Five free practice questions on wheel alignment: content area C of the ASE A4 Suspension & Steering test, 11 of its 40 scored questions (27.5%). They are in the ASE format: four options, one best answer. Answer each one before opening the explanation. No account, no email.
01The questions
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A pickup wanders on a straight, level highway, and the driver must make constant small steering corrections. Any of these could cause the wander EXCEPT:
- too little positive caster at both front wheels.
- a front wheel and tire out of balance.
- worn outer tie rod ends.
- excessive total toe-out at the front wheels.
Show the answer
B. Correct. An out-of-balance front wheel and tire shakes the steering wheel at highway speed, which is a vibration, not a wander. Wander comes from conditions that let the wheels change direction, such as too little caster, toe-out or steering play.
Why not the others
A. Positive caster gives straight-line stability; with too little, the wheels have little self-centering force and the truck wanders. Caster is measured and reset to the manufacturer's specification.
C. Play in the tie rod ends lets each wheel change direction without the steering wheel moving, so the truck wanders. A dry-park check with the wheels on the ground finds the play.
D. With toe-out, the front wheels point away from each other, and small road forces steer the truck first one way and then the other, so it wanders and darts. Front toe is set to specification.
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A pickup with independent front suspension has its front caster measured with the bed empty. A heavy load centered in the bed then lowers the rear several inches while the front height changes little, and caster is measured again. How does the second reading compare with the first?
- Caster is less positive
- Caster is unchanged
- Caster becomes unequal side to side
- Caster is more positive
Show the answer
D. Correct. Lowering the rear tips the whole frame nose up, which tilts the top of each steering axis rearward, and a rearward tilt is more positive caster. That is why readings are taken at the load the manufacturer states, and why a sagged rear spring raises front caster.
Why not the others
A. That would happen if the rear rose or the front dropped, tipping the nose down and the tops of the steering axes forward. Lowering the rear does the reverse and makes caster more positive.
B. Caster is the steering axis tilt measured from true vertical, so tipping the frame changes it even though no adjustment was touched. The nose-up tilt makes caster more positive.
C. A load centered in the bed tips the frame nose up evenly, so both sides gain positive caster by about the same amount; it does not create a side-to-side difference.
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A technician is about to measure toe-out on turns on an alignment rack. Technician A says front toe should be set to specification before the turning angles are read. Technician B says a turning angle outside its specification is brought into range by adjusting the tie rods. Who is right?
- A only
- B only
- Both A and B
- Neither A nor B
Show the answer
A. Correct. Technician A is right: straight-ahead toe offsets where each wheel starts, so turning angles read before toe is set are skewed by the toe error. Technician B is wrong because the tie rods set straight-ahead toe; toe-out on turns comes from the steering arms and is corrected by replacing a bent part.
Why not the others
B. Technician B is wrong: a tie rod adjustment changes straight-ahead toe, while the turning angles come from the steering arm geometry. Technician A is right that toe is set first, since a toe error shifts both turning-angle readings.
C. Only Technician A is right. Technician B confuses toe with toe-out on turns: the tie rods set toe, while the turning angles are fixed by the steering arms and are corrected by replacing a bent part.
D. Technician A is right, because a toe error carries into the turning-angle readings, so toe is set first. Technician B is wrong: turning angles have no tie rod adjustment, and a reading out of range means a bent steering arm or knuckle.
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On a car with independent rear suspension, each rear toe link runs from the subframe to the knuckle at a point behind the wheel center, and its length is set with a threaded adjuster. The left rear reads 0.25° toe-out against the manufacturer's 0.10° ±0.10° toe-in. How is the left rear brought into specification?
- Shorten the link to pull the wheel's rear inward
- Shorten the link to pull the wheel's front inward
- Lengthen the right rear link to even out total toe
- Lengthen the link to push the wheel's rear outward
Show the answer
D. Correct. With the link behind the wheel center, lengthening it pushes the rear of the wheel outboard and swings the front inboard, moving the left rear from 0.25° toe-out toward the 0.00° to 0.20° toe-in range. Where a toe link sits ahead of the wheel center the direction reverses, so its location is checked before the adjuster is turned.
