Airbag steering wheels
Airbag steering wheels
I've got a slightly skewed Airbag steering wheel on my latest Seicento and they kinda scare me.. so i don't want to / dont know how to take it off and move it round a tad . If i crack the track rod ends locknut and rotate the rods equally then that should have the same effect shouldn't it ??
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tractorman
- Posts: 1399
- Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
- Location: Wigton, Cumbria
Re: Airbag steering wheels
It's probably some idiot tyre place that adjusted the wrong side when checking the tracking that caused the problem in the first place. It happened on my old Passat (with airbag) and it was almost as bad after another "respected" tyre fitter adjusted it. I took it to a friend who was a (time served) mechanic in a tyre place and he sorted it out straight away - no problems after that.
Re: Airbag steering wheels
Assuming the steering wheel hasn't been off previously, it is the tracking that is incorrectly adjusted rather than the wheel so adjusting the track rod ends is the way to go.
The only problem is that no matter how careful you are, you will kick the tracking out slightly. You can either take it to your local tyre place and ask them to do it for you (£25ish) or get a trakrite (other brands are available) and have a go yourself (£70ish but you can use it as often as you need). I have one as do various other members following on from main stream tyre places failing to get my steering wheel centred when doing tracking.
The only problem is that no matter how careful you are, you will kick the tracking out slightly. You can either take it to your local tyre place and ask them to do it for you (£25ish) or get a trakrite (other brands are available) and have a go yourself (£70ish but you can use it as often as you need). I have one as do various other members following on from main stream tyre places failing to get my steering wheel centred when doing tracking.
Understeer: when you hit the wall with the front of the car.
Oversteer: when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower: how fast you hit the wall.
Torque: how far you take the wall with you.
Oversteer: when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower: how fast you hit the wall.
Torque: how far you take the wall with you.
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Richard Moss
- Posts: 425
- Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 5:09 pm
Re: Airbag steering wheels
As far as removing the airbag is concerned, if you disconnect the battery earth lead and wait 20 minutes or so before starting work, there should be no trouble with removing it.
But as the other chaps say, sort the tracking first and make sure that the rack is centralised at the same time.
But as the other chaps say, sort the tracking first and make sure that the rack is centralised at the same time.
Re: Airbag steering wheels
Agree with above - adjust the tracking, not the steering wheel.
I have CDO (it's like OCD, but the letters are in the correct alphabetical order AS THEY SHOULD BE!) so I have a passionate hate of steering wheels that are off centre, and I've aligned all of mine using my Gunson Trackrite - follow the instructions and it's an excellent piece of kit, and has paid for itself many times over. In fact it's probably paid for itself in reduced tyre wear alone, never mind the cost saving in not having to pay for alignment. I reckon it's very accurate too.
Cheers
I have CDO (it's like OCD, but the letters are in the correct alphabetical order AS THEY SHOULD BE!) so I have a passionate hate of steering wheels that are off centre, and I've aligned all of mine using my Gunson Trackrite - follow the instructions and it's an excellent piece of kit, and has paid for itself many times over. In fact it's probably paid for itself in reduced tyre wear alone, never mind the cost saving in not having to pay for alignment. I reckon it's very accurate too.
Cheers
Some people are like Slinkies - they serve no useful purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them downstairs.
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suffolkpete
- Posts: 1141
- Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:54 am
Re: Airbag steering wheels
Another vote for the Trakrite. You need to adjust the track rods because apart from the steering wheel being off centre, you may find the turning circle different in different directions. I would not mess with the steering wheel without taking expert advice for your model, while what Richard says is generally true there are exceptions.
1974 Rover 2200 SC
1982 Matra Murena 1.6
1982 Matra Murena 1.6
Re: Airbag steering wheels
And yet another vote for the Trakrite which - rather than arbitrarily aligning each wheel against its opposite - allows each to be set based on whether it is tracking correctly so the check and the adjustment are made with the rack centred which, in the case of these small Fiats, will be when the wheel is straight as they have a master spline on the column and that means that you'd struggle to fit the wheel in another position in any case.
Like the idea of the scuff gauge principle but don't want to spend the £45-£81.99 for the Gunson product? (Yes, the asking price for these varies that much). You can make your own version from two flat steel plates, ideally around 18swg.
What you do is place one of these plates on a flat floor, cake it with grease and place the other plate on top of it. The correct amount of toe out (or toe in if this were a RWD car) will mean that the wheel runs dead straight when the car is driven very slowly over the plate (for a rwd car you can simply roll the car over but a FWD needs to be driven for this to be totally accurate otherwise it simply behaves as a RWD would, which would mean that you'd end up setting toe in and that would give an incorrect setting under driving conditions), so you don't even need the protractor-style scale that the Trakrite has printed on its edge, nor the fancy pointer nor for that matter the drawing of a tyre tread on the edge. All you need is to have each wheel set so that it rolls straight which means that it rolls over the plates without causing the upper one to rotate relative to the lower, hence the grease to allow this to happen. So all you need is one simple index mark that tells you the plates are still in the same positions, a notch made with a grinder, a dot made with permanent marker, it makes no odds, all you need is to know that the wheel isn't turning the upper plate off the straight position as you push the car over [the plates].
Finally, there should be a pinhole in the pinion housing on this car, by setting the steering wheel straight you should then be able to fit a 3mm drill into that hole and have it engage with another hole in the pinion itself, some racks may have been replaced with aftermarket replacements that lack this useful feature but if it's the original it'll be there and this is your best bet to get the straight ahead position spot on before fiddling about with the scuff gauge.
Like the idea of the scuff gauge principle but don't want to spend the £45-£81.99 for the Gunson product? (Yes, the asking price for these varies that much). You can make your own version from two flat steel plates, ideally around 18swg.
What you do is place one of these plates on a flat floor, cake it with grease and place the other plate on top of it. The correct amount of toe out (or toe in if this were a RWD car) will mean that the wheel runs dead straight when the car is driven very slowly over the plate (for a rwd car you can simply roll the car over but a FWD needs to be driven for this to be totally accurate otherwise it simply behaves as a RWD would, which would mean that you'd end up setting toe in and that would give an incorrect setting under driving conditions), so you don't even need the protractor-style scale that the Trakrite has printed on its edge, nor the fancy pointer nor for that matter the drawing of a tyre tread on the edge. All you need is to have each wheel set so that it rolls straight which means that it rolls over the plates without causing the upper one to rotate relative to the lower, hence the grease to allow this to happen. So all you need is one simple index mark that tells you the plates are still in the same positions, a notch made with a grinder, a dot made with permanent marker, it makes no odds, all you need is to know that the wheel isn't turning the upper plate off the straight position as you push the car over [the plates].
Finally, there should be a pinhole in the pinion housing on this car, by setting the steering wheel straight you should then be able to fit a 3mm drill into that hole and have it engage with another hole in the pinion itself, some racks may have been replaced with aftermarket replacements that lack this useful feature but if it's the original it'll be there and this is your best bet to get the straight ahead position spot on before fiddling about with the scuff gauge.
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..