Recently had the tracking done on my wife?s car and as often happens the steering wheel has become slightly misaligned.
To correct this in the past I adjust the trackrod ends exactly the same on each end.
I do this by marking it in relation to its rod and then adjusting one clockwise and one anti to the same degree.
This does the job perfectly but have wondered if even with this amount of care the tracking of the front wheels have remained spot on.
Any comments would be interesting and welcome.
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Very difficult to get this right. The Garage should have done it correctly in the first place and centred the steering wheel. If you have already adjusted it I would pop it back and get them to check it.
Most power steering racks have a 'neutral' position ( Some Adjustable ) so just ofsetting the rack is not the whole story. Does the car travewl in a straight line 'hands off' on a level ( No camber) road.
Regards
Peter
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Been there - done that.
Be careful about the clockwise/anticlockwise thing - most racks have a clockwise thread at each end, so you need to turn each track rod in the SAME direction - ie wind one in and the other out. Sounds Irish, but they point in opposite directions remember.
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If the alignment was out originally, the tyres will have worn unevenly.
Unevenly worn tyres will cause a pull and crooked steering wheel (even if the wear is slight.) When the alignment is corrected the wear in the tyres will still cause a pull / crooked wheel.
This theory is easy to prove. If the pull is to the left for example, switching tyres from LHS to RHS and vice versa will cause the pull to be to the right.
It has been recommended on this site lots of times that is is worth investing in a full 4 wheel laser alignment with provided computer printout of the angles before and after.
One thing I have noticed is that the tolerance for my Mondeo translates to a 0.33mm adjustment at the edge of the wheel rim, therefore less at the track rod. With such tiny tolerances, and the cost of tyres, it must be worth regular alignment checks, especially after bumping deep potholes, kerbs etc.
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Thanks for your replies.
I should perhaps have added that I had two new tyres fitted on the same day as it was tracked.
Yes Peter the car does steer in a straight line with no drift and I'm confident the alignment is correct.
Cliff no it didn't sound Irish but I had to stop and think for a moment and what you are saying is the same as my one clockwise and one anti. Your definition is easier to remember though.
Which reminded me that on this evenings weakest link one of Anne Robinsons questions was " In Australia do the fingers on a clock go clockwise or anti-clockwise". Easy one for Oz there?.
Interested in your .33mm tolerance at the wheel rim Keith.
Did you arrive at that figure from the manufacturers data?.
regards
alvin
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They go anti-clockwise.....or am I thinking of water down a plughole?!
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If the car is traveling in a straight line and not pulling due to servo offset ( If your car has sevro assisted steering ) I would consider whether the steering wheel offset would not be overcome better by repositioning the steering wheel. Air bag comlications. Be Carefull. MAy be the offset is smaller than the spline. Good Luck. Regards Peter
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Tolerance for my Mondeo (front) is 0 degrees plus or minus 6 seconds.
Sin 0.1 (6 seconds) multiplied by 381mm (15") gives 0.66mm.
As the pivot is in the centre, the required movement is half of that i.e. 0.33mm.
This is at the outer of the wheel rim. With the track rod end being some distance further in from the edge of the rim the 0.33mm may become 2/3 rds of that say.
I also recon that much of this tolerance will be taken by thermal movement of the track rod. Perhaps one day manufacturers will quote figures at a certain temperature?
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