Toe-in adjustment

[TGKY]

I’m looking for some practical ideas for measuring the toe-in of my front wheels

I have a Kubota l4701with just under 150hrs
the tie rods still have marks from where they were set at assymbly and those still match but still when I look at the tractor somthing with the way the front wheels sets just doesn’t seem right.
I have tried checking the toe in as described in the manual but I find it unclear and hard to do.
So I am asking for any practical methods folks use the check this and what specs you look for.

the secon part of my question is- is it possible for one wheel to be toed differently than the other- which I think may be what’s happening and if so- how do I check that.

Also how big of an iissue is this?

the tractor works just fine steers fine no operational issues and works as well Al my previous tractor. I’m just wanting to get a better way to check it and understand

thanks In advance.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Take a tape measure and, with your tires facing straight ahead, measure center of tread 1/2 way up on the backside of the tire. Then do the same on the front. OR, if it's easier, inside rim to inside rim. The front dimension should be a little less than the rear dimension. Check the manual for the recommended result.

It really doesn't matter too much on tractor with a top speed of maybe 15mph, unless you street drive it a lot.

 

[Captain13]

Here’s a link to the method I used on my tractor and I’ve used on my truck. The only difference to what I did was I used 4 jackstands, 2 pieces of pvc pipe and some fishing line. I put the pvc on both ends of the tractor and ran fishing line down both sides. I measured off the rear rims, got the lines parallel to the rear rims and then measured of the lines to the front and rear of the front rim. This gives a pretty accurate tow measurement. With parallel lines, I could center the front wheels before making any adjustments by turning the steering wheel, measuring the front and rear of the front rim until the measurements were equal on the left no right side.

Remember, if you want 1/8 tow in, it will be 1/16 tow on each side. I actually set my tractore to near 0 tow (about 1/16 total). Before my adjustment, the tractor would oversteer and essentially drift left and right. Mowing straight was nearly impossible because the tractor was constantly weaving. Now it runs straight. I can let go of the wheel and it goes straight unless I hit a bump or something.

 

[TGKY]

Here’s a link to the method I used on my tractor and I’ve used on my truck. The only difference to what I did was I used 4 jackstands, 2 pieces of pvc pipe and some fishing line. I put the pvc on both ends of the tractor and ran fishing line down both sides. I measured off the rear rims, got the lines parallel to the rear rims and then measured of the lines to the front and rear of the front rim. This gives a pretty accurate tow measurement. With parallel lines, I could center the front wheels before making any adjustments by turning the steering wheel, measuring the front and rear of the front rim until the measurements were equal on the left no right side.

Remember, if you want 1/8 tow in, it will be 1/16 tow on each side. I actually set my tractore to near 0 tow (about 1/16 total). Before my adjustment, the tractor would oversteer and essentially drift left and right. Mowing straight was nearly impossible because the tractor was constantly weaving. Now it runs straight. I can let go of the wheel and it goes straight unless I hit a bump or something.

This is great. thank you'

 

[Captain13]

Don’t measure to the tires. Rims only. And get your measurements as close to the center of the front wheels as possible.

 

[cthomas]

Use a piece of string and a piece of ducktape. At the 3 o'clock outside of front rim, make a mark at rim lip(on string) and tape string below it Walk string to otherside, now mark the string. Transfer to the 9 o'clock position and adjust tie rods until equal or slight toe in(will have to move string a few times back and forth).

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Lots of great advice. But it's a tractor, not a race car. Does your Kubota drive and corner like a BMW since you adjusted the toe angle?

If the tractor wanders when driving forward, adjust the toe in a bit. Can you actually tell? If you've got that much time to jack it in the air and take measurements, my hats off to you because I'm way too busy for such things. There's whiskey to be drank.

 

[cthomas]

I have performed hundreds of alignments and the first thing I learned was never adjust alignment with the wheels off the ground. Adjust it and roll it a foot to verify results(since I am assuming you don't have turntables). The roll forward allows the suspension(it this case tires) to relax and give a true reading. But again this is a tractor so unless its a pavement queen I would just eyeball it.I have done alignments on street driven performance cars that see triple digits(race course only) Yes I'm talking about balancing tires to the tenth of a ounce and checking road-force of the tires)

 

[Captain13]

I don’t adjust mine off the ground. After carefully adjusting my toe, the tractor runs straight and it reduced the front tire digging when turning around. Mine had never been adjusted and was almost 3/8 inches of toe in. Steering was terrible.

 

[lugbolt]

they have quite a bit of positive camber (top of the tire points outward in relation to the bottom of the tire). This is built into the axle, and is not adjustable.

You can set the toe but that is the only adjustment which if it's anywhere near the factory spec, you won't likely notice any difference in anything.

 

[TGKY]

they have quite a bit of positive camber (top of the tire points outward in relation to the bottom of the tire). This is built into the axle, and is not adjustable.

You can set the toe but that is the only adjustment which if it's anywhere near the factory spec, you won't likely notice any difference in anything.

This is putting words to what I was seeing. But I didn’t know what to call it. Thank you. Looking at it again this evening it’s the camber that seems unusual to me. The toe it is within spec.
I’m assuming that the camber is too since it’s not adjustable there are just certain angles I look at it and it catches my eye.
I appreciate all the input and education.

 

[lugbolt]

The camber that is built in is to make the tractor steer better.