Why not the others
A. Shortening a link that sits behind the wheel center pulls the rear of the wheel inboard, which swings its front outboard and adds toe-out. The left rear already reads 0.25° toe-out, so its link is lengthened instead.
B. The link attaches behind the wheel center, so changing its length moves the rear of the wheel, not the front. Shortening it pulls the rear inboard and swings the front out, adding toe-out; lengthening it gives the toe-in this wheel needs.
C. Each rear wheel's toe is measured from the geometric centerline, so changing the right link changes only the right wheel: the left stays out of range and the unequal rear toe adds a thrust angle. The left link is the one adjusted.
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A front-wheel-drive car's cradle is going to be shifted sideways on its mounts to equalize camber side to side. Technician A says the shift will change the included angle on both sides. Technician B says the shift is the way to correct unequal caster on this car. Who is right?
- A only
- B only
- Both A and B
- Neither A nor B
Show the answer
D. Correct. Neither is right. Technician A is wrong because a sideways shift moves the lower ball joints without bending anything, so SAI and camber change by equal and opposite amounts and the included angle stays the same. Technician B is wrong because the joints move across the car, not fore and aft, so caster stays essentially where it was.
Why not the others
A. Technician A is wrong: the knuckles and struts are unchanged, so each side's SAI and camber move by equal and opposite amounts and the included angle holds. Technician B is wrong too, because caster depends on the fore-and-aft position of the lower ball joints, which a sideways shift leaves alone.
B. Technician B is wrong: caster is the fore-and-aft tilt of the steering axis, which a sideways shift does not change. Technician A is also wrong, since a sideways shift bends nothing and leaves the angle between each wheel and its steering axis, the included angle, as it was.
C. Neither technician is right. A sideways cradle shift trades SAI for camber on each side with the included angle unchanged, against Technician A's claim, and it does not move the ball joints fore and aft, so it cannot correct caster as Technician B claims.
02Answer key
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Q1 | B |
| Q2 | D |
| Q3 | A |
| Q4 | D |
| Q5 | D |
03What area C covers
This content area covers measuring and setting the angles that aim the wheels. Questions deal with pull, drift, wander and steering return complaints, ride height, camber, caster and toe, centering the steering wheel, toe-out on turns, steering axis inclination and included angle, rear toe and thrust angle, setback, cradle position, collision damage, and the sensor calibrations that follow an alignment.
The ASE test specification calls this content area “Wheel Alignment Diagnosis, Adjustment, and Repair”. It carries 11 of the 40 scored questions, 27.5% of the test.
- Diagnose pull, drift, wander and memory steer
- Measure ride height before the angles
- Measure and adjust camber, caster and toe
- Center the steering wheel
- Check toe-out on turns, SAI and included angle
- Measure rear toe, thrust angle and setback
- Find bent parts, shifted cradles and damaged mounts
- Recalibrate sensors and cameras after an alignment
04What the questions turn on
Included angle finds bent parts
Included angle is SAI plus camber, with camber's sign kept. When SAI is in range but the included angle is not, the part between the steering axis and the wheel, such as the strut or knuckle, is bent and is replaced rather than adjusted.
Camber shims versus caster shims
With a shim pack at each upper arm pivot bolt, changing both packs equally moves the whole arm in or out and changes camber. Moving shims from one pack to the other swings the arm, changing caster while camber stays nearly the same.
Rear toe sets the thrust line
The thrust line bisects the total toe of the rear wheels. Setting each rear wheel's toe equally about the geometric centerline brings the thrust angle to zero, while aiming the front wheels at the thrust line only centers the steering wheel.
Turning angles come from the arms
Front toe is set before toe-out on turns is read, since a toe error skews where each wheel starts. With toe and the other angles correct, a turning angle out of range points to a bent steering arm, which is replaced, not adjusted.
05The other content areas
The A4 test has four content areas. Each has its own page of free questions:
The ASE A4 Suspension & Steering practice test page describes the full question bank. How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.
ToolboxPrep is an independent study site. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by ASE (the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence). Our questions are original practice questions written to the published ASE test specifications; they are not actual test questions.