Tracking

[randybugger]

going to get tracking adjusted are there any measurements I should tell the garage?

1990 de-dion standard setup

cheers

tony  

[rich71]

They are in the assembly guide available on this site....somewhere

[Jonathan Kay]

1998 Assembly Guide:

Jonathan

[randybugger]

Cheers Jonathon you're a star.

[Ian Macquarie]

I think you'll get a lot of different answers depending on who you talk to and what you use the car for.

The Assembly Guide for my 1990 De-Dion has an equivalent page to the one shown above with the following figures:

Toe-in    0 degrees front and rear

Camber 0.5 – 1.0 degrees negative front and rear

Castor 5 – 7.5 degrees (6.5 optimum)

King Pin Inclination 11.0 – 13.0

 

Ian

[rich71]

Just checked the assembly guide on here - 2001 version i think, it's what i gave the 'tracking man' anyway :

Tracking 0 degrees 20' +- 0 degrees 10' Toe in on the front

Camber 1 degree 20' +- 0 degrees 15' negative

Castor 4 degrees 0' +- 1 degree 0' (0 degree 20' variation left/right)

 

[randybugger]

Does it make a difference being the old style front suspension or is it ok putting the newer figures on?

its for road use with 888r s 

the steering at the moment (well before I took things apart) felt heavy compared to a narrow front end new car I drove at Christmas 

[SM25T]

Have you checked things like track rod ends aren't seized ... and steering rack operates freely ... check with wheels off the ground. Have you lubricated the rack lately ... remove gaiters each end and grease teeth on full lock.

[randybugger]

Hi Ian

ive never lubricated the rack, how do i do that, all seems to move freely when jacked up and on the plates for the MOT.

i put a new track rod end on and obviously didn't get it in the same position, steering wheel now pionts to the right a bit, steering actually feels a bit lighter hence my getting the tracking done

[SM25T]

I describe how to do it in my post. Gaiters usually fixed by cable ties. Cut them off carefully and use new ones to reattach. Turn steering wheel fully to one side ... grease exposed bit .... then repeat for the other side.

[randybugger]

Thanks Ian I'll do that when I've got 5 mins

[Jonathan Kay]

The earliest Assembly Guide I have that mentions wide track front suspension has the following. NB Same recommendations as for narrow track.

 

Jonathan

[john milner]

For rack lubrication raise the front onto axle stands, undo the 36mm nut on top of the rack, remove the white nylon pressure plug thingy. Work in a mix of grease and gear oil (I think I used EP85) by moving the steering left and right. The gear oil may leak eventually into the gaiters and make a minor mess so if this is a problem just use grease. Only use grease on subsequent services to limit any mess.

I find that the steering stiffens after a few years and lubrication brings it back to life.

EDIT:After looking through the archives it seems that EP140 is the most popular gear oil to use as it is thicker and less likely to leak. Removing/refitting the nylon plug is frowned upon by some as refitting is supposed to require the correct adjustment. Personally I do it tight enough to not rattle but loose enough to not bind.