VW Passat steering wheel is off

selfbuilder1

I recently got a bushon replaced on the front wishbone of my passat and ever since when the car is driving straight the steering wheel is slightly turned. Would getting the car tracked solve this or is it back to the garage.

L-M

Fairly sure tracking can do the same thing to it. Mine is the same, would be curious as how to get it sorted.

pred racer

does the car pull one way or the other when you let go of the wheel?
if yes tracking needs doing.
if no, just get the steering wheel adjusted.
this used to be easy and most mechanics did it at every service, but now with airbags etc, Im sure it takes a bit of know how. I wouldnt chance it;)

Stevie Dakota

Do not simply get the wheel adjusted, your tracking is out and you need a laser alignment. Whoever did the work should have done this as part of the job.

L-M

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

Do not simply get the wheel adjusted, your tracking is out and you need a laser alignment. Whoever did the work should have done this as part of the job.

How do you know the tracking is out?

pred racer

Limerick man wrote: »

How do you know the tracking is out?

is my post invisible

does the car pull one way or the other when you let go of the wheel?
if yes tracking needs doing.

gofaster_s13

Never adjust a misaligned steering wheel by just pulling the steering wheel off and recentering it just because your car isnt pulling one way or the other does not mean the tracking isnt out, pulling off the steering wheel is the lazy way of doing it and doesnt cure any thing. The proper cure is an alignment/tracking check and adjust as necessary.

Darragh29

selfbuilder1 wrote: »

I recently got a bushon replaced on the front wishbone of my passat and ever since when the car is driving straight the steering wheel is slightly turned. Would getting the car tracked solve this or is it back to the garage.

Tracking would resolve this for you...

mickdw

Why would anybody take the steering off to centre it. It was striaght until work was done at the front suspension. So the problem is down to adjustment of the track rod ends. i.e. alignment. I would have been striaght back in to garage to finish the job they started.

L-M

pred racer wrote: »

is my post invisible

does the car pull one way or the other when you let go of the wheel?
if yes tracking needs doing.

I saw your post, i was just wondering how Steve knew the tracking was out is all.

Darragh29

Limerick man wrote: »

How do you know the tracking is out?

When you start the task of tracking a car, the first thing you should do is get into the car and make sure the steering wheel is exactly as it should be, as in the position it would be in if trying to drive in a straight line in a forward direction.

You'll see lads using a clamp to lock the steering wheel in position, before they start making adjustments at the track rods...

This is your starting point. What you will find is that if the tracking is out, even though you've set the steering wheel perfectly straight, the wheels will not be true, as in pointing exactly forward, one or both will be toed in or out and usually you can see this with your eye.

You make adjustments to the toe in or toe out and make the wheels perfectly parallel.

If you have a tracking problem, the wheels will always try to drive in a straight line due to the castor angle within the steering geometry, (not unlike how a shopping trolley will naturally find a forward position when pushed, due to a castor angle within the wheels), and the steering wheel will be forced to go with whatever direction the misaligned wheels will find themselves going in.

If you ever get your tracking done and don't notice a difference in the job, it is usually because whoever did the job didn't lock the steering wheel firmly into position before starting the job. It can also be due to wishbone, ball joint or track rod/inner tie rod wear...

L-M

Sorry Darragh, i know how to tell if the tracking on a car is out. As i said i was just curious has to how he knew it was out from the post. My steering wheel is turned a bit but my tracking is perfect.

Stevie Dakota

Limerick man wrote: »

I saw your post, i was just wondering how Steve knew the tracking was out is all.

I think the guys have answered this already.

L-M

What my point was his tracking isn't out if the steering wheel is turned? My steering wheel is turned a bit but my tracking is perfect

Darragh29

Limerick man wrote: »

Sorry Darragh, i know how to tell if the tracking on a car is out. As i said i was just curious has to how he knew it was out from the post. My steering wheel is turned a bit but my tracking is perfect.

You see this is a common misconception....

Here's an example...

You could have your left wheel toed out by 0'30", and your right wheel toed in by the same margin. Both wheels are parallel, but the tracking is way off on both, but in the same direction. When you get into the car, it is driving straight due to the castor angle effect on the wheels, they will straighten themselves. Another way of describing this mathematically would be to say that your left wheel is +0.50 degree off true and your right wheel is -.050 degrees off true...

If you check for uneven tyre wear, you will hardly see any, because due to the castor angle, both wheels are actually parallel when the car is moving forward.

But the reality is that the tracking is way off on both wheels, but because they are off by the same value in the same direction, you don't feel the car drifting left or right, but you will notice that the steering wheel is "crooked"...

When you do tracking, you have to follow the script exactly or you'll end up with the job being done arseways, and step 1 always must be, ignore what is going on down at the road wheels and centre up the steering wheel and lock it into position when it is properly aligned. This is the acid test for seeing if the person who is doing your tracking, knows what they are actually doing. If they don't set the steering wheel and lock it up before they start, they probably don't understand the very fundamentals of what is going on...

Then make your necessary adjustments down at the wheels, obviously before you do step 1, you do your pre-checks on suspension & steering components...

L-M

When i'm getting my tracking done next Darragh, i'll be coming to you. The lads at TyreStop are utter useless.

