Why is it necessary and how to adjust the wheel alignment on the VAZ 2106

Do-it-yourself car repair is not only a way to save money, but also to do it efficiently, since not every master approaches his work responsibly. It is quite possible for the owners of this car to adjust the wheel alignment on the VAZ 2106, especially if the car is operated at a considerable distance from the city and there is simply no opportunity to visit a car service.

Camber-convergence on VAZ 2106

The front suspension of the VAZ 2106 has two important parameters - toe and camber, which have a direct impact on the vehicle's handling. In case of serious repair work or modification of the suspension, the wheel alignment angles (UUK) must be adjusted. Violation of the values ​​leads to stability problems and excessive wear on the front tires.

Why adjustment is needed

Wheel alignment for domestically produced cars is recommended to be checked and adjusted every 10–15 thousand km. run. This is due to the fact that even in a serviceable suspension for such a mileage on roads with poor quality of coverage, the parameters can change quite a lot, and this will affect handling. One of the common reasons why UUKs go astray is when a wheel hits a hole at speed. Therefore, even an unscheduled inspection may be required. In addition, the procedure is necessary in such cases:

• if steering tips, levers or silent blocks have changed;
• in the event of a change in standard clearance;
• when moving the car to the side;
• if the tires are heavily worn;
• when the steering wheel does not return itself after cornering.

After the repair of the undercarriage of the machine is completed, when the suspension arms, steering tips or silent blocks have changed, it is necessary to adjust the wheel alignment

What is collapse

Camber is the angle of inclination of the wheels relative to the road surface. The parameter can be negative or positive. If the upper part of the wheel is tucked up towards the center of the car, then the angle takes on a negative value, and when it tumbles outward, it takes on a positive value. If the parameter differs greatly from the factory values, the tires will wear out quickly.

Decay can be positive and negative

What is convergence

Toe-in refers to the difference in distance between the front and rear points of the front wheels. The parameter is measured in millimeters or degrees / minutes, it can also be positive or negative. With a positive value, the front parts of the wheels are closer to each other than the rear ones, and with a negative value, vice versa. If the wheels are parallel to each other, the convergence is considered zero.

Toe is the difference between the front and rear points of the front wheels.

Video: when to do wheel alignment

When to do alignment and when not to.

What is a caster

Caster (castor) is usually called the angle at which the axis of rotation of the wheel is tilted. Proper adjustment of the parameter ensures the stabilization of the wheels while the machine is moving in a straight line.

Caster is the angle of inclination of the axis of rotation of the wheel

Table: front wheel alignment angles on the sixth model Zhiguli

Adjustable parameter	Angle value (values ​​on vehicle without load)
caster angle	4°+30' (3°+30')
camber angle	0°30’+20′ (0°5’+20′)
wheel alignment angle	2–4 (3–5) mm

How does an incorrectly installed wheel alignment manifest itself?

There are not so many symptoms indicating a violation of the installation of the wheel angles and, as a rule, they boil down to the lack of stability of the car, improper steering position or excessive wear of rubber.

Road instability

If the car behaves unstable when driving in a straight line (pulls to the side or “floats” when the wheel hits a pothole), attention should be paid to such points:

1. Check if the front tires have any effect on slip even if new tires are installed. To do this, change the wheels of the front axle in places. If the vehicle deviates in the other direction, then the matter is in the tires. The problem in this case is due to the quality of rubber manufacturing.
2. Is the beam of the rear axle of the VAZ "six" damaged?
   

   If the rear beam is damaged, the behavior of the car on the road may be unstable
3. There are hidden defects in the chassis of the car that were not revealed during the inspection.
4. If the instability persists after adjustment work, then the reason may be in poor-quality tuning, which requires repeating the procedure.

Steering wheel uneven when driving in a straight line

The steering wheel can be uneven for several reasons:

1. There is significant play in the steering mechanism, which is possible both due to problems with the steering gear, and with the steering linkage, pendulum or other elements.
   

