I have removed the column several times and i cant get the damn D shaped steering wheel straight
Any tips before i burn the damn car?
I have an SPA boss welded onto my steering column.
I have removed the column several times and i cant get the damn D shaped steering wheel straight
Any tips before i burn the damn car?
Do you mean you can't get it straight when the cars going straight? If so just unwind the TRE on one side and wind in the other... Or am I get confused re the problem?
Yep,, i cant get the wheel straight when driving and removing the inner part of the steering shaft (with the boss welded on) is a bludy ball ache.
How about a long peice of metal or fishing line from one rear wheel the the front, when the wheels are straight, re-fit/straighten the shaft/wheel?
quote:
Originally posted by BenB
Do you mean you can't get it straight when the cars going straight? If so just unwind the TRE on one side and wind in the other... Or am I get confused re the problem?
Set the wheels straight ahead and line it up as close as possible with the spline where it joins the rack then use the track rod end adjustment.
I would start from scratch if the boss has been welded on.
1) Turn the wheel fully left.
2) Turn the wheel fully right, and count the turns (probably 2 and a bit).
3) Turn the wheel left again by half of the turns that you counted. So if you counted 2.6 full turns of the wheel, turn it back by 1.3 turns. This is
your centre of the steering rack.
4) Set the wheel as straight as you can. You will need to rotate the steering shaft splines somewhere on the shaft to do this if it's not
straight. You could remove the There is a spline on the steering rack itself, rotate the wheel, and re-align.
5) If the front wheels are not straight then the tracking was set without a centered rack. So set your wheels to their original tracking position
using the tracking adjustment making sure the steering wheel is kept straight. Or get them roughly straight by eye and drive to your local Kwik Fit
for a alignment (£20 or so).
Hope this helps.
Go even further than ^^^ and start by disconnecting your column and ensure the steering rack is in the centre of its travel so that you get equal lock both ways once its all set up. You cant always rely on equal threads showing either side really so personally i'd disconnect the rack from the steering arms too. Centre the rack via measurement (halve the travel), connect the steering column with the wheel centred as close as possible (you may end up with a fraction more lock one way than the other but very small once you perfectly centre the wheel before doing the tracking) and then reconnect to the steering arms before setting the tracking up
quote:
Originally posted by Paul TigerB6
Go even further than ^^^ and start by disconnecting your column and ensure the steering rack is in the centre of its travel so that you get equal lock both ways once its all set up. You cant always rely on equal threads showing either side really so personally i'd disconnect the rack from the steering arms too. Centre the rack via measurement (halve the travel), connect the steering column with the wheel centred as close as possible (you may end up with a fraction more lock one way than the other but very small once you perfectly centre the wheel before doing the tracking) and then reconnect to the steering arms before setting the tracking up
Centre the rack.
Remove lower steering column from spline on rack.
Centre steering wheel and reattach to the rack.
Drive to quick fit and get the wheels tracked.
They will centre the steering wheel, this will also be the centre of the rack because you have set that, they will then set the wheels straight using
the track contol adjuster.
Simples.
The advice I am going to give is based on many many years of real world experience.
(1) Check for anything obvious -- rear wheels out of alignment , steering track rods differing lengths and tyre pressures.
(2) Put the wheel on in what you would guess is as near the correct position as possible.
(3) Road test on suitable (i.e. quiet) a straight section of road with a good straight kerb, drive close to a parrallel to the kerb for a reasonable
distance, stop the car parrallel to the kerb and note/mark the position of the wheel.
(4) If out of alignment try adjusting the wheel by one spline at a time.
(5) Road test again if still not correct shorten one track rod by a couple of turns and lengthen the other track rod by the same amount.
Outside the world of F1 car chassis and suspensions always have dimensional errors so don't worry about making small adjustments to
track rod lengths.
[Edited on 21/5/10 by britishtrident]
[Edited on 21/5/10 by britishtrident]
Hi
As said turn wheels one way then the other and centralise. Then align steering wheel and boss and tack.
Although you will have to have worked out if the rack mounts are centrally mounted on the chassis. Which it is not on a Westfield by design due to the
down link clashing with the chassis upright if it where.
Centralise front with very accurate tracking gauges and work from there.
Cheers Matt
OH hang on thought you where trying to fit an SPA boss to column.
If just trying to set it up then as above. Also worth finding out if the thrust alignment is correct before trying to sort the front though.
[Edited on 21/5/10 by procomp]
Sorted it.... but i didn't do anything 
Jacked front of car up for a few days as i did some other work.
Lowered car back down, used 2 lengths of 4mtr channel i got from work and checked front to rear on both sides......... they were exactly the same.
So fitted column and wheel.
Drove yesterday to MOT station.... steering wheel dead centre 