re: steering wheel aim

["skippatnode" <skippatnode@xxxxxxx>]

Erik and all,
This would probably work but it wouldn't work right unless someone had moved
the pitman arm previously and you were just moving it back.  It is designed to
swing in an arc for a certain number of degrees each side of center.  Move it
and you get a lot of steering in one direction and not much in the other.
Aha!  The neighbors probably think I am nuts, but I just went out and looked
(its 1 in the morning) and with the steering wheel centered, the pitman arm is
straight fore and aft.  Parallel to the centerline of the car.  Makes sense.
That way you get the same amount of throw in each direction.
There are a set of specifications for the length of every tie rod.  When set
correctly they cause the wheels to turn the correct amount at the correct
time.
If they are set incorrectly and then compensated for by some other method, the
steering geometry becomes messed up and the car will not handle properly.
Skip Patnode
67 Duetto
Norfolk, Va



Date: Fri, 9 May 2003 14:36:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Erik G Wood <genericwood@domain.elided>
Subject: re: steering wheel aim

Jim and others, assuming the toe is about correct now, isn't this easy to fix.
Can't you just remove the steering arm from the splined shaft exiting the
steering box, find the center of the steering box by turning the wheel to the
left and right, then replace the steering arm on the splined shaft?  Assuming
the left and right tie rods are somewhere close to equal length, I would think
this would work quite well.   That said, I just had an alignment shop finish
up my GTV.  I had the toe within about 1/4 inch of the 1/8 inch recommended
with an out of level garage floor and a tape measure.  But I had no way of
measuring caster.  It was WAY off of the specified 1-2 degrees.  One side had
NO caster!  As you can imagine, the car drives MUCH better now! Erik Wood
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