   The steering wheel when driving in a straight line may be uneven due to the large play in the steering gear, which requires adjustment or replacement of the assembly
2. The rear axle is slightly turned in relation to the front axle.
3. The pressure in the wheels of the front and rear axles is different from the factory values.
   

   If the tire pressure is not correct, the steering wheel may not be level when driving in a straight line.
4. Sometimes changing the angle of the steering wheel can be influenced by rearrangement of the wheels.

If the steering wheel is tilted and the car simultaneously pulls to the side, then first you need to find out and eliminate the problem of instability, and then deal with the wrong position of the steering wheel.

Increased tire wear

The tire tread can quickly wear off when the wheels are out of balance or when the camber and toe angles are incorrectly adjusted. Therefore, first of all, you need to check and, if necessary, perform balancing. As for the UUK, then, because the tires are worn out, it is sometimes possible to determine which suspension parameters need to be adjusted. If the camber angle is set incorrectly on the VAZ 2106, then the tire will have excessive wear on the outside or inside. With too positive camber, the outer part of the rubber will wear out more. With negative camber - internal. With incorrect toe settings, the tire is erased unevenly, which leads to the appearance of burrs (herringbones) on it, which are easily felt by the hands. If you run your hand along the tread from the outside of the tire to the inside, and burrs will be felt, then the toe angle is insufficient, and if from the inside to the outside, it is too large. It is possible to more accurately determine whether the UUK values ​​​​have gone astray or not only during diagnostics.

By tire wear, you can determine which suspension parameters need to be adjusted.

Wheel alignment adjustment at the service station

If there is a suspicion that your “six” has a wheel alignment disorder, then you should visit a car service to diagnose the suspension and wheel angles. If it is found that some suspension elements are out of order, they will have to be replaced and only then adjusted. The procedure can be carried out on different equipment, for example, an optical or computer stand. What is important is not so much the equipment used, but the experience and approach of the master. Therefore, even on the most modern equipment, the setting may not give the desired result. In different services, the CCC verification technology may differ. First, the master checks the pressure in the wheels, pumps them up according to the installed tires, enters the values ​​\uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbinto the computer, and then proceeds to the adjustment work. As for the car owner, he should not be so concerned with the equipment that will be used for adjustment, but with the fact that after the procedure the car behaves stably on the road, it does not take it away or throw it anywhere, it does not “eat” rubber.

Video: wheel alignment installation in service conditions

Wheel alignment at the service station AvtoRay LADA

Self-adjusting wheel alignment on the VAZ 2106

"Zhiguli" of the sixth model during the repair work does not cause any problems. Therefore, visiting a car service every time there is a suspicion that the CCC has been violated can be a costly undertaking. In this regard, many owners of the car in question check and adjust the wheel angles on their own.

Preparatory work

To carry out adjustment work, the car will need to be driven onto a flat horizontal surface. If this is not possible, then to install the wheels horizontally, linings are placed under them. Before diagnosing, check:

• tire pressure;
• performance of dampers;
• steering play;
• clearance in wheel bearings and front suspension joints.

If suspension problems are found during preparation, we fix them. The machine must be equipped with wheels and tires of the same size. On the VAZ 2106, you need to set the tire pressure according to the following values: 1,6 kgf / cm² in front and 1,9 kgf / cm² in the rear, which also depends on the installed rubber.

Before adjusting the wheel alignment angles, it is necessary to check and inflate the wheels

Table: pressure in the wheels of the "six" depending on the size of the tires

Tire size	Tire pressure MPa (kgf/cm²)
	front wheels	rear wheels
165 / 80R13	1.6	1.9
175 / 70R13	1.7	2.0
165 / 70R13	1.8	2.1

It is recommended to check and set the angles when loading the car: in the middle of the luggage compartment, you need to place a load of 40 kg, and on each of the four seats, 70 kg. The steering wheel must be set to the middle position, which will correspond to the rectilinear movement of the machine.

Castor adjustment

Castor is regulated as follows:

1. We make a device from a piece of metal 3 mm thick, in accordance with the above figure. We will use the device with a plumb line.
   

