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Date:         Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:50:26 -0700
Reply-To:     Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject:      Re: Trying To Understand Tie rod Adjustments
Comments: To: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
              reply-type=original

the only way one wheel could be straight, and the other toe-ed in or out, if you hold the steering that way while driving.

what I'm saying is, ........whether toe-ed in or out ........the front wheels/tires will find their point of balance.

you might appreciate this - ( which I mention becuase you talked about one wheel being straight, while the other is toe-ed in or out , and this migh apply to your vanagon ) it's how to center the steering wheel ( so it's exactly straight while going striaight down the road . ( this is besides just repositioning the steering wheel on the splines of the steering shaft - if that's what you need to do to center the steering wheel, do that, but when perfect steering wheel centering is 'between splines' .........that's what this is about - centering the steering wheel via the tie rod ends adjustment )

supposing it's toe-ed in a bit more than you like, and the steerring wheel is a bit to the right. think like this , and exagerate in your mind .........if the steering rack is at the front ( it is - some cars have 'rear' steering ) .....hold your hand very toe-ed in.......then think, ok, if I lengthen the right tie rod ( move your right hand , twisting it out...... now, if the hands or wheels where toe-ed in......and you lenghten the right tie rod ........that moves it towards both steering toward the right, and when they 'balance out' going striaght down the road ..........the steering will be pulled left..........moving the steering wheel more toward center.

or if you find it's a bit toe-ed out .........do the hand thing again ............exagerate the adjustment in your mind to make it more obvious ....... and figure out which tie rod to lenghten or shorten.. normally ........I suppose I'd shorten them ........so they are more screwed together.

very intelleginetly, vanagons have right hand thread on both tie rod ends.... so it's always easy to figure out which way to turn it to shorten it or lengthen it. ( some cars have left thread on one side, and right thread on the other, and that gets confusing )

hope you didn't find that too crazy. scott turbovans ----- Original Message ----- From: "neil N" <musomuso@GMAIL.COM> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2009 9:50 PM Subject: Re: Trying To Understand Tie rod Adjustments

> On Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 9:47 PM, neil N <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote: > >> I understand toe in. Front portion of each tire points in a *little* >> like snow plow skiing. What I don't get is if one tire can be >> straight, and another pointing in or out. > > > > Oops. Where I wrote "tire", I really meant "wheel" > > Neil. > > > -- > Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco" > > http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/ > > http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines


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