Darragh29

Limerick man wrote: »

What my point was his tracking isn't out if the steering wheel is turned? My steering wheel is turned a bit but my tracking is perfect

See above. Here's a little exercise you when you're at home... Put the car on the driveway and get into the car and do nothing else than align the steering wheel as perfectly as you can for going forward in a straight line.

Get some wool or thread and get someone else to hold one end of the length of thread onto a spot on the tyre wall of the rear tyre, closest to the rear of the car.

You take the other end of the thread/wool and use your finger to hold the other end of the thead/wool onto a spot on the front tyre wall, closest to the front of the vehicle.

You will immediately see one of either two things, where you are standing at the front road wheel:

(1) There is a gap of a few MM between the thread/wool and the wall of the tyre where the thread passes over the tyre wall on the front wheel where it is furthest away from the front of the car... If you are doing the drivers side front and see this gap, the front drivers wheel is toed out and needs to be adjusted inwards... OR

(2) You will see the thread bending or the angle being distorted because the wheel is toed in and needs to be toed outwards to make it perfectly parallel with the rear wheel.

You can do the same with the passenger side...

You will be able to see the tracking being off in your case, expect to see a gap of around 5MM between the thead and the tyre wall or the thread being distorted by around 5MM in the outward direction...

Darragh29

The pic below shows this in much clearer terms. Obviously you wouldn't do this test with the car parked on the kerb, I just grabbed this pic from google images...

mickdw

Darragh29 wrote: »

The pic below shows this in much clearer terms. Obviously you wouldn't do this test with the car parked on the kerb, I just grabbed this pic from google images...

I wouldnt recommend that method Darragh, Ive done the string thing myself but by setting up the string independant of the car and also having both strings parrallel.
The method in the picture doesnt allow for difference in track width between front and back axle and also will create inaccuracy depending on 'toe' of rear wheel.
Also if front wheel is toe in, the string will then hit the tyre before it reaches the green dot.
I did string at both sides together ensuring both are parallel and set them both up equal distances from wheel centre both sides. Got a pretty good read of it.

Darragh29

mickdw wrote: »

I wouldnt recommend that method Darragh, Ive done the string thing myself but by setting up the string independant of the car and also having both strings parrallel.
The method in the picture doesnt allow for difference in track width between front and back axle and also will create inaccuracy depending on 'toe' of rear wheel.
Also if front wheel is toe in, the string will then hit the tyre before it reaches the green dot.
I did string at both sides together ensuring both are parallel and set them both up equal distances from wheel centre both sides. Got a pretty good read of it.

No this is just to let some get an appreciation for how you can see your alignment being off by following a set procedure. Obviously there are errors built into this that make it unsuitable as a method of doing wheel alignment accurately, but if this is used on a solid rear axle with no wheel alignment adjustment and no wheel bearing wear on the rear axle, it can just give you an indication of whether or not you might need to get your wheel alignment done properly, in the context of having a steering wheel that is not centered, a car that is pulling to one side or uneven tyre wear. This is just a quick rough test to give someone an idea of what is going on and let them get an appreciation for how you can visually see the tracking being off.

mickdw

Darragh29 wrote: »

No this is just to let some get an appreciation for how you can see your alignment being off by following a set procedure. Obviously there are errors built into this that make it unsuitable as a method of doing wheel alignment accurately, but if this is used on a solid rear axle with no wheel alignment adjustment and no wheel bearing wear on the rear axle, it can just give you an indication of whether or not you might need to get your wheel alignment done properly, in the context of having a steering wheel that is not centered, a car that is pulling to one side or uneven tyre wear. This is just a quick rough test to give someone an idea of what is going on and let them get an appreciation for how you can visually see the tracking being off.

True.
It can be used accurately if set up well but not worth the hassle with the modern equipment available.

Darragh29

mickdw wrote: »

True.
It can be used accurately if set up well but not worth the hassle with the modern equipment available.

My view on this is that people should be aware of what is happening when it comes to tasks like this and little exercises like this can get people thinking about what is actually being done when their car is up on a ramp.

crosstownk

Darragh29 wrote: »

When you start the task of tracking a car, the first thing you should do is get into the car and make sure the steering wheel is exactly as it should be, as in the position it would be in if trying to drive in a straight line in a forward direction.

You'll see lads using a clamp to lock the steering wheel in position, before they start making adjustments at the track rods...

Spot on Darragh. In fact it is a prerequisite that the steering rack is locked up on a Passat before any work is carried out that may affect the tracking. There is even a special VW tool for the job (a similar tool will do).

selfbuilder1

Thanks for all the replies lads. The work was done in a VW main dealer. So by getting the tracking done will straighten my steering wheel. The car does not pull to either side and will remain going straight. Its not a major thing but its looks strange when driving to have the steering wheel slightly turned.

Capital Slow

exactly the same thing happen to my Passat, bushings were changed, steering was off, tracking was a bit off, feel vibration at 70mph, you name it.

Initially thought was wheel balancing, went to FastFit in Goatstown, your man Damien was legend, although it is not the most sophsicated job of the world but his attitude towards the customers were brilliant, very decent guy, checked everything for me, check the wheel balancing and I asked for a computerised laser tracking done, was shown how much it was off:eek:, was called over to the computer and shown the result.

took about an hour and half get everything done, went for a trip on the M50, everything sorted, brilliant service, cost me 75 quid, well spent

selfbuilder1

Thanks to everyone for their replies. Got the tracking done and the steering wheel is back to the correct position when driving straight.