Dennis Burford

Thanks Chris, will let the Sears guys know that. I did have holes burned into my inner tail light fixture that I had to fix, maybe a previous alignment shop used a brake pedal lock in the past.
Thanks Brad, good video, but more than I want to tackle at the moment, but I will keep the pivot plates and lasers on my list of things to acquire down the road. I've got a list of more important parts I need at the moment (radiator is starting to weep, drivers door handle is close to going, etc.) I'd read Andrew's post before, good stuff.

Dennis Burford

OK so I'm a little confused. If you can use the rack centering bolt at Sears (as referenced in Dwayne's post that Jeff linked to), but can't take weight off the car, does the whole rack assembly and car raise into the air so a tech can get under the car?

Landseer

Its M12 x 1.5

Speedtoys

Yes..that is correct...the whole alignment rack generally sits about 3-4' off the ground for the tech to work under it.

Richard S

Dennis, I have a rack centering bolt if you need to borrow it.

And being the first one there on a slow morning defintely helps, as already mentioned.

Rich

Speedtoys

Geesh, I have about a bazillion used racecar studs I can use for that.

Thanks!

Dennis Burford

Rich, that would be great, but for 9 bucks I should probably just get one to have myself. If I can't source one fast enough I'll PM you. Thanks for the offer.

Go-carter

Is this somtehing a regular adjustment guy would know how to use? I'm going to have my 928 for alignment soon, and would like to have the steeringwheel etc. properly sentered.

Landseer

Yes.

On the rack is a little black plastic plug, drivers side, facing forward.
Remove with a screwdriver.
Unlock your steering wheel with the ignition key.
Move the steering (either a helper in the car or you wrestling the tire from under the car)
The dimple on the rack shaft needs to be aligned in the hole.
The wheels get aligned to specification with that dimple centered.
Then, the steering wheel is removed from the splines and reset if necessary.
Usually its not necessary unless the steering wheel had been taken off.
(Its possible to get the steering universal joint off by a spline or maybe two if forced, or 180 degrees, also, under the car at the rack during, say, motor mount service)

gaijin

When I bought mine, I contacted a good friend, Bruce Anderson and he provided the following protocol for proper ride height and alignment of my 1987 S4: "A few critical items about alignment of the 928. The first is to make sure the car is at the proper ride height. Your 1987 has adjustable spring perches in both the front and rear of the car. The specification calls for the ride height to be 180mm +/-10mm for the front. There is a small flat machined on the rear holder of the front lower control arm, this is were the measurement is taken. The rear is 173mm +/-10mm as measured from a machined flat on the rear cross member. The height adjustment takes time. You need to perform the adjustments, drive the car to settle the suspension and then re-measure and adjust again until correct. Do not try and have the height adjusted and then align right away. The suspension needs to settle by driving a good 20 miles on a nice twisty road. To align a 928 most shops will insist they raise the car to check the suspension components and calibrate the alignment machine. The 928 cannot be lifted before alignment! The unique design of the 928’s robust suspension causes the control arm bushings to bind when lifted and doesn’t allow the car to settle to its original ride height until driven for a while. This causes an incorrect alignment and rapid wear of the inside of the front tires. The workshop manuals show a special tool to pull the 928 back down to its original height before alignment. It is far easier and more accurate to use a shop that has the new style alignment machines that do not need to lift the car to perform an alignment. The older alignment machines can be used if you ask the facility to calibrate the unit by attaching the sensors to your wheels and rolling the car back to calibrate the sensors. Some shops won’t do this, so you will need to find another facility that will. The car must be at the proper ride height, wheel bearings adjusted, suspension components in good shape and tire pressure correct before alignment. The alignment specifications for a 1986-1995 928 are: Front: Caster 4 +1 Camber –30 +/- 10 Toe +15 +/- 5 Adjustment nuts torque to 88ft/lb Rear: Toe +10 +/-5 Camber –40 +/- 10 Camber eccentric nut (M14X1.5) torque to 146ft/lb Toe eccentric nut (M10X1.5) torque to 88ft/lb."