wierd turning circle on one side

Anthiron The Baja Rejuvenation Begins

4,936 posts · joined Oct 2003 · 3 Oct 2007, 10:14 am

#614761

ok, a while ago i put a cut and turned front beam in the front of my baja, at the same time i had a new steering box fitted and all the tie rod ends were brand new so i left them.

now this is an early king and link front end so there are no adjustable steering stops.

when turning right the right hand wheel will turn so far that the outer edge will scrape on the body. when turning right it will turn on a dime.

when turning left the left hand wheel stops a good 2 inches before it hits the body and the turning circle is appaling, it makes parking to the left hand side very irritating.

can anyone explain this to me?

62/60 model bug eye baja bug, (Full Build in Progress)
1974 Chevrolet Luv
1970 MK2 Ford Cortina GT
1979 Yamaha RX125 Two Stroke tracker project.
2004 Harley Davidson Sportster XL Custom

1303Steve Scirocco Rare

8,650 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 3 Oct 2007, 10:32 am

#614763

Hi

The king and link pins front ends do have adjustable steering stops, the front bolt that holds the brake backing plate to the stub axle is the steering stop. A longer bolt will limit stub axle turning.

But I don't think that's your problem. I think that your steering box is off centre. Best thing to do is disconnect the tie rods from the pitman arm, count the turns your steering box has, then halve that for the correct centre position.

Steve

blutopless2 DAMSLO

2,457 posts · joined Jan 2004 · 3 Oct 2007, 12:16 pm

#614777

had this same problem years ago. centred it all up and now it turns the same both sides.

see.... air and water do mix 😉

1974 1300
1997 MK3 Golf GL
2003 NB Cabrio
2012 Golf VI GTI
2014 Audi A4 Quattro

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 · 3 Oct 2007, 6:19 pm

#614814

yep sounds like the steering box wasnt centered when the drop arm was put on

-Joel

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 4 Oct 2007, 4:35 pm

#614946

DUB74L wrote:yep sounds like the steering box wasnt centered when the drop arm was put on

-Joel

Never thought of that...
One of My tyres hits the chassis on full lock...
other side doesn't...
trying to figure out whats wrong..
I can't remember whether i took the drop arm off??

I don't normally use full lock so its not a big issue at the moment...

cheers

Lee

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

1303Steve Scirocco Rare

8,650 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 4 Oct 2007, 5:02 pm

#614947

Hi Lee

Im pretty sure that the pitman arm can fit in only one position, otherwise you wouldn't be able to get the bolt back in. The ball joint front end on you car has adjustable lock stops.

Steve

Anthiron The Baja Rejuvenation Begins

4,936 posts · joined Oct 2003 · 4 Oct 2007, 9:35 pm

#614996

thanks for the help guys ill get it sorted.:beer

62/60 model bug eye baja bug, (Full Build in Progress)
1974 Chevrolet Luv
1970 MK2 Ford Cortina GT
1979 Yamaha RX125 Two Stroke tracker project.
2004 Harley Davidson Sportster XL Custom

Grey 57 Old Grey Cruiser

2,937 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 5 Oct 2007, 11:50 am

#615059

Could also be due to the short (originally non adjustable tie rod) being too long or too short due to some adjustment. Pretty sure the factory correct way to adjust the wheel alignment was to adjust only the lond tie rod and re-centre the steering wheel. This ensured that with a straight short tie rod the steering was always centered.