thanks for the replies!-- that valvoline site was helpful too!
i think i understand about balancing and alignment now, but what
exactly do they do when they find the tire is unbalanced-- how do they
balance it?
and why would a tire be unbalanced in the first place? i mean the rim
and wheel are all symmetrical right? (except for the valve stem-- is
that what they have to balance out?)

John's idea of a homemade balancer's interesting-- seems like it'd be
tough to get it to balance at the exact center of the tire, and if you
were even slightly off it seems like it would give a significantly
false read.
what would you do once you got the weights on it so it was balanced?
do duck tape them to the side of the tire? where do the weights go?



John M. <jcm1139trash@bellsouth.net> wrote in message news:<261bqv0bt7p0me8651k9imt05cs81dftv0@4ax.com>. ..
> On 1 Nov 2003 20:25:10 -0800, garbage@nc.rr.com (Mr. Speck) wrote:
>
> >Are wheel alignment and wheel balancing the same thing?
> >Is it at all possible to do these on your own? I know you need all
> >this crazy equipment, but there's gotta be a way to do it on the
> >cheap?
> >I don't like giving my car to mechanics (I've managed to keep this car
> >from a mechanic for its entire life (5 years) and I don't wanna break
> >my record)
> >I have issues with trust when it comes to my car (and issues with
> >money)
> >-mr speck
> >'95 civic DX (that pulls to the left)
>
>
> Alignment - don't ask me.
>
> Balancing - An untried idea I had awhile ago involved something called a
> bull's-eye level. I picked one up at a hardware store shortly after thinking of
> it but haven't tried it out. It's a spirit level which has a disk shape with
> the bubble in the center of the top so you level (in any horizontal direction)
> something by centering the bubble in the center ring. Whether it's sensitive
> enough I don't know.
> An apparatus of some sort (tripod?) would be needed to suspend the tire in
> the air with a wire and that wire would have to come up from the Very center of
> the wheel. Then somehow get the spirit level positioned in there and lay
> weights on the rim where appropriate until the bubble is centered. And note
> that if the level is not positioned on the center of the wheel a counterbalance
> to it will be needed.
>
> I know this sounds like a lot of work and it probably is but I just like
> thinking up alternative ways of doing things. Does this sound like it would
> work?
>
> John M.