Date:         Fri, 17 Nov 2000 19:57:46 -0500
Reply-To:     Sam Walters <slwalters@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Sam Walters <slwalters@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      [Fwd: Re: Wishbone Aligner tool]
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

To The List:

I was curious about the Wishbone Aligner mentioned in a email yesterday
and also was not too embarrassed to display my ignorance of this
subject.  I sent the email at the bottom to the manufacturer yesterday
and got this response back.

I learned something, more about alignment than about their tool.  Hope
this is useful to someone else also.

Sam Walters
Alignment challenged - Almost always veering left.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Wishbone Aligner tool
Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 18:20:38 -0500
From: "Wishbone" <wish@istar.ca>
To: "Sam Walters" <slwalters@earthlink.net>
References: <3A14CCE8.7F86F6CE@earthlink.net>

Hi Sam,

Thanks for your questions.

First the real basics.  Toe is how close to straight ahead the tires
point
(looking from above).  Camber is the lean in or out of the tire looking
from
the front.  Caster is a little trickier but for most vehicles is the
angle
of the strut looking from the side.

I know most Volkswagens very very well (I rallied Sciroccos and Golfs
for
years), except Vanagons! (sorry).  But I strongly suspect that the
caster is
unadjustable.  Caster is only an issue if something's been bent.  If
caster
is an issue, go spend the money to get things sorted out at a shop.  So,
don't worry about caster.

Next, camber.  On the cheap, camber is very easy to check with some
level
ground and a small level.  Then, if a Vanagon is anything like all other
VWs, the front camber can be tweaked by loosening the two bolts holding
the
strut to the wheel bearing housing ('spindle' or 'knuckle').  The top
bolt
is cammed, so within limits, you turn the top bolt and change the
camber.
Check your Bentley.

Finally, toe.  Toe is by far the most common and important alignment
adjustment.  It's also very simple to check.  Just measure inside
wheel-to-wheel at the front and back of each set of tires.  The
difference
is your toe.  Now, that is simple, but it's also a pain in the ass and
needs
2 people.  That's why we came up with the Wishbone Aligner.  With the
Aligner, you don't crawl under the car, you can do it yourself, it only
takes a minute.  Plus it comes complete with two top quality tape
measures.

Hope this helps.

Pete Pollard
Wishbone Racing
wish@istar.ca

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sam Walters" <slwalters@earthlink.net>
To: <wish@istar.ca>
Sent: Friday, November 17, 2000 1:15 AM
Subject: Wishbone Aligner tool


> Wishbone folks:
>
> I know next to nothing about alignment, but am slowly learning alot
> about auto mechanics in order to keep my old Volkswagen Vanagon on the
> road for a reasonable cost.
>
> The Bentley manual, 44.3 says to adjust Caster Camber and Toe.  Can all
> of these be done with your tool?  Someone on the vanagon.com list (where
> I saw info about your product), said that Caster is done without use of
> the tool.  Is this correct?
>
> So, if this is true, does your tool do camber and toe?
>
> I will forward this email and the answer to the list.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Sam Walters
>
>
>