Tracking and Steering wheel

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JohnnyCrash

JohnnyCrash

New Member
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1,917
Hi after some searching and reading I still haven't got the answer I am looking for

my steering wheel when driving straight is approx 15 to 18 degrees clockwise (steering right) and after my long trip at weekend and have now covered over 250 miles I have noticed wear on the right hand front tyre on the inside edge. All tyres are same size as are wheels, checked tyre pressures right rear tyre was 2 psi down, but this wouldn't cause this?

does this sound like a simple "take to garage and have it tracked" solution? or is this more complicated on 4x4??

Range Rover P38 year 2000
2.5 Diesel, Auto box
 
The rear tyres would not affect front tyre no more than likely tracking , does the car tend to pull to one side on an uncamberd road ? Hands off steering wheel.Steering wheel could of been taken off at some point and not put back correctly. Also if steering components badly worn can cause tyre wear but more than likely tracking a simple way to check is with the wheels strait using a long strait edge or string measure one side parralel with rear wheels then the other side to see if out or walk away from car as far as you can see if badly out your see a wheel pointing the wrong way not very accurate for setting tho!
 
defender300td1 said:
The rear tyres would not affect front tyre no more than likely tracking , does the car tend to pull to one side on an uncamberd road ? Hands off steering wheel.Steering wheel could of been taken off at some point and not put back correctly. Also if steering components badly worn can cause tyre wear but more than likely tracking a simple way to check is with the wheels strait using a long strait edge or string measure one side parralel with rear wheels then the other side to see if out or walk away from car as far as you can see if badly out your see a wheel pointing the wrong way not very accurate for setting tho!
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll have a look later when I am home, The car does pull left when the wheel is straight and I feel like I'm constantly pulling it right to drive straight
 
Sounds like tracking to me.

Get a bit of string, tie it onto something in the middle at the back (tow bar) stretch it over the back wheel and down to the front wheel to see if it's straight and repeat on the other side. Adjust and repeat. Set mine like that and took it down to my friendly local garage and it was 100% spot on! Who needs lasers..?
 
ScratchyDom said:
Sounds like tracking to me.

Get a bit of string, tie it onto something in the middle at the back (tow bar) stretch it over the back wheel and down to the front wheel to see if it's straight and repeat on the other side. Adjust and repeat. Set mine like that and took it down to my friendly local garage and it was 100% spot on! Who needs lasers..?
Click to expand...


String it is then :) cheap and cheerful Hope it sorts it
 
ScratchyDom said:
Sounds like tracking to me.

Get a bit of string, tie it onto something in the middle at the back (tow bar) stretch it over the back wheel and down to the front wheel to see if it's straight and repeat on the other side. Adjust and repeat. Set mine like that and took it down to my friendly local garage and it was 100% spot on! Who needs lasers..?
Click to expand...
providing all tyres are of the same make if different can caus misreading better fixing blocks to rims to be sure .
 
defender300td1 said:
providing all tyres are of the same make if different can caus misreading better fixing blocks to rims to be sure .
Click to expand...


all 4 tyres are same make, size and age
icon12.gif
 
Vehicle out of track will not cause it to pull to left or right as the error is inclusive. But tyre wear caused by being out of track will. Get track checked and corrected (look for reasons it's out). Steering wheel centering is done by adjusting length of drag link. First line up marks on steering box and check if steering wheel is straight ahead when they line up. If not remove steering wheel and set as near as possible to straight ahead with steering box central. It may be a few degrees out this will be adjusted out later. Drive car forwards on level ground to auto centre road wheels. Remove drag link from drop arm, move steering wheel to straight ahead position, then adjust length of drag link until it sits in drop arm with road wheels straight ahead and steering wheel straight ahead. Tighten pinch bolts on drag link. Replace nut on TRE and tighten. Job done.
 
