On Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 9:47 PM, neil N <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote:

> In partially rebuilding my '81 Westy front end, I:
>
> - swapped out lower control arms, one tie rod, and a radius arm.
> - transferred # of turns form old tie rod to new. Double checked by
> measuring from inner end
> �of threads to face of new tie rod adjusting nut with calipers.
> - transferred inner nut position from old damaged radius rod to new one.
>
> Prior to work, it tracked straight. Now it drifts to the right. Not
> drastically, but at highway speeds I let go of the wheel, it starts
> drifting at end of 1 second count.

.......

> Could drift be due to a tie rod being too "long" thus positioning a
> wheel in or out when compared to the other wheel? If so, is this a
> separate alignment parameter?

What I learned and the end result of all this.

A 2' level and short ruler helped give a *rough* idea of what was
going on with my front end. Moreover, it helped me understand what
Caster, Camber, Toe meant. BUT, since I wasn't certain of how the
geometry of ALL the front end parts would be affected if, say, I moved
a radius rod "out" (shorter between lower control arm and frame), I
stopped doing any further adjustments. As it turned out, the
measurements I transferred from the parts i replaced, got it close
enough for me to get it to a front end shop. To Mark at Lonsdale Wheel
Alignment FWIW. I believe he is the owner. Beetle Spa (also of North
Vancouver) sends their front end alignment work to him.

Regardless, I'm really appreciative of the help here. I'm much more
front end aware now.

What was out of alignment?

Camber. Needed more.

Caster. IIRC it was uneven and out of spec. Especially on one side.
(likely RH side) To my credit, Mark adjusted nut on RH side just past
(rod longer) where I had set nut after transferring measurement with
parts on the bench.

Toe. The "Alignment Measurements" sheet he gave me showed +3/32 and
-0.04 "total toe": +3/32. Not sure how far out I was. I measured
~1/16" difference between trailing edge of rims and leading edge of
rims.

Thanks again,

Neil.
-- 
Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"

http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/

http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines