Advice opinions please

[DODD]

Hi Roger,

I think we may be talking at cross purposes here.

The outer track rods do affect the steering geometry. They can’t just be taken out of the box and fitted in the hope the central track rod will do all the necessary adjustments. Otherwise why have adjustable outer track rods.

I maintain that on a Bristol with 4No. LH threaded TRE’s the near side and off side wheels have to be aligned first, the outer track rods are then adjusted and fitted accordingly. Once aligned, fitted and secured, the central rod is adjusted to provide the tracking i.e toe in or out.

Tracking on cars do go out of alignment for many reasons, often one of the early signs as you know is excessive wear on the inner or outer edge of the front tyres. To correct the problem the wheel alignment must be checked before the central track rod is adjusted again.


Where a car has what in my mind is a more conventional system, where the two outer track rods have a LH and RH thread. The alignment and tracking (toe in or out) is done in the same procedure.
This system also negates the need for an adjustable central track rod. On many cars the central rod is a fixed length and not adjustable.

The steering wheel position has nothing to do with what I am saying above but when you have your car tracked the mechanic will position the steering wheel “straight” and clamp it in position while carrying the adjustments to the tracking.

Finally, I don’t think you are being too bossy, we just don’t agree and yes I would like some further advice please albeit on a different subject, I have set my question on a new thread for simplicity.

Brian