Front wheel camber

[Forkie]

Right ok, i can see the sense of the weight on before tightening, its the 'rolling under the wheel' of the tyre when reversing that is the confusing bit! Yesterday i jacked the o/s/f up to slacken off the nut, but of course once jacked and let down again the positive camber is back!! So i pushed it forward to bring the tyre back out again, before tightening- but now being on the floor i have little room for tightening with the torque wrench Ramps out job i think - at least then the tyres should be correct on the wheels, i will have more room to then undo both sides and re-torque up again.

[Forkie]

So that task was done this afternoon. Am ringing up in the morning to get the 4 wheel alignment booked in for when they can fit it in. When i called in on them last week the chap that runs that side of it said if things are out they cant really do much as they dont carry stocks of shims etc for them now, only thing they would be able to do is set the tracking. So i might be back again with more querries!!!! When i removed the rear end there was an uneven number of shims per side, so when it all went back together i replaced new ones as per how it was. But as all four corners have been completely removed and replaced with all new parts , undoubtedly there will be something out somewhere, for sure.

[johnnydog]

From my college days, any 4 wheel alignment done should ideally set the rear track first, before setting the front. The problem with just doing the front tracking is that if the rear is out, then any adjustment to the front track will be compensating for inaccuracies in the rear track. Any inaccuracies at the rear can cause the back end to be slightly 'crab tracked'. If only the front is set correctly, on the road the steering will be turned into the direction of the 'crabbing' and the wheel will be off centre, and the whole car will not handle properly.
We were also taught how to set the alignment of any vehicle using the 'string' method. A little time consuming, but at least it may help to get the rear track some where near (by adding or removing shims as necessary) before going for the full 4 wheel, especially if they won't do it!
A very rough and ready method is for someone to follow your car along a straight road, and if the rear track is out following your work, then it should be visually obvious with the rear end not following the front equally either side.
Here is a detailed bit of bedtime reading / watching..

https://youtu.be/IxnK1XE6ZAA?feature=shared

[Forkie]

I may read that shortly but it certainly does not feel out of line, not having to fight the steering, no feeling of wondering or pulling - it does actually feel ok and normal! Plus today its all on a computer/ laser. Its booked in for a week on Thursday - i hope the weather improves by then

[Forkie]

I suppose all im trying to say is nothing FEELS or SOUNDS wrong with it on the road, not pulling, wandering, dragging, nothing like that, all 4 corners now have all new parts, no notable tyre scuffing, im only putting it in for all wheel alignment for my own peace of mind, to see if anything is that far out to give me my lack of top end speed, which im still struggling with finding a reason for that.

[johnnydog]

All in all, if it drives ok, with no noticeable pulling, or wandering and no tyre scrubbing, I would suggest that it probably isn't that far out. If you replaced the shims as they came out, and it appears not to have been messed about with previously, then it probably won't need major adjustment. Having said that, with a lot of new fitted susension and steering parts, a full geometry set up is still advisable imo

[Forkie]

Yes i agree, hence it is booked in for Thursday week, using the latest Hunter 4 wheel alignment system. The chap was mortified i think when i told him what car it was - ' if it is not listed on the system, i wont be able to do it'. Great. We found it eventually - under Rover....

[johnnydog]

Without reading back, I'm not certain what work has been done on the front suspension and steering components, but I would be tempted to centralise the rack before your visit. If the steering wheel has been off previously, there is no guarantee that the rack is centralised with the steering wheel in the straight ahead position.
They usually just clamp the steering wheel in the straight ahead position and the adjust each track rod accordingly, but this doesn't guarantee the rack is centralised.
Personally, I would centralise the rack by removing the bolt (or grease nipple of fitted) on the large flat hex nut damper (used to adjust any play on the inner rack), and then with a helper, using a centre punch or 1/8" drill bit in the hole, slowly turn the steering, until the punch drops slightly into an indentation on the inner rack. The rack is now centralised. The wheels may now be slightly off centre, as will the steering wheel, so I would then remove the steering wheel and reposition it in the straight ahead position. When they clamp the steering in the straight ahead position, you will know the rack is now centralised, and the track rods can then be adjusted to bring the wheels to the correct straight ahead position (with the correct toe).
Centralising the rack also ensures the correct self cancelling of the indicator stalk.
Surprisingly, this procedure is not detailed in the 2000 official workshop manual, but is in Stag manual, dispite being the same rack!

[Clifford Pope]

Centralising the rack also ensures the correct self cancelling of the indicator stalk.

Not necessarily. I had a Stag where every single component of the system had been incorrectly set up. The upper part of the column with the self-cancelling mechanism had been misaligned at one of the joints connecting to the rack.

[Forkie]

Ok so regarding what has been done, after i started the reply i realised it would be easier to put up what HASN'T been changed - so since i brought the car in 2006, the steering wheel has never been removed, no bushes in the column have been changed, rack never been off. The steering feels good, no wandering, not having to keep 'correcting'. Suspension wise - everything has been changed - all C.W. , complete front legs supplied, all poly bushed inc rack to cross member, TCA bushes, etc etc basically everything is new. All moving parts that wear are new. Nuts, bolts ,even the wheels and tyres . A mortgage spent on her !!!!!