Tracking and bushes and ball joints

vanny · Unread post by **vanny** » 02 Aug 2003, 02:58

My tracking is out (enough to be able to see it), makes driving at speed a bit crap, i may as well have bike tyres at the front for all the road grip i have on fast sharp corners.
its also pulling to the right.
Do u just use a spanner on the track rod ends to adjust the tracking? which side should i be adjusting? Do i want to try and centre the steering up then figure out which side is out?
At the moment the steering wheel is straight i think, first time in three years

thanks
. : : title changed from Tracking : : .

Jonesy · Unread post by **Jonesy** » 02 Aug 2003, 04:04

Vanny,
This really isn't a job you can have a rough guess at! You really need to take it to a reputable tyre fitters/garage and have them look at it. If as you say its visible then its out quite a long way and will affect handling/tyre wear etc etc., The fact that the steering wheel is in the central position obviously doesn't mean that much!!

vanny · Unread post by **vanny** » 02 Aug 2003, 04:16

wheel in central position just means i had the wheels running straight when i took the wheel off!!
Although something i dont wish to take a rough guess at, im also not gonna take the car to kwik-c**kup which means i aint gonna get it fixed until monday, if i have the money. Im looking at a quick fix for a week max.
Saying that there is so much measuring equitment in the garage i probably could do a damn good job of it!! Still gonna let someone else have a go though. Last time i took it to the guy they didnt have to be told to keep the engine running or anything (and it was PERFECTLY accurate, strange)

jeremy · Unread post by **jeremy** » 02 Aug 2003, 06:28

Vanny
Tracking is not very difficult with a bit of common sense and care.
many years ago I purchased (very cheaply) a tracking gauge which is simply 2 cranked aluminium bars sliding into an square aluminium tube with a pointer and some clamps which create enough friction to hold it still. It is used by measuring the distance between the tyre walls on the INSIDE of the wheels.
This has done me splendidly for years but BX's are too low to get underneath and use it properly so when I resetthe wheel I resorted to anouther system which was simply 2 2 ft bits of 4 x 2 inches with blocks nailed on to allow the tyre bulge not to affect things. I then carefully measured with a tape measure and adjusted till I got a measurement in the middle of the tolerance.
I wondered if I was accurate and eventually checked it using the old gauge which I found I could hold with some difficulty, from one side. To my surprise that measurement showed it was in the middle of the tolerance. Just be careful with the wood that its staright, and the blocks are the same size.
Centering the rack is as important as the wheel alignment itself. Ideally to check it you should peel the rack boots back and get the rack in the centre by measurement from 2 similar points on each side. As a check I simply turn the wheel to lock on one side and put a piece of tape on the actual top of the wheel. I then turn it the other way and do the same. I then centre the wheel and occasionally find that the 2 marks are symetrical. If they are not - adjust the track rods until they are, then get the front wheels pointing straight ahead and remove and put the wheel on properly.
Getting the rack centred makes the car feel a whole lot better to steer and is worth the effort.
jeremy

Unread post by **alan s** » 02 Aug 2003, 11:47

I go the Jeremy route on this. I can do it easier than I can describe it but FWIW, I use a clean concrete floor, jack the front off the ground, usually even in neutral the wheels will spin, so I hold a nail or screwdriver blade lightly on the tyre & scribe a mark around the circumference. Get an off sider to help do a measure between the lines at the front & the rear between the marks on the front tyres. If they're even or up to about 6mm narrower at the front of the tyres to the rear, you're OK.
Last CX I did, my son had new tyres fitted & took it to a wheel algner who after looking at it from all angles (and charging the normal fee) declared it was perfect & he couldn't get it any closer to factory recommended specs. The current CX had a bit of tyre work done to it when I bought it so I asked the guy to do an alignment whilst he had the car in there doing the tyres. The result was that it drove like a billy cart & scrubbed the front tyres, so I fitted new tyres, did my own front end alignment using the sustem as outlined & once again I have a CX that drives like a CX.
Take your time, do it carefully & exactly & it should be no problem.....as a bonus, it may even be done accurately.[:D][:D]
Alan S [}:)]

NiSk · Unread post by **NiSk** » 02 Aug 2003, 13:20

Gunstones sell a very simple tracking gauge (via the dreaded Halfords of course). It consists of a couple of pieces of plastic that you drive over with the front wheels. Registers the toe out/in on a gauge. Very easy to use and pretty acurate. Cost about £20 if I remeber correctly a few years ago.
//NiSk

vanny · Unread post by **vanny** » 02 Aug 2003, 23:24

thanks peeps, will get on it tomorrow. At the moment roundabouts are really fun

Having had a look i think the arm bushes are knackered as well, so ill do those first, Any tips??
Just how impossible is it to do the ball joints? There quite cheap, so i figure ill do them as well (at the moment the front right pops if you look at the road the wrong way

).
having been on a rolling road today ive assesed that the stuffed wheel bearing is on rear left. Problem is the 20 odd quid to replace it, think i may try a bearing retailer

other than that the car is grand to drive, very smooth all the way