P38A 2001 4.0 Wheel Alignment/Tracking/Steering Box Alignment

PastyMuncher83 · Jun 3, 2019

Howdy all,

I have been having a nightmare recently trying to align my front wheels close enough so i can drive to a laser alignment place.

I have replaced the steering bars with new items along with new tyres, hence the reason for starting this as old ones were scrubbed at the front. Been using the piece of string technique but something must be moving as on a couple of test drives after adjusting the tyres are chirping!

What i'm struggling to understand is how to align the marks on the steering box. It rotates 3.75 turns stop to stop. Now if i rotate the input shaft half that to find the centre point, the alignment mark is 90dg clockwise from where it should be.

Can any of you wonderful lot shed some light on why that is?
Should i rotate it C.cwise so it lines up, knowing that i'll have a quarter turn more steering one way then the other?
Also tried aligning it to zero toe in/out with the wheels off the floor and on the floor with no difference.
I've read that the P38 should have a slight toe in but am just looking to get it close so i don't kill my new tyres on the 15 mile drive to the tracking garage.
Although from what I've read not many places know how to adjust the tracking on these.

Thanks in advance!

kds · Jun 3, 2019

Think the rear track is slightly less than the front so that might have something to do with it, have you try`d measuring the distance across the front of the front wheels then at the rear of the front wheels, did it that way years ago myself to get it somewhere near best done with two people and a straight edge held against the outside edge of the wheels.

wammers · Jun 4, 2019

PastyMuncher83 said:
Howdy all,

I have been having a nightmare recently trying to align my front wheels close enough so i can drive to a laser alignment place.

I have replaced the steering bars with new items along with new tyres, hence the reason for starting this as old ones were scrubbed at the front. Been using the piece of string technique but something must be moving as on a couple of test drives after adjusting the tyres are chirping!

What i'm struggling to understand is how to align the marks on the steering box. It rotates 3.75 turns stop to stop. Now if i rotate the input shaft half that to find the centre point, the alignment mark is 90dg clockwise from where it should be.

Can any of you wonderful lot shed some light on why that is?
Should i rotate it C.cwise so it lines up, knowing that i'll have a quarter turn more steering one way then the other?
Also tried aligning it to zero toe in/out with the wheels off the floor and on the floor with no difference.
I've read that the P38 should have a slight toe in but am just looking to get it close so i don't kill my new tyres on the 15 mile drive to the tracking garage.
Although from what I've read not many places know how to adjust the tracking on these.

Thanks in advance!

You have been advised incorrectly they should be parallel to 1/16" or 1.6 mm toe out. First thing you need to do is set the track. Then with wheels straight ahead set steering box central to marks. Then adjust drag link to fit in steering box arm. All that done steering wheel should be central within 5 degrees either way. Adjust out any off centre with drag link adjustment. If after setting steering box central to marks, the steering wheel is greatly off set, the steering link column to steering box has been fitted incorrectly. Or the steering wheel has been removed and fitted incorrectly. Of course this is easy for me to say i have my own tracking gauges. Steering wheel fitted incorrectly can destroy the rotary coupler.

Just an addition, to ensure wheels are straight ahead, drive car forwards on a flat level surface two or three car lengths without touching the steering wheel, to allow steering to self centralise.

PastyMuncher83 · Jun 5, 2019

Ok thanks for your input. I’ve had the tracking done at my local garage and it seems a lot better.

Unfortunately now I have an airbag fault warning! I have a Hawkeye pro but does anyone know how to tell which of the three types of airbag systems I have-

TRW MPS
TRW SPS
TRW GEN4

Thanks

Datatek · Jun 5, 2019

A seized VCU can also be the cause of tyres chirping. Your car will have side airbags, odds on the drivers seat has been moved and disturbed the airbag connector under the seat, a common problem.

Grrrrrr · Jun 5, 2019

Datatek said:
A seized VCU can also be the cause of tyres chirping. Your car will have side airbags, odds on the drivers seat has been moved and disturbed the airbag connector under the seat, a common problem.

