Steering and Wheel Alignment

Diagnosis

Name: Mohamed Ashraf Sayed

Section: 3

Before getting into the diagnosis process, some

information must be declared about camber, caster and
Toe considering the benefit of each one.
Camber :
-Wheel camber is an important factor in the vehicles
handling and stability.
-There are two camber angles utilized: positive and
negative camber.
-Too much positive camber will cause the tyres to wear on
the outside edges.
-Too much negative camber will create excessive wear on
the inner edges of the tyres.
-If the camber angles are set differently on each side of
the vehicle, this can create a problem with the vehicle
pulling to one side the vehicle will generally pull to the
side of the wheel with the greater positive camber
setting.

Caster:
-Wheel caster is applied to enable the driver to feel the
straight-ahead position so that they may steer a straight
path.
-is the forward (negative) or rearward (positive) tilt of the
steering axis as viewed from the side.
-too much caster produces hard steering, whereas too
little causes wander.
-Vehicles have a small amount of positive caster to
provide quick steering return and high speed stability.
-Applies to the front wheels because they are the only
ones that steer.

Toe:
-Toe refers to the parallelism between the wheels as
viewed from above and is usually measured in inches or
millimeters.
-Most rear-wheel drive cars and trucks have alignment
specifications that call for a little bit of toe-in.
-Classic toe misalignment is a feathered wear pattern
across both front tires. The direction of the feathering
tells you if the tires are toed-in or toed-out.
-Toe-in will wear the outer rib while toe-out will cause
wear on the inner rib. In both instances, wear can be
aggravated even more if the tires are underinflated.

Steering systems and wheel alignment

routine maintenance
Steering wheel installation
by moving the steering wheel in all directions, it is
possible to check that the steering wheel has been
correctly installed. This test will also check that the main
shaft bearing is not loose and that the steering wheel is
secured correctly to the main shaft.

Steering wheel free play

while sitting in the drivers position steering wheel free
play can be checked. Place the steering wheel in the
straight-ahead position and check that the front wheels
correspond to the steering wheel. Now move the steering
wheel slightly to the left or right without the wheels
actually moving. Check the manufacturers specifications
for the amount of free play allowed. If there is excessive
free play, then one of the following problems may have
occurred:
-Worn steering linkage
-Steering wheel not secured properly
-Worn wheel bearings
-Worn steering rack, or incorrect adjustment of steering
gear and Loose main shaft joint

Wear in the steering linkage

Raising the front of the vehicle off the ground and moving
the wheels back and forth is the recommended method

for checking the wear in the

steering linkage. If there is excessive movement, then
either wheel bearings or worn steering linkage are
possible causes. To raise the front of the vehicle, either
use a two-poster ramp or a trolley jack; if a trolley jack is
used, then axle ramps must be used to support the
vehicle.

Wheel bearing play

As with the steering linkage, the wheel bearing play can
be checked by first raising the front of the vehicle off the
ground and then gripping the wheel at the top and
bottom and checking if there is any play in the
wheel. If there is play, then the same task must be
carried out with the brakes applied. If the amount of play
is reduced and not eliminated totally, then it is probably
not a wheel-bearing fault.

Steering joints and gaiters

Check around all of the steering linkages from the
steering column down through the steering rack and to
the rack rods and track rod ends. There should be little or
no play in these areas. Check the dust gaiters located on
the steering rack and the track rod ends, as any damage
to these will cause water and dirt ingress, which will
accelerate the wear of these components and lead to
possible seizure.

