Xantia Tracking Settings

[Rhothgar]

I knew I should have bookmarked that thread I found...

Read a really good thread on here somewhere about doing your own tracking. At least I think it was on here.

The front tyres on the Xantia are K-----nackered. Need to get them sorted urgently before one blows out.

Any clever bod recall the thread I am taking about?

[CitroJim]

Hi Roger If your tyres are tired then I reckon you'd may as well get the tracking done by a good tyre fitting mob when you have more woke tyres fitted...

Likely they'll do a better and more accurate job in a fraction of the time it'll take you to learn how to do it on a DIY basis and rig up the necessary contraptions to do it...

And if you bugger it up and get it wrong you may ruin a perfectly innocent new set of tyres... That could cost more than the cost of having tracking done by the pros using pro kit...

Like fitting exhausts... A job I leave to the pros...

One thing I do recommend is to make sure your track rod ends are free and easy to move before taking the car for tracking... It'll make their job easier if they don't have to struggle to free them off before they can make adjustments...

[RichardW]

Mandrake has a set of laser levels he uses for tracking adjustments. You can also do it with pieces of string - lots of videos on YouTube. Or you can buy a Laser Trackace system for about the same cost as most places charge these days - aerodynamica posted about using one of these not that long ago.

[CitroJim]

Interesting Thanks for posting all that up Richard! I wrote my original reply on the basis that it's so rare for me to need to have tracking done I can't remember the last time I did... Maybe a reflection of the slow low mileage I do... So I could never justify the cost and effort of getting tooled up for it...

However, I can see a big advantage of doing it yourself... A properly centred steering wheel

Nothing infuriates me more than an off-centre steering wheel

[Rhothgar]

One thing I do recommend is to make sure your track rod ends are free and easy to move before taking the car for tracking... It'll make their job easier if they don't have to struggle to free them off before they can make adjustments...

Already PlusGas'd them, Jim!

Well the next quandry is that the door shuts say 185/65/14 MXV3

But I have 15" on. Trying to desperately find the Mechanics Handbook for 1994 year to check sidewall rating. Should they be 88 or 92?

Chap who is ordering them needs to know really soon to get them in for today. I'll keep searching.

[Rhothgar]

Mandrake has a set of laser levels he uses for tracking adjustments. You can also do it with pieces of string - lots of videos on YouTube. Or you can buy a Laser Trackace system for about the same cost as most places charge these days - aerodynamica posted about using one of these not that long ago.

Thank you RichardW. Good to know.

[Rhothgar]

Nothing infuriates me more than an off-centre steering wheel

You will be REALLY MIFFED at me then, @CitroJim...

Never got around to sorting it after doing the cylinder head back in late 2021!!!!

Where's my snipers helmet?

[thorter]

A previous thread about tracking is https://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/ ... hp?t=40740
I described a method I used, and there was a discussion with Mandrake. Unfortunately it was in the days before the Forum hosted photos, and the photos I posted have been lost, but I will try to find and re-post them.

The method is to use a laser on each wheel as a virtual pointer giving ten times magnification, two target boards, and to roll the wheels back and forward by half a turn. It pretty well eliminates all errors. With the Xantia it was just possible (but not easy) to adjust the track with the wheels on the ground and normal height. This does speed up the adjustment process. The locknuts must be slackened, and the threads free, you can only just get a spanner on. Assuming the setting is not far out, you can work on one side only.

The Trackace looks a good bet for checking alignment, but accuracy will still depend on the runout of the rims. This can be checked, and if necessary the wheels positioned so that there is zero between the contact points used. You may well consider that it is good enough.

[Rhothgar]

A previous thread about tracking is https://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/ ... hp?t=40740
I described a method I used, and there was a discussion with Mandrake. Unfortunately it was in the days before the Forum hosted photos, and the photos I posted have been lost, but I will try to find and re-post them.

The method is to use a laser on each wheel as a virtual pointer giving ten times magnification, two target boards, and to roll the wheels back and forward by half a turn. It pretty well eliminates all errors. With the Xantia it was just possible (but not easy) to adjust the track with the wheels on the ground and normal height. This does speed up the adjustment process. The locknuts must be slackened, and the threads free, you can only just get a spanner on. Assuming the setting is not far out, you can work on one side only.