+1. First thing that went through my head when you said chirping tyres and scrubbing on tyres, presumably outside edge?

PastyMuncher83 · Jun 5, 2019

Thanks guys the tyres weren’t chirping till I bought a new set of AT’s and attempted the tracking as I new it was far out as that’s what killed my old front tyres.

Anyway no more chirping since the alignment. Thanks @Datatek you are bang on I check under the drivers seat and the yellow connector plastic retainer had come away from the hole in the bracket under the drivers seat it locks into.

Turns out I can’t read airbag faults with my Hawkeye without buying yet another adaptor! I’m going to leave the battery off and pray the fault is gone when I reconnect in the morning

Grrrrrr · Jun 6, 2019

Where would this other Hawkeye adapter plug into? Sounds like it isn't as good as the Nanocom?

ukadamwest · Jun 6, 2019

PastyMuncher83 said:
Turns out I can’t read airbag faults with my Hawkeye without buying yet another adaptor! I’m going to leave the battery off and pray the fault is gone when I reconnect in the morning

post 1999 the SRS self checks for any fault present on the ignition cycle

PastyMuncher83 · Jun 6, 2019

Grrrrrr said:
Where would this other Hawkeye adapter plug into? Sounds like it isn't as good as the Nanocom?

It’s not as good as the nanocom, it’s more of an adaptor that goes between the Hawkeye and the obd2 lead.

PastyMuncher83 · Jun 6, 2019

ukadamwest said:
post 1999 the SRS self checks for any fault present on the ignition cycle

Hopefully when I reconnect the battery it’ll go out then

ukadamwest · Jun 6, 2019

PastyMuncher83 said:
Hopefully when I reconnect the battery it’ll go out then

And replaced by a key code lockout

wammers · Jun 6, 2019

ukadamwest said:
And replaced by a key code lockout

If battery has not been disconnected properly he may get engine disabled. But he will not get key code lock out unless he has entered the EKA code incorrectly three times.

ukadamwest · Jun 6, 2019

wammers said:
If battery has not been disconnected properly he may get engine disabled. But he will not get key code lock out unless he has entered the EKA code incorrectly three times.

I was being sarky...

if it's not a lock out, it will be the three amigos or EAS.. or or..

PastyMuncher83 · Jun 6, 2019

ukadamwest said:
And replaced by a key code lockout

Haha, this is my 3rd P38 have got a callrova modded BECM so I just leave the key in the barrel when re connecting battery and syncs straight up.

Unfortunately the airbag fault was still there. Will have to spend more money with bearmach and buy another adapter to delete the fault with Hawkeye.

In hindsight it would of been cheaper just to buy the nanocom

Datatek · Jun 6, 2019

PastyMuncher83 said:
Hopefully when I reconnect the battery it’ll go out then

There was no need to disconnect the battery.

PastyMuncher83 · Jun 6, 2019

I was hoping it would clear the fault but no such luck.

I’ll have to buy yet another adapter for my Hawkeye to do so

Grrrrrr · Jun 6, 2019

PastyMuncher83 said:
I was hoping it would clear the fault but no such luck.

I’ll have to buy yet another adapter for my Hawkeye to do so

If you can live with it till September I'll drop by with the Nanocom, assuming mine can clear it.

oakey · Jun 6, 2019

In my experience few garages are able to lign wheels correctly. I too had worn tyres two mots ago and got wheels realigned and guess what? Exact same thing at this MOT, inside edge annihilated rest of tyre fine. BUT Landy dealer wants £230 to do wheel alignment

wammers · Jun 7, 2019

I have these > https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dunlop-O...m461fe5dda3:g:XAoAAOSwMX5cwTTk&frcectupt=true Granted they didn't cost that much when i bought them 50 years ago.

P38A 2001 4.0 Wheel Alignment/Tracking/Steering Box Alignment

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