P1000 Front- end alignment

[Wesman]

Just purchased a new p1000-5 Deluxe and the front-end alignment appears to toed out. I don't really trust my dealer to correct it and would like to do it myself. Does anyone know the correct toe-in measurement and procedure? I have a service manual ordered but don't have it in front of me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Admin]

 

[Riverrat]

Just purchased a new p1000-5 Deluxe and the front-end alignment appears to toed out. I don't really trust my dealer to correct it and would like to do it myself. Does anyone know the correct toe-in measurement and procedure? I have a service manual ordered but don't have it in front of me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

My p1k5d was toed out over an inch when got it home from the dealer, handled terrible and was literally taring the rubber from the front tires. I used a 2x4 for a straight edge from rear tire to front tire to get the alignment in the ball park, then measured rim to rim on inside to fine tune to 3/16 toe in to 0 or straight. Also my steering wheel was off about a 1/4 turn, very easy to adjust after you get alignment right, just pry the center cap off remove the nut, pull steering wheel off the spline and set straight.

 

[CumminsPusher]

My suggestion is center the wheel before the alignment. Just like in cars the steering rack only goes so far either way and usually the steering wheel is placed correctly it's the wheels that are off. I never pull the steering wheel just do alignment. Utvs are always off a bit and I believe Honda does this purposely to slow the driver maybe but it's always towed out and unsettling. It's a good habit to just use steering wheel as a guide to where the front tires should be placed. But if you think steering wheel is off you can count threads on both sides of the lower ball joints (should be really close if not you'll lose lock-to-lock) to determine that-at least when new
It's best to put a few miles in and then fine tune it again after everything settles in.

 

[RichardM]

I had to take mine back in to dealer because at some point, somehow the wheels got out of alignment in relation to the steering wheel. The machine had less than 50 very easy miles. Their solution was to center the tires then take the steering wheel off and reattach it so it was straight. I didn't think that could be the correct way to do it but service manager insisted so I didn't fight. Anyone know what the manual says the toe should be? He says toe-out.

 

[CumminsPusher]

Towed out is Honda spec. No good. Tow in 1/8-3/16 like river rat suggested. Towed out it wonders and ruins tires. Unless it somehow jumped gears in the rack it should not have had to pull and recenter the wheel unless off at factory and they aligned it wrong to begin at dealer. But I don't think alignment is on dealer checklist Your steering wheel doesn't just become "off" but wheels can

 

[DRAGFOOT]

Actually It looks like toe in.

 

[CumminsPusher]

That's awesome!!! I argued with my dealer about that nice to see,where did you find that?

 

[DRAGFOOT]

Honda service manual.

 

[Stauvo]

Towed out is Honda spec. No good. Tow in 1/8-3/16 like river rat suggested. Towed out it wonders and ruins tires. Unless it somehow jumped gears in the rack it should not have had to pull and recenter the wheel unless off at factory and they aligned it wrong to begin at dealer. But I don't think alignment is on dealer checklist Your steering wheel doesn't just become "off" but wheels can

You gave me a good right up on this awhile back. My dealer said they set it up for 1/4 toe out for saftey. When I took it in for first service I said toe out was abnormal and machine was lazy and wandering along with crooked steering wheel. They checked it no charge and said it was over an inch out on the right side. It is driving better but need to fine tune it now.

 

[CumminsPusher]

Honda service manual.

Dammit I need one! Well was on except for the factory wanting it out apparently that's only the dealer! Wish Honda went by their own writing though because it seems like they are all towed out when sold

 

[Eltobgi]

So do you just loosen the jam nut and remove the clamp on the boot and turn the shaft until desired adjustment is met?

 

[DRAGFOOT]

Just loosen the jam nut and turn the shaft then tighten it back up.

 

[CumminsPusher]

So do you just loosen the jam nut and remove the clamp on the boot and turn the shaft until desired adjustment is met?

@DRAGFOOT is spot on easy peasy no need for dealer in fact with your abilities you're better of doing it yourself it'll be right

 

[Wesman]

I checked the toe and found it to toed out over an inch. I adjusted it and got the toe-in to 1/8" and it now handles like a whole different machine. I recommend checking your toe-in.

 

[CumminsPusher]

I checked the toe and found it to toed out over an inch. I adjusted it and got the toe-in to 1/8" and it now handles like a whole different machine. I recommend checking your toe-in.

