Re: [MV] GPW tie rod question

Richard Notton (Richard@fv623.demon.co.uk)
Wed, 14 Apr 1999 06:56:24 +0100

-----Original Message-----
From: Martyn Horsfall <blitz43@hotmail.com>
To: mil-veh@skylee.com <mil-veh@skylee.com>
Date: 14 April 1999 06:07
Subject: [MV] GPW tie rod question

>Hi List,
>I recently removed the tie rods from my 1944 GPW to replace the worn
>tie rod ends. The shorter rod had one left-hand thread and one right
>hand thread while the longer rod had two right-hand threads. (I would
>have expected each rod to have a right and a left.) Both tie rods are
>Ford scripted and there is no evidence that either has been cut or
>altered in any way. Has anyone else found this? Wouldn't this mean
>that only the one tie rod can be adjusted on the vehicle? Would that
>allow enough adjustment to do a wheel alignment?
>I hope someone can shed some light on this for me!
>

Hi Martyn,

What you say makes mechanical sense, although I know I know next to
nothing about the GPW in particular.

The left hand/right hand threaded rod allows for adjustment by simply
rotating the tie rod as rotation of the rod will have it simultaneously
screw in or out of both ends.

The longer rod needs to be adjusted once only to bring the alignment to
nearly correct and has to be done off the vehicle.

It is a common myth that both tie rods, where fitted, have to be
adjusted together in the erroneous thought that one wheel will be
straight and one at a toe in/out angle say, this happens statically but
the moment the vehicle moves the steering centralises and both wheels
take up identical angles to the body.

Adjusting one tie rod only will displace any previous steering wheel
centralisation however and grossly mis-set there could be a problem with
the steering box not having sufficient travel to get full lock in one
direction.

Many production cars have only one adjustable tie rod and centralise the
steering wheel, where this is important, by using very fine splines on
the column.

The VW Golf MK 3 and current production MK 4 are indeed like this,
likely the whole range is, the fixed tie rod being just that, fixed. To
replace a tie rod end the whole rod is replaced.

Richard
(Southampton UK)

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