could someone please help me find someone?alinement
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Marc
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Re: alinement
Before it'll be worth the time/expense to try to align the front end of your car, someone who knows the breed (pre-`66 with king- and link-pin suspension) needs to look at it to see how badly things are worn. There is no adjustment possible for caster (without unbolting the entire front beam assembly and shimming it away from the chassis - fortunately that's rarely needed unless the front of the car has been lowered significantly). On a "kingpin" front end, camber is set when renewing the bushings/pins through the use of shims on the linkpins - it's not feasible to adjust between rebuilds since major dismantling is needed. There IS a wear adjustment on the linkpins, which should be checked/adjusted every time the front end is lubricated (recommended every 3,000 miles). Typically the camber will tend to go negative (wheels tipped inward at the top) as things wear, and as the linkpins are adjusted the camber tends to trend positive.
The only alignment parameter that is subject to routine adjustment is the toe-in; once set, it will be subject to gradual change as the front end wears and the camber changes - but rarely does it change enough to need adjustment between front end overhauls if routine maintenance is kept up.
Read Bob Hoover's TULZ - Part Ten (front end maintenance & alignment) ...disregard steps relevant to ball joints, that's the `66-up front end:
http://www.flat4.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5279
The only alignment parameter that is subject to routine adjustment is the toe-in; once set, it will be subject to gradual change as the front end wears and the camber changes - but rarely does it change enough to need adjustment between front end overhauls if routine maintenance is kept up.
Read Bob Hoover's TULZ - Part Ten (front end maintenance & alignment) ...disregard steps relevant to ball joints, that's the `66-up front end:
http://www.flat4.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5279
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Jim Ed
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Re: alinement
Take it to a Firestone.
Ask them if they can set the toe-in.
First make sure the front wheel bearings are in correct adjustment.
Ask them if they can set the toe-in.
First make sure the front wheel bearings are in correct adjustment.
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Marc
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Re: alinement
Bad advice, Jim.
9 out of 10 times if it's felt that an alignment is needed, the problem is worn king and/or linkpin bushings...and the other time it's a bent tierod, bad tierod end(s) or bad steering box.
Until the mechanical condition is verified to be OK, it's nothing but a waste of time & money to attempt any kind of alignment.
If you're lucky you might find a chainstore mechanic old enough to know what a kingpin IS, but what's needed here is someone who knows more about old Volkswagens than which end the engine's in.
9 out of 10 times if it's felt that an alignment is needed, the problem is worn king and/or linkpin bushings...and the other time it's a bent tierod, bad tierod end(s) or bad steering box.
Until the mechanical condition is verified to be OK, it's nothing but a waste of time & money to attempt any kind of alignment.
If you're lucky you might find a chainstore mechanic old enough to know what a kingpin IS, but what's needed here is someone who knows more about old Volkswagens than which end the engine's in.
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Ol'fogasaurus
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Re: alinement
^^^^ very, very, true.
Even finding a proper king-pin ream is very difficult to find. The guys that I know can and do do it (assuming they can find where they put theirs... from dis-use) have to modify what commercial reams that are available and close enough to modify.
A four way alignment is a cause and effect thing; you can't do a proper alignment if there are weak parts in it. Like Marc said, most box stores don't have mechanics old enough to know what all has to be done nor how to do it; ACVWs are an old thing; e.g., “if we don’t sell enough of something we don’t stock it” and it is the same with services.
It is the same with old American cars... certain skill have atrophied through dis-use… unless the business is specifically oriented towards what you are after. How many people do you know that have the tools or jigs or knowledge to re-Babbitt rods… an almost lost art. Proper metal working was almost a lost art with the invent of “Bondo” until fairly recently.
What the guys told juniemac was: they didn’t want to be bothered with it, didn’t know how to do it or didn’t have the time to spend on it (actually the latter may have been part of the first). Juniemac was very smart in asking just not going to someone who said they would do it but didn’t have a clue or a fear of the unknown and really screwed it up.
Lee
Even finding a proper king-pin ream is very difficult to find. The guys that I know can and do do it (assuming they can find where they put theirs... from dis-use) have to modify what commercial reams that are available and close enough to modify.
A four way alignment is a cause and effect thing; you can't do a proper alignment if there are weak parts in it. Like Marc said, most box stores don't have mechanics old enough to know what all has to be done nor how to do it; ACVWs are an old thing; e.g., “if we don’t sell enough of something we don’t stock it” and it is the same with services.
It is the same with old American cars... certain skill have atrophied through dis-use… unless the business is specifically oriented towards what you are after. How many people do you know that have the tools or jigs or knowledge to re-Babbitt rods… an almost lost art. Proper metal working was almost a lost art with the invent of “Bondo” until fairly recently.
What the guys told juniemac was: they didn’t want to be bothered with it, didn’t know how to do it or didn’t have the time to spend on it (actually the latter may have been part of the first). Juniemac was very smart in asking just not going to someone who said they would do it but didn’t have a clue or a fear of the unknown and really screwed it up.
Lee
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helowrench
- Posts: 1925
- Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2004 6:20 am
Re: alinement
On shiloh, just south of kingsley in garland is barry blythe.
Blythe Enterprises.
I think his # is 972 333 5063
There is also someone out in Nevada, but I do not know who.
Barry is a little grumpy, but he knows bugs
Blythe Enterprises.
I think his # is 972 333 5063
There is also someone out in Nevada, but I do not know who.
Barry is a little grumpy, but he knows bugs
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vwo60
- Posts: 77
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Re: alinement
I bought one of these and it is great, i just do not trust anybody to align my cars.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DIY-WHEEL-TI ... 4ac20019f9
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DIY-WHEEL-TI ... 4ac20019f9
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Ol'fogasaurus
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Re: alinement
Will it work for the rear too? A 4-way includes not only the front but the rear too; it is necessary for off-roading also.
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Marc
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Re: alinement
Of course you can set the rear toe using it, but it's nothing but a pair of light-duty turn plates (professional-grade plates run ~$1200/pr and up), and won't give any more information about rear toe than you can get with a tape measure.
To do a proper 4-wheel alignment there's got to be some connection between the front and rear measurement devices, whether physical using strings or via laser beams. The simplest rig I've seen that would have a chance of accuracy is this:
http://www.soloperformance.com/SmartStr ... Mgod_lcAbQ
Now back to the original subject, a kingpin Beetle. NO caster adjustment, and camber is set with shims when the suspension is rebuilt based upon the lateral offset measured between the control arms (using a straightedge and tape measure). All you can set between overhauls is the toe-in, and no sophisticated equipment is needed to do that. The toe changes dramatically as the suspension cycles anyway so there's a pragmatic limit to how much accuracy is needed - 50 lbs more or less in the driver's seat, or the presence of a passenger, will make a measurable change in front toe. If the suspension's in sound condition, tape-measure accuracy is all that's called for.
To do a proper 4-wheel alignment there's got to be some connection between the front and rear measurement devices, whether physical using strings or via laser beams. The simplest rig I've seen that would have a chance of accuracy is this:
http://www.soloperformance.com/SmartStr ... Mgod_lcAbQ
Now back to the original subject, a kingpin Beetle. NO caster adjustment, and camber is set with shims when the suspension is rebuilt based upon the lateral offset measured between the control arms (using a straightedge and tape measure). All you can set between overhauls is the toe-in, and no sophisticated equipment is needed to do that. The toe changes dramatically as the suspension cycles anyway so there's a pragmatic limit to how much accuracy is needed - 50 lbs more or less in the driver's seat, or the presence of a passenger, will make a measurable change in front toe. If the suspension's in sound condition, tape-measure accuracy is all that's called for.