In a message dated 10/20/05 6:40:23 PM, felder@KNOLOGY.NET writes:

<< Also, a big time and money saver: I measured the distance from the center
of the tie rod ends to a known spot (the innermost thread, for instance) on
the rod ends out of the rack. Reinstall to the same measurement and you want
need an alignment, assuming you didn't need one before. >>

I've done a form of this also, at times using some very precise means to
reestablish the toe in.  The results can be very close to the spec, but you need
luck to be spot on.  The problem is that you might not realize the alignment is
off until you see an odd wear pattern on the tire 10 Kmi. down the road.  If
your tires are fairly new, it is worth the cost to have an alignment done.

George