Proper wheel alignment saves on tire tread and allows you to stay fairly straight in your lane of travel with minimal steering. Potholes and other road obstacles can cause your vehicle to fall out of alignment. Tool dealer Harbor Freight carries turntables for you to park the front of your vehicle on and judge whether you have an alignment issue. While you can gauge various angles with the alignment turntables in your home garage, it's recommended that you allow a trained professional to execute any realignment.
Unpack the box containing the Harbor Freight alignment turntables. Read any instructions offered by the manufacturer.
Position the turntables on a level, flat surface. The center of the turntables should be placed so they match the midpoint of the width of each front tire. Measure the distance between the centers of your front wheels and place the turntables at the same distance on the work surface.
Place scale pins through the top plate to lock each turntable, as instructed by the manufacturer.
Drive your vehicle slowly onto the turntables. Place your vehicle in park, turn off the engine, engage the parking brake and block the rear wheels to prevent any movement of the car or truck. Confirm your front tires are in the center of the turntables, and move the vehicle to adjust as necessary.
Remove the scale pins to allow the turntable to move.
Crank the steering wheel as far right as possible. Take the reading on the scale plate, given in degrees.
Turn the steering wheel as far as possible in the other direction, to take a reading for the left wheel positions. Check the scale plate for a reading. If the left and right readings differ by more than 5 degrees, have your front-end alignment checked by a trained professional.
Unblock the rear wheels and release the parking brake. Slowly drive in reverse to move your vehicle off the alignment turntables.
