i am gonna be putting new struts on my car soon and iwas wondering if i can align the front end my self or do i need special machines and stuff

 

i need special machines and stuff!

 

If you have a flat place to do the work and have some understanding of what you are trying to measure and how to measure it, you can do it yourself. A carpenter's combination square with a bubble level in the handle, a 6" scale that reads to 1/32" or finer, and two strings and something to stretch them between is all you need. And patience (when in doubt, re-measure). A calculator helps too, but isn't absolutely necessary.

The fancy machines make it possible to do alignments as a business at a price that people will pay. Assuming that you have a really flat driveway, can shim the tire points flat, or know its slope, you can read this mostly as "more quickly than DIY in the driveway". Not necessarily more accurate - that depends a lot on your individual patience.

I did my own alignments for years this way but recently upgraded my alignment equipment to a homemade camber gauge that uses a dial indicator for about $25 plus the dial indicator.

Norm