Date:         Thu, 26 Sep 1996 21:30:42 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         EdBuzz@aol.com
Subject:      Re: 4 wheel alignment?

In a message dated 96-09-26 17:43:23 EDT, you write:

<< I thought the camber was off.
 i.e. the tops of the rear wheels were leaning in toward the middle of the
 van. This seemed odd to me but I was assured it was correct. Does your
 experience confirm this? >>

There is a very slight negative camber to the vanagon rear wheels designed
into the geometry( the wheels do not appear perfectly straight up and down),
but you should not see excessive leaning of the wheel inward(negative), as
the camber should be barely noticable to the eye, if this happens to a great
degree you will experience an inside tire wear and a tendancy for the wheel
to jack in on trailing throttle oversteer(a problem that has plagued other
rear trailing arm suspension cars w/rear engine configurations, most notably
the 76-86 Porsche 930).Make sure the alignment shop tests the camber w/ a
proper load of gas,oil and water per Bentley spec, otherwise as you add
weight the rear will camber in more.If you have questions have the mechanic
show you the guage readout.I dont have my manual here to check as it is
packed in storage, but ill guess it shouldn't be more than 1 degree
neg.(Dennis can you help w/ the spec?).If it seems excessive or you have tire
wear recheck it.
One thing to note for all you vanagoners out there is the  tendancy, over
time, for the rear springs to sag, especially if the van has sat idle for as
period of time.This will cause the appearance of negative camber as the wheel
naturally cambers in on spring compression...this could be why the mechanic
says it is within spec.


Ed Berroth
84 Westy Wolf
87 Stinkcrow