My car walks like a duck

[Alex Roux]

I went to the wheel alignment people this week.
My truck was leaning slightly to the left (Ooh sorry, my car has spark plugs. Better not call it a truck then?)

Once fixed, the steering guy says that the car still toes a bit out.
And he cannot adjust it, since my steering rod (in picture) cannot be shortened.
Hence my car drive with the front wheels pointing slightly outwards - like a duck (or a ballerina, for that matter, a slightly overweight ballerina)
This means that the tyres will also wear off slightly quicker on the inside (I think?).

Anyhow, it may be worth investing in an adjustable steering rod.
Does anyone know if this is available. Or better, can it be made from the existing rod?
If I am not mistaken, some models do have this. Christo Slang I think has one.

SteeringRod.jpg (508.98 KiB) Viewed 2906 times

[Peter Connan]

Alex, take your car to somebody who actually knows what he is doing...

The steering rod in the picture (also known as the drag link) connects the left-hand front wheel with the steering box on the chassis, and has absolutely nothing to do with the way the two wheels point in relation to one another. The only thing it has any control over is the direction the steering wheel points in.

Toe (either in or out) is controlled by the tie rod, which is the thick arm behind the axle. This connects the right-hand wheel with the left-hand wheel, thus controlling toe.

And it IS adjustable. In ALL Patrols.

[Dr Chris]

Good morning Gentlemen,
I am so glad about the comments initiated by Alex and answered by Peter, as the issue surrounding wheel alignment has always been a bone of contention at most, if not all tire centers. This has also been something I was personally unclear about, partially because I am not mechanically competent, and also because I could never get clarity from local chats.
Many thanks, I will sleep better tonight!
Regards, Chris

[bogeyman]

Gents,

I can confidently confirm Peters reply.

Toe in / out must be set perfectly as it will affect tyre wear and to some extent handling. If it is at zero it can even trigger death wobble.

What can not easily be corrected on a Patrol , is castor/camber angle. The solid front axle makes this difficult to correct.
There are ways of correcting it like when a lift alters castor angle . different control arm bushes will do the trick.

Chris.

[mve100]

Hi

I am also finding that my patrol is leaning left. Where is a good place to take it in the Pretoria/Centurion area?

[Tinus lotz]

I can only speak for auto wiel centorion west
Speak to barend there he has done plenty patrols 012 656 0033 give him a call they are next to R55 and high way just behind sasol garage look out for tire mart sign

[AndriesS]

I can second Tinus's choice. They were the first to solve my wheel balancing / wobble issues by turning the tyres on the rims and using the finger adapter and not the cone - 3 different places were clueless.

[Clem]

Alex, take your car to somebody who actually knows what he is doing...

The steering rod in the picture (also known as the drag link) connects the left-hand front wheel with the steering box on the chassis, and has absolutely nothing to do with the way the two wheels point in relation to one another. The only thing it has any control over is the direction the steering wheel points in.

Toe (either in or out) is controlled by the tie rod, which is the thick arm behind the axle. This connects the right-hand wheel with the left-hand wheel, thus controlling toe.

And it IS adjustable. In ALL Patrols.

That and you can set the thing yourself at home with a simple tape measure if you know what the specs are/should be. I've done it often enough on a Land Rover. It's really not a big deal. Usually a little bit of toe in is specced.

[Peter Connan]

Hi

I am also finding that my patrol is leaning left. Where is a good place to take it in the Pretoria/Centurion area?

Michael, leaning is not something that can be adjusted during wheel alignment. In fact, the toe (as described above) is in fact the only "adjustment" on a Patrol's wheel alignment (by adjustment, I mean any operation that does not involve adding or replacing parts).

Leaning is a sign of sagging or incorrectly fitted springs (the driver's side spring is a little longer than the passenger side and if they are swopped around the car will lean to the driver's side).

It can be "corrected" by adding spacers to the springs on the lower side, but this is not ideal on a vehicle that is used as Patrols should be used (as the spacer effectively makes the spring longer, resulting in it possibly going coil-bound under heavy compression and by-passing the bump stops, resulting in massive forces being transferred through parts not designed for them). I would strongly recommend either living with it or replacing the springs...

[dieselfan]

I was also at a Suspension Expert so some idiot welded th adjustment shut and it was very common on 2nd hand vehicles...a quick call to PeterC and my car was out of there...