tpk241 Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Had a head on on thursday with an escort estate. Escort is no more and i sustained a bit of damage ... Basically the passenger wheel took to impact head on and it sheared the outrigger where the caster arm connects .. I welded this up and straightened my sumo bars and panhard rod and it seems to drive as normal now. The problem I have is with the ignition and steering column.... I now have no steering lock when key is removed and sometimes the car carries on running with the key out !£@£@ .. I took the steering wheel off after getting the tracking done to recenter the wheel and i fear its mis-aligned as the indicators self-cancel in the wrong place in the turn of the wheel ... My tyre guy tried to align the steering wheel center with the draglink adjustment but it was too far out so removal seemed the only way to re-align ! Anyone got any ideas ? Its a 300TDI disco BTW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwriyadh Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Raise the front axle slightly to remove some of the weight from the tyres, get under the steering box and get somebody to turn the steering till the box is at mid travel. You should then see a vee in the steering arm aligns with a hole in the steering box casing, set it up accurately with a drill, IIRC about 6mm. You can now see how the tracking was done probably incorrectly, you need to set the wheel on the end of the drag link to parallel with the chassis by adjusting the drag link. You then set the other front wheel parallel to the chassis by adjusting the track control bar. If you are unsure of which way the wheels are pointing run a length of string round all four wheels at hub height and tie tight. The wheels are parallel with the chassis when the string touches the tyre on the front wheel at both sides, ie no gap between string and tyre. Also while the steering box is at its midpoint you can reset the steering wheel so that it is pointed straight ahead, be careful when dealing with the steering wheel there a curly flexible connection at the back of the wheel, do not break it. Final tweak to tracking should be done by your tyre man with some form of gauge. jw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpk241 Posted March 26, 2007 Author Share Posted March 26, 2007 Thanks JW, good tips .. thats gonna be handy to know .. Getting car checked out on saturday to put my mind at rest after the crash. Fear the steering column may be shot. .. . Thanks TPK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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