Laser Four Wheel Alignment

[jsmroberts]

Originally Posted by Rustee

I have an F reg 240GLT Estate and in my first year's ownership have been very pleased with it but there has been on only three occasions severe vibration in the steering when cruising along similar to when a supermarket trolley's wheels get in a frenzy. Other times there has been no problem and on talking to friends in the local group it was suggested the castor angle might be out.

My thoughts were to get a Hunter four wheel alignment check done, researched on the net and there aren't too many garages with this kit but found one out in the sticks. They checked the car over and advised that the rear top trailing arm bushes had wear and the front discs were warped (which confirmed by the slight judder on braking.

Four bushes and front discs replaced, wheels balanced, all four wheel alignments checked and adjusted as required with before an after individual readings for camber, caster, toe, total toe, thrust angle and steer ahead measurements given.

Now on driving the car it's so different, the steering can be done with one finger, much lighter than before and the handling down the lanes much improved. Cruising on the A14 she purred along a real treat to drive. The alignment part at £49.50 before VAT was the best improvement to driveability I have ever spent on a car, recommend it as it made such a difference.

KwikFit - some ofm their branches also have this excellent but very expensive (many thousands to install) kit and it is indeed brilliant. AND you get a printout of the finished adjustments! One thing to note - many cars eg Japanese and also Volvo 240s, have fixed rear axles so only the front gear can be adjusted - makes a big difference to driving, tyre wear and fuel economy. Highly recommended

[minesa240x3]

Yes the axle is solid but if bushes are worn then that also can affect the angle of the wheels.So one wheel can be further back on one side than the opposite wheel.
It would also be interesting to see what figures Halfords use to get a 240 correct and indeed where they get the figures from.I would have though being such a long production run model there would be changes to steering geometry and suspension along the way.So not ALL 200 series will have the same setup figures.
Regards Brian.

[classicswede]

For the full production run there are only two options.
Power or manual steering.

[Fancourt]

OK, I'm confused. I had my tyres changed today at a supposedly very reputable place and they said a Hunter type laser 4 wheel alignment is a waste of money, mainly because they said there simply isn't the adjustment available on my 240 Tors'. No adjustment on the back, they said, and only standard tracking on the front.

Are they wrong?

[Paul240480]

I don't know in all honesty .... But, when Euromaster did my 240, they attached some big things to the outside of my rear wheels then some to the front. They seemed to be taking readings rear to front before adjusting.
I assumed that was four wheel alignment ?

[SonyVaio]

No, that is just them aligning the front to the rears so that all wheels are in alignment but that in itself is NOT an all wheel alignment. This is just an adjustment of 2 wheels to match that of the other 2 - 2 wheel alignment.

A proper all wheel alignment is where the complete geometry will be adjusted of all 'possible' wheels etc... Of course some cars can't be adjusted in some ways.

[classicswede]

Originally Posted by Fancourt

OK, I'm confused. I had my tyres changed today at a supposedly very reputable place and they said a Hunter type laser 4 wheel alignment is a waste of money, mainly because they said there simply isn't the adjustment available on my 240 Tors'. No adjustment on the back, they said, and only standard tracking on the front.

Are they wrong?

They are very wrong. The front has camber/castor adjustment in the strut top. Further adjustments can be made with a little tweaking.