well as you know got problems with my front wheel aliment, firstly had tracking checked & adjusted, then got new tyres all round, swapped front to rear was unable to swap left to right due to rotation of tyre & tread pattern.
got worn wheel bearing on passanger side front, have been told by cit bloke in colchester where i work, that if a bearing was worn it should'nt affect the aliment of the front wheels, possiable bent trackrod, if it is a bent trackrod, how do i check this out???
can anybody confirm this
dom[V][V]
tracking problem, i think??
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alan s
- RIP 2010
- Posts: 2542
- Joined: 26 Jan 2001, 15:53
- x 6
Dom,
If the bearing is worn enough, it will affect the wheel alignment; it has to. Having said that though, it would need to have a helluva lot of wear to do it.
As far as a bent trackrod is concerned, have you hit a kerb hard or had any similar events? They don't just bend; they have to be bent due to an accident & they need a fairly big hit to bend them so it's not the kind of thing that happens & you don't notice.
I'd suggest getting the car up in the air on axle stands for starters. Then, grab the front wheels & pull, push and twist to see if any free play or movement exists & if so try to isolate it. Get a pinch bar or large screwdriver & check your lower control arm bushes for wear also.
If this all checks out OK, then with the car sitting on a flat clean level floor, start the engine and get someone to slip the car first in then out of gear. Whilst the wheels are spinning, try to put a mark at the centre of the tyre (which then of course will go around the circumference). Do this on each of the front tyres.
Carefully lower the car to the ground then using a woodworkers square or similar, put a mark in line with the marking on the tyre as close as possible to the centre (on the horizontal plane) down on the floor at both the front and the back on both front wheels. Measure across the car these points at the front & rear of the two front wheels. The measurement at the rear of the front tyres should be a few millemetres greater than at the front; that is a rough measure of your "toe in." From memory, anything from identical measurements to say about 5 to 7 mm greater at the rear should be OK. If however the frontal measurement is greater than the rear, then your wheel alignment is way out.
Check also that with the steering wheel in the straight ahead position that both front wheels are pointing truly straight ahead in case both rods have been adjusted in the same out of true angle which is a common cause.
Hope you can follow it, but this is how I always do my own wheel alignments; quite simple once you figure it out.
Alan S
If the bearing is worn enough, it will affect the wheel alignment; it has to. Having said that though, it would need to have a helluva lot of wear to do it.
As far as a bent trackrod is concerned, have you hit a kerb hard or had any similar events? They don't just bend; they have to be bent due to an accident & they need a fairly big hit to bend them so it's not the kind of thing that happens & you don't notice.
I'd suggest getting the car up in the air on axle stands for starters. Then, grab the front wheels & pull, push and twist to see if any free play or movement exists & if so try to isolate it. Get a pinch bar or large screwdriver & check your lower control arm bushes for wear also.
If this all checks out OK, then with the car sitting on a flat clean level floor, start the engine and get someone to slip the car first in then out of gear. Whilst the wheels are spinning, try to put a mark at the centre of the tyre (which then of course will go around the circumference). Do this on each of the front tyres.
Carefully lower the car to the ground then using a woodworkers square or similar, put a mark in line with the marking on the tyre as close as possible to the centre (on the horizontal plane) down on the floor at both the front and the back on both front wheels. Measure across the car these points at the front & rear of the two front wheels. The measurement at the rear of the front tyres should be a few millemetres greater than at the front; that is a rough measure of your "toe in." From memory, anything from identical measurements to say about 5 to 7 mm greater at the rear should be OK. If however the frontal measurement is greater than the rear, then your wheel alignment is way out.
Check also that with the steering wheel in the straight ahead position that both front wheels are pointing truly straight ahead in case both rods have been adjusted in the same out of true angle which is a common cause.
Hope you can follow it, but this is how I always do my own wheel alignments; quite simple once you figure it out.
Alan S
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jeremy
- Posts: 3959
- Joined: 20 Oct 2002, 16:00
- x 2
I don't think its a bent trackrod for 2 reasons, one unless it was really badly bent (in which case it would be readily apparent to someone doing the wheel alignment) and two, because if Xantia rods are anything like BX they have massive and long track rod ends which nearly go to the rack. to check them have a good look at them - there should be a straight line between the outer and inner ball joint.
I see initially you were complaining of wear on one edge of the nearside tyre. Outside edge wear is a sign usually of toe-in, which is usually accompanied by pulling - for various reasons always to the left.
It is possible that the arm from the hub to the track rod outer joint is distorted - this is not easy to check but it is a reasonable assumption that it is a mirror image of the other one.
Most of the jokers who kindly offer to adjust your track will only do so from one side. To do the job correctly both sides should be done equally, otherwse not only is the wheel not properly aligned but the angle of the wheels as the steering is wrong. For proper steering it is vital that the system is symetrical!
A rough way of checking if the rack is properly centred try setting the wheel so the car runs straight and then mark the top centre of the steering wheel with a piece of tape or chalk. Then drive the car forward and turn the wheel to one lock and note the position of the tape - then do it the other way. You should have turned the wheel exactly the same amount each way - if you have not the rack needs centering by rotating both track rods. When this has been done the wheel can be removed and replaced correctly.
There are 2 other angles that could cause you problems - Camber angle which is the amount the top of the front wheels lean in or out and can be checked by carefully holding a spirit level against the tyre and measuring the gap between the tyre and the vertical. This should be the same both sides - if not you've got serious problems as its not adjustable and signifies damage somewhere. The other one is castor angle which really amounts to the amount the strut leans when viewed from the side of the car and again is not adjustable but could be affected by the bottom wishbone rubbers etc.
Hope some of this is of use
jeremy
I see initially you were complaining of wear on one edge of the nearside tyre. Outside edge wear is a sign usually of toe-in, which is usually accompanied by pulling - for various reasons always to the left.
It is possible that the arm from the hub to the track rod outer joint is distorted - this is not easy to check but it is a reasonable assumption that it is a mirror image of the other one.
Most of the jokers who kindly offer to adjust your track will only do so from one side. To do the job correctly both sides should be done equally, otherwse not only is the wheel not properly aligned but the angle of the wheels as the steering is wrong. For proper steering it is vital that the system is symetrical!
A rough way of checking if the rack is properly centred try setting the wheel so the car runs straight and then mark the top centre of the steering wheel with a piece of tape or chalk. Then drive the car forward and turn the wheel to one lock and note the position of the tape - then do it the other way. You should have turned the wheel exactly the same amount each way - if you have not the rack needs centering by rotating both track rods. When this has been done the wheel can be removed and replaced correctly.
There are 2 other angles that could cause you problems - Camber angle which is the amount the top of the front wheels lean in or out and can be checked by carefully holding a spirit level against the tyre and measuring the gap between the tyre and the vertical. This should be the same both sides - if not you've got serious problems as its not adjustable and signifies damage somewhere. The other one is castor angle which really amounts to the amount the strut leans when viewed from the side of the car and again is not adjustable but could be affected by the bottom wishbone rubbers etc.
Hope some of this is of use
jeremy
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shaunthesheep
- Posts: 364
- Joined: 16 Jul 2002, 14:42
well it failed mot today, was worn track rod end!!, got it replaced, had the tracking rechecked free of charge!, but still drift's towards the middle of the road!![V][V]
which was SPOT ON, but will try your method alan.
was wondering if the steering wheel might have been put on one spline too far, as have noticed evidence of the wheel have been removed.
dom
which was SPOT ON, but will try your method alan.
was wondering if the steering wheel might have been put on one spline too far, as have noticed evidence of the wheel have been removed.
dom
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JohnD
- (Donor 2022)
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shaunthesheep
- Posts: 364
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jeremy
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- x 2