My front tires are reaching their end and I'm noticing a significant imbalance of tread wear between inside and outside. Haven't ever checked or adjusted my front wheel alignment since I've had it. Also has been behaving a little odd lately. Steering notch? Something else? Figured no time like the present before I put new tires on.

Obviously I don't have access to a factory alignment tool let alone a qualified dealership, so... Went with the string alignment method. May not be perfect but close is better than way off.

My calculations indicated that I was toe-out by quite a bit. No crash damage, just daily wear and tear. Was able to bring it back close by moving the shim washers. May be my imagination but the steering feels a little bit more lively now. Not a big difference, very subtle. Will see if the tires even out now.

Along the way I discovered that the vertical rotate bearings on the steering tie rod didn't seem quite right. Not sure what is supposed to be there but my guess is that there is supposed to be an o-ring top and bottom to keep the water out and the grease in. Mine is missing one of the o-rings and the needle bearings inside are now at bushing status. Facepalm emoticon I greased them up and put it back together so I could verify the alignment. Will have to order up some parts to make it right.

One more thing to keep and eye on.
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