the rear alignment of Vanagons is adjustable ......or can be 'aligned' for
sure.
there has to be a camber spec,
and a toe spec.

on the rear sides of your van, down by the rear jacking points.......
that pivot bolt for the outer foreword trailing arm bushing sticks out
there -
right above that bolt, is a hole.
that hole is for jamming a pointy type tool in there to move the outer
bushing around , by which you would affect rear alignment.- or I mean a shop
with an alignment rack can.

in the real world, I've never had reason to have the rear of any vanagon
aligned myself, , but there is such  a thing as Rear Alignment on a vanagon,
for sure, and front of course.
Having both ends aligned would be better than doing just the front.

.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Leonard Anthony" <whitewatering@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 3:35 PM
Subject: Wheel alignment - myth or reality

> After reading Keith's post I looked under my Westy, jogging my apparently
> degrading memory. Is this "slot" issue for the back, when doing 4 wheel
> alignment? I googled for the article I read but couldn't find it. Has
> anyone
> seen this article? Is this another vanagon myth? Anyone aware of any
> issues
> when doing 4 wheel alignments? Can you or do you even need to align the
> rear, if so, what are the signs / symptoms. Could even tire wear, but odd
> or
> poor handling be caused by the rear being out? These may be pesky
> questions
> but it seems as if what hasn't happened yet, will down the road. And when
> you have a vehicle you have to teach your mechanic how to fix it can be
> good
> to know.
>
> since I'm now guilty of blowing black smoke I'll try to find the article,
> but won't have time until next week, lest be resolved by then.
>
> Thanks & sorry for the smoke.
> Thank you for the explanation, Keith.
>
> L
>
>>>When I first bought my 84 Westy and replaced the passenger tires with
> RA08's, the old tires were worn just as you speak. I found a good article
> on
> it using google. was either the archive here or on wesfalia.org. The gist
> of
> it, from my recollection, was to grind out the adjuster slots something
> like
> 1/4 to 1/2 inch wider. Since putting on the correct tires, they seem to be
> wearing evenly, so I'm holding off on the alignment. Anyway it seemed like
> a
> good article, you might want to try to find it and decide for yourself if
> you agree with it or not. Hopefully this may point you in a good
> direction.