The Trackace looks a good bet for checking alignment, but accuracy will still depend on the runout of the rims. This can be checked, and if necessary the wheels positioned so that there is zero between the contact points used. You may well consider that it is good enough.

Yes. That's the one I recall reading. I will take a look at the link.

I recall the 10 x magnification part.

Only perfection is just about good enough.

[thorter]

Here are photos which should make it a bit clearer. I later made M6 threaded holes in the wheel bolts, and fixing brackets to mount the laser levels onto the wheel.

Note that there is no need to align the lasers except to turn around on wheel to get both spots on the scales on the target boards.

[thorter]

For your delectation, here is another eccentric way of doing things. When fitting new trackrod parts, and if you happen to have an appropriate lathe, it can be used measure the crucial length of the trackrod. You take the whole old trackrod still assembled (inner and outer joints), put it in the lathe, and thereby transfer the length to the new parts. Provided the old parts are not totally shot, you can get very near without having to set the tracking on the car. It does need a means to mount the taper pin square on, just a bit of plate and a turned spacer works fine.

Note that the lathe chuck is merely closed, not tightened, so that the tailstock measuring scale can be used to find the point where there is no slack. You adjust the new parts to be the same dimension as the old.

[CitroJim]

Nothing infuriates me more than an off-centre steering wheel

You will be REALLY MIFFED at me then, @CitroJim...



Never got around to sorting it after doing the cylinder head back in late 2021!!!!

Where's my snipers helmet?

Yes, that really would drive me bonkers Roger

For your delectation, here is another eccentric way of doing things. When fitting new trackrod parts, and if you happen to have an appropriate lathe, it can be used measure the crucial length of the trackrod. You take the whole old trackrod still assembled (inner and outer joints), put it in the lathe, and thereby transfer the length to the new parts. Provided the old parts are not totally shot, you can get very near without having to set the tracking on the car. It does need a means to mount the taper pin square on, just a bit of plate and a turned spacer works fine.

SetTrackRod.jpg

taperPinLocater.jpg

Note that the lathe chuck is merely closed, not tightened, so that the tailstock measuring scale can be used to find the point where there is no slack. You adjust the new parts to be the same dimension as the old.

All of your posts on this subject have been most delectable thorter Most excellent indeed! Thanks ever so for posting. Definitely something to bookmark

Your method for determining the overall trackrod length is inspired and given how the track rods are attached to the rack in the AX this is a very simple job to do and does not even need gaiters to be removed...

Excellent

[Rhothgar]

For your delectation, here is another eccentric way of doing things. When fitting new trackrod parts, and if you happen to have an appropriate lathe, it can be used measure the crucial length of the trackrod. You take the whole old trackrod still assembled (inner and outer joints), put it in the lathe, and thereby transfer the length to the new parts. Provided the old parts are not totally shot, you can get very near without having to set the tracking on the car. It does need a means to mount the taper pin square on, just a bit of plate and a turned spacer works fine.





Note that the lathe chuck is merely closed, not tightened, so that the tailstock measuring scale can be used to find the point where there is no slack. You adjust the new parts to be the same dimension as the old.

That's a thing of beauty. Have you 'kissed' the steering rod up whilst in the lathe or did you make brand new aluminium ones?

I must say I am quite disappointed to see the the boards haven't been machined and laser etched.

Thanks for searching for your photos and uploading. That's a great help.

[thorter]

That was how the bits came, presumably tin flashed! Sadly, by the next year they were more rusty than painted ones. I also used the lathe setup to equalise the track rod length at each side. This can be quite far out due to previous replacements. Counting threads does not always match the lengths if parts are from different batches.

The tracking fixture was the usual "need it immediately" project. From experience, I suggest anyone making a similar setup should only put a single line on the offside boards and align that with the laser spot by moving the board slightly. Then when reading the scales on the other side, the calculation is minimised.

I found that for the least steering wander, it is best to aim for near the centre of the specified toe in/out band.

[Rhothgar]

I found that for the least steering wander, it is best to aim for near the centre of the specified toe in/out band.

Previously noted. Thank you.