers 2-3 times to bring the car's suspension to the normal position. The force should be approximately 40-50 kg. The operation is carried out on all four shock absorbers.
- Take the thread and fix it on the top of the fender of the car so that it runs clearly through the center of the wheel. To achieve a vertical position, tie a weight to the lower end. Measure from the top and bottom edges of the wheel to the thread. The difference in values is the camber.
For example, the difference is 2 mm. This means that the camber angle is 20 minutes (not degrees). Normally, the angle should be equal to 4 degrees and 30 minutes. A maximum deviation of no more than 20 minutes is permissible. But it's inwhen the machine is loaded with a mass of 320 kg. If there is no load, then the angle should not deviate by more than 20 min. from 0 degrees and 5 min.
Check wheel alignment
As can be seen from the above, you can quickly do the wheel alignment on the VAZ-2107 with your own hands. The order of the work is simple, just have a little patience, skill will come with time.
Preparation for wheel alignment is the same as in the case of camber, the only difference is in the following steps:
- Align the wheels, park the car on level ground and place extra weight on it. Only after carrying out the preparatory work can the adjustment begin.
- To check the convergence, you must use a strong thread with hooks tied at the ends.
- Lock the hooks on the front and rear wheels so that the thread runs straight through the centers of both axles.
- The rear wheels have a 44 mm narrower track than the front wheels. Therefore, a bar with a thickness of 22 mm must be attached to the front of the rear wheel. The thread is laid on top of this beam.
- Turn the steering wheel so that the thread touches both sides of the front tire.
- Fix the thread on the opposite side and install 22 and 6 mm thick bars under the back of the wheel.
Wheel alignment
If the wheels are out of alignment, you will need to make adjustments. To do this, follow these steps:
- Loosen the tie rod end clamps.
- When using Cobra-type pliers, it is necessary to rotate the clutch. Before starting the adjustment, be sure to clean all threaded connections from dirt and dust, treat with penetrating lubricant.
- Rotate the clutch until the gap between the thread and the front wheel tire is normal.
- After completing the work, be sure to tighten the threaded connections.
- The second wheel is adjusted in the same way.
- Total toe-in should not exceed 2 mm.
Conclusion
Do-it-yourself alignment adjustment on the VAZ-2107 is a complex and responsible procedure. If you are not confident in your abilities or do not have a viewing hole, the necessary set of tools, then it is better to abandon the idea of doing this procedure yourself. The convergence must be set at a level of about 2 mm. At the same time, bars 34 mm thick are placed under the thread.
If it is necessary to withstand a convergence of 1.5 mm, then the timber should be 3 mm thinner. Moreover, the machine must be loaded - this is a prerequisite for the work. Not only the convenience of using a car depends on the quality of performance, but also the frequency of suspension repairs, tire life, and safety. Therefore, due attention must be paid to the condition of the steering and suspension.