Stuff needed.
White spray paint.
Tape measure.
Pizza cutter, nail, ice pick, whatever to scribe a line with.
Large cardboard boxes.
I use boxes because it's more comfortable to lay on the ground. You need a flat area. Not necessarily level, but flat. Boxes I use unfold to about 7x4 feet. Jack up each wheel and have somebody spin the tire while you spray a white stripe, in the middle of the tread, around the circumference of the tire.
Let the paint thoroughly dry.
With the tire still in the air have somebody spin the tire and use the scribing device to scribe a line in the middle of the white paint all the way around the tire.
Lower the tires onto the ground and remove the jack.
Start the vehicle and roll it back about 2 feet then roll back to original position.
You have to do this to settle the suspension into its normal position. Also, level the steering wheel while you're settling the suspension. More on this later.
Now, looking at the outside of each tire site as far up to the middle of the tire as you can .You might not be able to go a full halfway because of suspension interference but as close as you can get is good. Tape measure from 1 front tire to the other front then measure the same on the back of the front tires. Subtract the measure ments .Lets say the front was 70 inches and the rear is 70 1/4 inches .That's 1/4 inch toe in. I usually shoot for 1/8 inch. But if you have really wide tires it needs to be more. Wider tires have more road drag against them and if you don't have enough toe in they will toe out going down the road . Adjust the toe with the tie rod adjusting sleeves. Later Rangers have rack and pinion and no inner tie rods. They have inner socket assemblies.
These are easier. Loosen the locknut at the inner end of each tie rod and turn the shaft to set toe. If you have inner and outer tie rods They are connected with an adjuster sleeve. Loosen the sleeve and turn it appropriately . If the sleeves are stuck, you might have to use heat (torch) to get them to loosen up.
Now, site down the inside sidewalls of your front tires and take note of how much rear tire tread you see. Just like siteing down open sites on a rifle. You're putting an imaginary line down the front and rear sidewalls of your front tires and seeing how much of each rear tire is showing . You are looking for each rear tire to show the same picture. If you have 1 rear showing 1 1/2 treads and the other rear is showing 1/2 tread, your steering wheel will be crooked. Once you get the toe you need and the steering wheel set, lock everything down. You're done.
It may sound complicated but the longest part is painting and scribing the tires. It took me about an hour to get the tires marked and 15 minutes to set the toe and make sure the steering wheel was strait .
Also, you don't really have to center the steering wheel if you don't mind a crooked steering wheel .
Think of the process like this. Your setting toe in, not trying to fly the Space Shuttle .
