Looking for a good wheel alignment centre in Melb

mcberg Casual Dubber

23 posts · joined Jul 2010 · 6 Jul 2013, 3:28 pm

#962315

It can be hard to find a place these days which is capable of correctly doing a wheel alignment on your Beetle.

I'm foolishly trying to de-shimmy my front end, and one of the tasks in the list is getting & keeping a good alignment. Plus replacing all sorts of parts of course, including the upper right strut bearing, which has a bushing so loose it actually knocks!!!

I'm wondering if anyone has a recommendation for a good place in eastern Melb to get the job done properly for my 74 Superbug.

I have located the original specs for an alignment at Samba

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=206764

So now I'm chasing a good alignment technician.

Thanks in advance for your contribution

74 SuperBug
other stuff
94 Caravelle
78 Passat
70 Kombi (first car I ever sold in one piece)
74 Golf (which I t-boned into Nun!)
70 Beetle (mustard bugger which I tried to kill)
68 Beetle preceded by a series of 6v crash test vehicles 😬

BRUTUS Officially Full-On Dubber

255 posts · joined Feb 2006 · 6 Jul 2013, 4:04 pm

#962318

You could try Trackside in Kilsyth, 9761 5557

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psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts · joined Jan 2009 · 13 Jul 2013, 8:37 pm

#963099

My old 03s wheel shimmy ended up being out of balance wheels.

Either way b4 going for alignment make sure bearings, all balljoints n tierod ends, inner TCA bushes, upper shox bushes, steering damper and AB bushes are all in top notch condition.

As for alignment place I just used the online yellowpages to search for places that do alignment. Then I emailed or phoned them to ask what system they use. You need a good 4 wheel laser alignment system to get the tracking done well and if it can do castor and camber then even better.

If you have the tracking specs you wish to use then you book it in and stand there watching them and looking at the machine. They are pretty easy to read apart from the tracking but they should have individual and combined degrees. The specs you have will give the tracking as combined, or total, degrees of toe BUT the operator should know that the individual reading is half of the combined reading and that if -1deg combined you could get this with +1 on one side and -2 on the other that would still give -1 combined but is wrong as each side should be -0.5degrees to combine for -1 degree.

With a simple bit of knowledge you can assure they are doing the job properly.

Oh and also make sure they centralise the steering wheel as they didn't when I left me wifes car there and and I didn't find out until a few weeks later by which time they weren't interested in correcting their mistake.

madness is in the eye of the beholder 👍

hulbyw Insano Dub Head

819 posts · joined Sep 2009 · 13 Jul 2013, 9:40 pm

#963113

Trackside are good and so are Traction Tyres (Tyres and More) in Rowville. Traction don't have a set alignment fee, they charge by the hour, but their equipment is current technology, not worn out rubbish like some places and the guys there know what they are doing. And neither of these businesses will give you grief cos you have and old VW.
Cheers...............wayne

mcberg Casual Dubber

23 posts · joined Jul 2010 · 16 Jul 2013, 5:43 am

#963381

Thanks all for the input. I'll giveTrackside a try and see how they go.

But first I'm awaiting delivery of more parts from Jon at Topline to complete the repairs. So far this time around it's going to be upper strut bearings, lower ball joints, set of bushings, steering damper, steering shaft, new Sport+ springs and some better spacers. And new tyres.

The only part left to replace after this wave of repairs is the Steering box!!! Which (sigh) I'm considering getting from the Uk.

74 SuperBug
other stuff
94 Caravelle
78 Passat
70 Kombi (first car I ever sold in one piece)
74 Golf (which I t-boned into Nun!)
70 Beetle (mustard bugger which I tried to kill)
68 Beetle preceded by a series of 6v crash test vehicles 😬

psimitar Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,506 posts · joined Jan 2009 · 16 Jul 2013, 7:26 pm

#963431

Parts are well priced and delivery from the UK will be much cheaper than from USA IF you go to the right vendor. VW Heritage and C&C are 2 of the best for proper shipping costs instead of generic profiteering costs by, hmmm, lets say M7 🙂

madness is in the eye of the beholder 👍

mcberg Casual Dubber

23 posts · joined Jul 2010 · 5 Aug 2013, 8:07 pm

#965509

I went to Trackside and he did a great job, even though it was slow.

It took a while as the rear had clearly "never" been done by the tyre shops; the bolts were really locked down and the alignment way out. The front was also way out, but of course it's been in pieces.

So far the tally has been
- upper strut bearings (the bushes were worn and one bearing stuffed, so the strut head on one side was slopping around)
- lower ball joints
- all new bushings, including extra camber adjust bolt/bushing and eccentric sway bar bushing from Topline
- new lower Sportz springs from Topline
- steering damper
- steering shaft (not required in the end but until it was out you don't know)
- 4 new tyres
- full balance and alignment

Result? No more shimmy and shake, drives straight and smooth!! Finally!!!

I also found that my 74 Super has the wrong steering column bodged into the car. The early older steering column in the car is a different spec to the stock super column. The old column is 1/2" shorter (22 1/8 versus 22 5/8 inches), is thinner at the top where it passes through the upper bearing, and has the steering lock plate spot welded to the Column.

As a result the column slopped around in the bearing and had a flakey earth for the horn; I had to make a metal shim to sit between the columns and the bearing to remove the slop and provide an earth. The first attempt in plastic prevented earthing and the horn would not work!

Plus the clamps on the uni joints in the steering shaft don't locate correctly due to the short steering column. The clamps each locate around a groove in the splines on both the steering box and steering column; the 2 bolts for the clamp are special as the have a non-threaded shoulder for the first inch and 1/4 or so, which then sits in the groove. This helps to keep the steering shaft attached at each end. But with missing half inch I had to work hard to get a workable position which didn't bind on the body and was able to clamp securely

Finally I now have to remove the tank again and clean it as there is something blocking the fuel flow now, after the first tank removal by the shop which fitted the bulk of the parts (not Trackside).

but for the first time in 5 years my super is steering and handling properly ready for its new 1914 engine.

74 SuperBug
other stuff
94 Caravelle
78 Passat
70 Kombi (first car I ever sold in one piece)
74 Golf (which I t-boned into Nun!)
70 Beetle (mustard bugger which I tried to kill)
68 Beetle preceded by a series of 6v crash test vehicles 😬