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wammers said:
Vehicle out of track will not cause it to pull to left or right as the error is inclusive. But tyre wear caused by being out of track will. Get track checked and corrected (look for reasons it's out). Steering wheel centering is done by adjusting length of drag link. First line up marks on steering box and check if steering wheel is straight ahead when they line up. If not remove steering wheel and set as near as possible to straight ahead with steering box central. It may be a few degrees out this will be adjusted out later. Drive car forwards on level ground to auto centre road wheels. Remove drag link from drop arm, move steering wheel to straight ahead position, then adjust length of drag link until it sits in drop arm with road wheels straight ahead and steering wheel straight ahead. Tighten pinch bolts on drag link. Replace nut on TRE and tighten. Job done.
Click to expand...

Wammers I'm not disputing your aliment method but how you can say that a car will not vere left or right without hands on steering wheel and wheel towing out . Maybe in slight differences,if a wheel is pointing that way then the car will vere in that direction.
 
defender300td1 said:
Wammers I'm not disputing your aliment method but how you can say that a car will not vere left or right without hands on steering wheel and wheel towing out . Maybe in slight differences,if a wheel is pointing that way then the car will vere in that direction.
Click to expand...

Car cannot veer in any direction on a flat road due to track being out. The error is inclusive. If the toe out is 1/8 say, when the car moves forward, each wheel will pull in this case, because of the castor angle to straighten the track. Giving an 1/16 either side, so equilibrium. You cannot have a situation were one wheel runs at zero and one runs 1/8 toeout it's not possible.
 
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So are you saying a car on a flat road with a wheel out of line will not vere in a direction to that way it is pointing , without getting into crabbing rear wheels out.
 
defender300td1 said:
So are you saying a car on a flat road with a wheel out of line will not vere in a direction to that way it is pointing , without getting into crabbing rear wheels out.
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No it won't. Even if you set the track a 2" toe out the car would still travel in a straight line because of the steering geometry. You would wear your tyres out PDQ though. The steering wheel being out of line has nothing to do with tracking in this case. Track is controlled by the track rod, the position of the steering wheel is relative to the distance from the front steering arm to the drop arm with wheels straight ahead. You could indeed put the steering wheel out of centre if you adjusted a vehicle fitted with a steering rack, at just one side only. But in this case unless there are several TREs nearly falling off the steering wheel position is irrelivent.
 
Well in all my years I never heard that one before even if a steering colum with rack and two track rod ends, or our steering colum and box connected to a drop arm and then on to rods ending in trackrod ends that a car won't vere go into any tyre centre and read the effects of tracking misalignment and the effects other than tyre wear.But what do I know having been a tyre fitter for ten years as a youth.
 
defender300td1 said:
Well in all my years I never heard that one before even if a steering colum with rack and two track rod ends, or our steering colum and box connected to a drop arm and then on to rods ending in trackrod ends that a car won't vere go into any tyre centre and read the effects of tracking misalignment and the effects other than tyre wear.But what do I know having been a tyre fitter for ten years as a youth.
Click to expand...


You can disagree all you want. If you have a Range rover with the track set at 1/16" toe out, which wheel runs parallel and which one runs with the toe out? Think about it. There is obviously a big difference a tyre fitter to a mechanic.
 
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If the box and drop arm is set The one that runs of the drop arm is ajustsble alowing to ajust near side wheel , and drag link is ajustsble at both ends but in therory sets drivers wheel no matter what end you ajust thus if you tighten you are towing out the wheel.
 
defender300td1 said:
If the box and drop arm is set The one that runs of the drop arm is ajustsble alowing to ajust near side wheel , and drag link is ajustsble at both ends but in therory sets drivers wheel no matter what end you ajust thus if you tighten you are towing out the wheel.
Click to expand...
drag link doesnt set toe in or out
 
defender300td1 said:
If the box and drop arm is set The one that runs of the drop arm is ajustsble alowing to ajust near side wheel , and drag link is ajustsble at both ends but in therory sets drivers wheel no matter what end you ajust thus if you tighten you are towing out the wheel.
Click to expand...


The track rod is adjustable at the O/S only and the drag link is adjustable only at the drop arm end. You can only adjust the toe with the track rod. Adjusting the drag link has no effect on tracking whatsoever. It only adjusts the relationship of the drop arm (steering box) to the centred wheels.
 
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