They all seem to come like that reguardless of what factory says not sure why because they come from the factory not the dealer with that setup but yes everyone should check it unless they prefer a vehicle with crappy handling that wears out front tires 3 times faster. Just check it and fix yourself don't even bother with the dealer

 

[Stauvo]

They all seem to come like that reguardless of what factory say not sure why because they come from the factory not the dealer with that setup but yes everyone should check it unless they prefer a vehicle with crappy handling that wears out front tires 3 times faster. Just check it and fix yourself don't even bother with the dealer

Just where is the saftey factor with excess toe out when you turn the wheel to round a corner and it instead wants to wander into the trees?

 

[ghost]

My ARD (anal retentive disorder) is acting up.
Using the procedure that @DRAGFOOT posted, I can get the overall tow in/out but how do I know which side is out more. Maybe one side is actually 'out' a bit and the other 'in' alot resulting in a moderate 'in' reading.

Or we just dont care about that precision cause it doesnt pull to one side?

 

[CumminsPusher]

Count the threads on your steering control arms before the nuts on both sides. They should be pretty close without damage to the machine. If not get them pretty close adjusting back and forth between the two sides. From your first check you shouldn't have to do that again at least without damage. Check alignment often. I start with the wheel straight because it never jumps off the steering shaft.

This is how we do it its a post I posted awhile ago and works very well.

most of the time we do this up in the woods so this may sound crude (because we don't park it in a warm garage with air tools or have Honda do it) but first loosen both steering control arms then set steering wheel straight. I prefer to do this on the ground as the rig is sitting correctly. Take a straight edge(2x4 angle iron ect) longer is better set against rear tire on the ground but make sure it looks even as you look down at the rear tire then set another straight edge against front tire the exact same way and eyeball to the rear straight edge move front in/out to match leave loose repeat on opposite side get them pretty close. Measure across front insides of tire and same on the rear making sure the point you're measuring from is the same on botH sides I generally don't use the tread I'll use the flat part of the tire or the center if there is a definite line. Back should be 3/16 wider but both tires were close to straight so split that between both tires. One turn is huge go slow. Tighten go for a ride ill feel great but come back in set 2x4s again have someone check the front while you find exact center make sure steering wheel is back straight and the front 2x4s look a little wide in back tires look good and check again for wider gap in rear as long as it's very close to 3/16 it's good. Also works on trucks. The next time you do it will be fast. We have to do this at least once a month. Any rig even new we will do this kind of alignment to. Factory is crap I think they do it on purpose. I'd check alignment every 200 or so and any time steering isn't straight ( unless it's a dirt road machine) it's super easy and tire life can be 3 times(especially since you can't rotate tire because of the offsets) I'll even do the rears occasionally but that's a pain in the ass. I would honestly check the front and every couple maybe 300 miles at least more if you ride on more then just dirt roads and always do it on a new machine tires are really expensive you can get double life easy and factory settings are crap always even if it feelsgood. Hope this helps good luck

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[Wesman]

My ARD (anal retentive disorder) is acting up.
Using the procedure that @DRAGFOOT posted, I can get the overall tow in/out but how do I know which side is out more. Maybe one side is actually 'out' a bit and the other 'in' alot resulting in a moderate 'in' reading.

Or we just dont care about that precision cause it doesnt pull to one side?

I went to our local dealer and the shop foreman took the time to show me the best method. The steering wheel comes shipped in the crate with the machine and the dealer usually looks at the front tire on the drivers side and gets it straight and puts the wheel on, so don't use the steering wheel as a guide.
I counted the threads shown on the tie rod, at the nut, and adjusted them equally until it looked close upon inspection, standing back and looking at the front.
I now took 2 pieces of string and 2 jack stands and tied the string on the rear hitch and brought the string around the back tires and up past the front tires and tied it to the jack stands. Move the jack stands in and out until the strings just starts to touch the front of the rear tire, now you can measure off of the wheel on each side to get your toe in. The string needs to be in the center of the wheel to be accurate.
Now remove your steering wheel with a 19mm and center it, start the machine and turn it left to right and check your center to center lock.

 

[CumminsPusher]

Awesome even better!! That's a great plan to start when you get one home. I always centered it off of threads showing the first time to get wheel straight but that does explain why everything is so far off usually, I don't think dealers are doing that every time. Great information. You won't need to do that a second time.