Level steering wheel.... for my VS..

Hello everyone.. My Speedie is running strong and not dropping a bit of oil... knock-on-wood! but I gotta tell ya my steering wheel (Nardi) is not centered or level.. How do I go about adjusting this on my VS? this sounds minor and probably is, BUT it bothers me from time to time when driving...

I just hope it's an easy fix..

Speedster "D"

David,
If your Speedster is from Vintage, check there with Kirk. He should be able to either do it for you or let you know if and how to do it.

The column is usually glassed in where it goes through the front fire wall. the mount point near the steering wheel, under the dash on the cross brace, should be slotted to allow for some adjustment. When you look at this mounting point, it should be obvious if and how much it can be moved without major alterations.
Be aware that the column is very close to the bottom of the gas tank where it passes through the fire wall. Moving the column may cause the steering shaft to rub on the tank as you steer. It can be adjusted or clearanced, but this is also one of the considerations/limitations.

Greg

"Centered" is easy - either take center nut off wheel and rotate it few splines or adjust both tie rod ends an equal amount. I thought they were all slightly angled to avoid the wheel well?

What Wolfgang said is how I centered my steering, by adjusting the tie rod ends. It was a fairly simple procedure, remembering to move one in and one out (ie. turning both wheels in the same direction) and the same amount on both sides so you don't change the toe in. Also, this is like fine-tuning as opposed to moving the steering wheel on the splines which is more hit and miss unless it's way off. It is nice to have the wheel having the correct look when you are traveling straight down the highway.

When i first mounted my colum it was a schose off to the left.

You will have to fudge it a bit to get close to center under the center gauge hole.

As far as rubbing the tank ? A hammer and a 3ft 2x2 board, work wonders. and it wont take much.

John,
U
nless you have an alignment machine, you now have an improper toe in adjustment on your car. Regardless of how careful you were when you rotated the tie rods, you can't be accurate by counting turns. I'd suggest you have the front end aligned to these spec's.

1/8" toe in
1/2 to 1 degree negative camber

3 to 4 degree's of caster (provided the beam is bolted to the chassis)

If the beam is welded, no caster adjustments can be made.

Your car may be tracking properly but I bet that the front end toe in measurements are not correct.

Larry, doe's popping off the steering wheel and moving it to center affect the alienment? I was under the impression that this might be an easy fix.. I do not mind wreaching on my car, but I have always been a "Chevy" guy and these VW's are diff. in many ways and of course I do not want to hurt my Speedie prior to Paso...

"D"

Larry, it may be off slightly, but the adjustment was only a half turn on each side. Also, my front suspension is probably considerably different than what you have in mind. See my pix.

Actually, you can't adjust camber on a VW front beam, just caster
and toe.

Had the front end of my IM aligned per Larry's values. Now it tracks better , steers better and the steering wheel is level. Only time will tell about better tire wear. Go for it! Tom.

Kurt - You can turn the upper nut-like collar on each spindle to adjust camber. Caster is more hit and miss thru use of caster shims such as:

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC%2DC10%2D4190

Put you car on level ground , back it up and pull forward hitting the brakes firm . but let go of the wheel.If the alinement and the brakes are ok the steering will go as center as it can. This is a step to do after you have just reinstalled the steering and want to refine its placement. before you tighen it dowm.