   To adjust the castor, you need to make a special template
2. Adjustment is carried out by reducing or adding shims on the fasteners of the lower arm axle. By moving 0,5mm washers from the front to the rear, you can increase the caster by 36-40'. At the same time, the wheel camber will decrease by 7–9′, and, accordingly, vice versa. For adjustment, we purchase washers with a thickness of 0,5–0,8 mm. The elements must be mounted with the slot down.
   

   An adjusting washer of a certain thickness is inserted between the axis of the lower arm and the beam
3. On the device, we mark the sector, according to which, with the correct installation of the wheels, the plumb line should be located. We wrap the nuts on the ball bearings so that their faces are perpendicular to the longitudinal plane of the machine, after which we apply the fixture.
   

   To install the castor, we wrap the nuts on the ball bearings so that their faces are perpendicular to the longitudinal plane of the machine, and then apply the template

The castor values ​​between the front wheels of the VAZ 2106 should differ by no more than 30′.

Camber adjustment

To measure and set the camber, you need to prepare the following tools:

• key on 19;
• adjusting washers;
• plumb line (thread with a load);
• ruler.

We perform the procedure as follows:

1. We shake several times the front and rear of the car by the bumper.
2. We hang the plumb line, fixing it at the top of the wheel or on the wing.
3. With a ruler, we determine the distance between the lace and the disk in the upper (a) and lower (b) parts.
   

   Camber check: 1 - cross member; 2 - adjusting washers; 3 - lower arm; 4 - plumb; 5 - wheel tire; 6 - upper arm; a and b are the distances from the thread to the edges of the rim
4. If the difference between the values ​​(b-a) is 1–5 mm, then the camber angle is within acceptable limits. If the value is less than 1 mm, the camber is insufficient and to increase it, several washers should be removed between the axis of the lower arm and the beam, slightly unscrewing the fasteners.
   

   To loosen the lower arm axle, you will need to loosen two nuts by 19
5. With a large camber angle (b-a more than 5 mm), we increase the thickness of the adjusting elements. Their total thickness should be the same, for example, 2,5 mm on the left stud and 2,5 mm on the right.
   

   To change the camber, remove or add shims (the lever is removed for clarity)

Toe adjustment

The convergence is established using the following materials and tools:

• ruler;
• a thread;
• wire;
• keys for 13;
• ticks.

We make hooks from the wire and tie a thread to them. The rest of the procedure consists of the following steps:

1. We tighten the thread in such a way that it touches points 1 on the front wheel (we fix the lace in front with a hook for the tread), and an assistant held it behind.
   

   Determination of convergence of wheels: 1 - points of equal runout; 2 - cord; 3 - ruler; c - distance from the cord to the front of the sidewall of the rear wheel tire
2. Using a ruler, we determine the distance between the thread and the rear wheel in its front part. The "c" value should be 26-32 mm. If "c" differs from the specified values ​​in one of the directions, then we determine the convergence on the other side of the machine in the same way.
3. If the sum of the “c” values ​​on both sides is 52–64 mm, and the steering wheel spoke has a small angle (up to 15 °) relative to the horizontal when moving straight, then there is no need to adjust.
4. At values ​​that do not correspond to those indicated above, we make adjustments, for which we loosen the clamps on the steering rods with keys 13.
   

   Steering tips are fixed with special clamps, which must be released for adjustment.
5. We rotate the clutch with pliers, making the rod end longer or shorter, achieving the desired convergence.
   

   Using pliers, rotate the clamp, lengthening or shortening the tip
6. When the required values ​​\uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbare set, tighten the clamps.

Video: do-it-yourself wheel alignment using the VAZ 2121 as an example

Wheel alignment for Niva

It should be borne in mind that a change in the camber angle always affects the change in convergence.

Classic "Zhiguli" are not difficult in terms of repair and maintenance of a car. You can set the angles of the front wheels with improvised means, after reading the step-by-step instructions. Timely adjustment will help to avoid a possible accident, get rid of premature tire wear and ensure comfortable driving.