>Anyone,
>
>'85 Westy with 395K miles.
>
>This has been a persistent problem for quite some time - first noticed
>it on a trip to Pacific NW two years ago.  I'm getting feedback through
>the steering (feels like a front tire out of balance) at speeds over 65
>or so; most noticeable on really smooth, newly paved roads.
>
>I had the tires balanced (3 times on that NW trip), rotated the tires
>(Yoko 356), replaced the tires (went from C to D range - balanced and
>rebalanced when mounted), had the front end checked (replaced one ball
>joint and did an alignment - they said the rest of the front end
>components looked OK).  The front end shop told me there was no camber
>adjustment on the van, but I found in Bentley that there actually is.
>
>Any ideas?  I've got a set of wheels with Pathfinders on them that I'm
>going to mount on the van tomorrow, just to see if there's any
>difference, though I'm not expecting a big change.

Is it a Syncro? If so it could be a bent front driveshaft or a
sticking CV joint. I have the same problem with my diesel Corolla
wagon... had the tires rebalanced and also swapped fonts & rears...
no change. Supposedly the driveshafts are straight, but I was told th
grease in one of the CVs (guess it would need to be an outboard one)
is old and drying, causing the CV to stick.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toota van nut