Wheel alignment
Under normal conditions, it is not necessary to check the
wheel alignment at every service interval, although it
must be checked during the pre-delivery inspection.
Wheel alignment does need to be checked
when a fault occurs, which will normally be evident due to
abnormal tyre wear.
There are numerous components and systems that can
affect wheel alignment. If a component is physically worn,
then adjusting the wheel alignment will not solve the
problem. The components that suffer from
wear and can affect the wheel alignment are:
tie-rod ends
steering linkage
wheel bearings
suspension components

Other factors that can affect wheel alignment are:

tyre pressure
vehicle ground clearance
tyre run out
difference between left and right wheelbase and wheel
alignment being carried out on uneven ground

Diagnosis of steering faults

The following table summarizes the various steering
faults that can occur:

Different conditions of Caster

Condition
High positive caster
Normal amount of positive

Effect
Makes the front wheels want to
go straight ahead
Provides stability and makes the

caster

steering wheel straighten out

after turning
Too little caster
Can make steering unstable and
cause wheel shimmy
Extremely negative caster and Can contribute to cupped wear of
the related shimmy
the front tires
If caster is unequal from side to The vehicle will pull toward the
side
side with less positive (or more
negative) caster

Different conditions of Camber

Condition
Zero camber-a perfectly
vertical wheel and tire
Positive camber

negative camber

Normal camber angles

Extreme camber(positive or
negative )

Effect
Causes the least tire wear
Causes the outer tread of the
tire to wear more than the
inner tread;
Causes the inner tread of the
tire to wear more than the
outer tread
Have little visible effect on tire
wear
Causes noticeably abnormal
tire wear and shortens tire life.

Different conditions of Toe

Condition
Zero toe-wheels aimed straight
ahead
Extreme toe-in or toe-out
Too much toe-in

Too much toe-out

Effect
Causes the least tire wear
Causes feather-edged wear
across the tire tread.
Wears the outside tread edges,
with feathered edges on the
inside of each tread row
Wears the inside tread
edges ,with feathered edges on
the outside of each tread row

Common pull-related conditions along with

their causes
Problem
STEADY PULL
This is a condition where the
vehicle continually pulls or drifts
to one side while traveling
straight. The driver typically has
to maintain steady pressure on
the steering wheel to keep the
vehicle on the road.

Probable Causes
Uneven camber side-to side
A bent strut or dislocated strut
tower, a bent spindle, collapsed
control arm bushing, weak or broken
spring, or a shifted cross member or
engine cradle.
Uneven caster side-to-side.
The underlying cause may be a bent
strut, spindle or dislocated strut
tower.
Rear axle steer
The underlying cause may be rear
toe out of specifications, a bent rear
axle, chassis misalignment or a
stackup of assembly tolerances in
the chassis causing rear axle
misalignment.

MEMORY STEER
The steering wheel and wheels
want to return to some position
other than center. This may
cause a steering pull or drift to

Uneven tire wear

The uneven wear may be the result
of incorrect camber, toe and/or
failure to rotate the tires periodically
to even out wear
Misalignment or improper
installation of Ford rubber bonded
socket (RBS) tie rod ends.
RBS tie rod ends do not swivel freely
like conventional tie rod ends

one side after turning

Binding in upper strut mounts.
upper strut mount is binding or
loose

OFF-CENTER STEERING
WHEEL
This condition may accompany a
steady pull or memory steer. But
if the steering wheel is off-center
(crooked) but there is no pull to
either side,
STEERING WANDER
The vehicle lacks directional
stability and wanders or drifts
from side to side.

BUMP STEER
The steering suddenly jerks or
veers to one side or the other
when the vehicle passes over a
bump

Steering linkage not centered when

toe was adjusted
Binding in upper strut mounts.

Loose or worn steering components

Loose or improperly adjusted wheel
bearings.
Insufficient caster
Extremely low tire pressure.
Extreme toe misalignment.
caused by unequal toe changes
that occur as the suspension travels
through jounce and rebound. The
condition can be confirmed by
checking individual front toe with
the suspension loaded (compressed)
possible causes are listed as follows:
Parallelogram steering linkage not
level
Steering rack not level
Steering rack not level
Structural damage

Front wheel Adjustment:

Rear wheel adjustment

Checking for worn parts before alignment

References
-Hillers fundamentals of motor vehicle technology
-Auto fundamentals
Websites :
www.aa1car.com