How to Align the Rear Wheels in a Honda Accord

by Alibaster Smith

Adjusting the rear wheels in a Honda Accord involves adjusting the trailing arms and the compensator arm connected to the trailing arm. Normally, this is done by an alignment shop due to the extreme difficulty involved in this process. However, if your Accord's rear wheels are seriously misaligned, you may find it nearly impossible to even drive to an alignment shop. Going over the slightest bump in your Accord with a misaligned rear end can cause you to literally swerve all over the road.

Step 1

Place the wheel blocks in front of the front wheels and verify that your Accord is in "Park" or first gear (if it is a five-speed). Jack up the rear of the Accord using the rear jack point located just in front of the trunk area. Place the jack stands under the rear tow hooks located on either side of the car in front of the trunk (closest to the rear bumper) or under the rear pinch welds located directly under the rear passenger doors. Lower the vehicle onto the jack stands.

Step 2

Climb under the rear of the Accord and locate the trailing arm. One end of the arm will act as the base of the wheel hub and will extend towards the rear of the Accord connecting to the under body. At the other end of the trailing arm is a compensator arm, which is connected to the body of the vehicle and is adjustable. This adjustable arm is what will allow your to align the rear wheels of your Accord.

Step 3

Loosen, but do not remove, the bolts holding the trailing arm to the under body.

Step 4

Loosen, but do not remove the compensator arm to body panel bolt. Note that once this bolt is loosened, you will be able to move the entire trailing arm to align your rear wheels.

Step 5

Have an assistant hold a piece of string flat against the outside of the wheel well. Make sure the string is held tightly against the wheel and tire assembly.

Step 6

Adjust the trailing arm by sliding the compensator arm either in or out until the wheel and tire sits flat against the string. Make sure that tension is distributed equally across the string and that the wheel is not "pulling" on the string in any location. Without taking your Accord to an alignment shop or purchasing expensive and sophisticated alignment racks designed to align the rear wheels, this is really the only way you will be able to get a rough estimate of where your rear wheels should be.

Step 7

Set the dial on the torque wrench to 35 foot-pounds and tighten the compensator to body panel bolt until the wrench clicks indicating the proper torque has been reached. Tighten the trailing arm to under body bolts to 75 foot-pounds with the torque wrench.

References

Things You'll Need

Warnings

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