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#1
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Hard to turn left
62 Beetle, stock.
I adjusted the front wheel alignment (1/8" toe in) , but find that it is still very difficult to turn left. Turning right is easy, but left turns take about 5x the effort on the steering wheel. I jacked up the car so no weight was on the wheels and cannot find any binding in the steering mechanism. Any ideas??? |
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#2
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Hard to turn left
bokuglen wrote:
> 62 Beetle, stock. > > I adjusted the front wheel alignment (1/8" toe in) , but find that it > is still very difficult to turn left. Turning right is easy, but left > turns take about 5x the effort on the steering wheel. I jacked up the > car so no weight was on the wheels and cannot find any binding in the > steering mechanism. > > Any ideas??? > Disconnect the Pitman arm. See if the bind is in the box. That will also isolate the wheels (somewhat) so you can move them back and forth. If necessary, take a tie rod off to move each wheel thru its range. My bet would be on the box. Speedy Jim http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/ |
#3
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Hard to turn left
Speedy, you forgot the obvious! This could be a Republican Beetle! It
would be cruel and unusual to force it to sway to the left. -- KWW '65 Beetle (Jenny the IOC) '64 Beetle (TBD the Blue Wave) "Speedy Jim" > wrote in message .net... > bokuglen wrote: >> 62 Beetle, stock. >> >> I adjusted the front wheel alignment (1/8" toe in) , but find that it >> is still very difficult to turn left. Turning right is easy, but left >> turns take about 5x the effort on the steering wheel. I jacked up the >> car so no weight was on the wheels and cannot find any binding in the >> steering mechanism. Any ideas??? >> > > Disconnect the Pitman arm. See if the bind is in the box. > That will also isolate the wheels (somewhat) so you > can move them back and forth. If necessary, take a tie rod > off to move each wheel thru its range. > > My bet would be on the box. > > Speedy Jim > http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/ |
#4
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Hard to turn left
"KWW" > wrote in message . .. > Speedy, you forgot the obvious! This could be a Republican Beetle! It > would be cruel and unusual to force it to sway to the left. hehe...that made me laugh... |
#5
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Hard to turn left
KWW wrote:
> Speedy, you forgot the obvious! This could be a Republican Beetle! It > would be cruel and unusual to force it to sway to the left. Best laugh all day! Jim |
#6
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Hard to turn left
Everybody: I found the problem- it was the brakes ! I noticed my right rear wheel got very hot after a short drive. After removing that drum, I found that the wheel cylinder was sticking open, causing the brake shoes to drag. This caused the car to be very difficult to turn left. Sort of like those dune buggies with the separate rear brake handles to assist turning. I couldn't find any issue with the cylinder, as when I opened up the bleed valve, the cylinder retracted properly. The real issue was the rubber brake tubing that connects to the metal brake lines. These were very old and collapsed over time. They would pass brake fluid OUT because of the high pressure from stepping on the brakes, but would not allow the fluid to come back IN, hence locking the brakes on. Replacing the rubber lines fixed this problem, and the 'hard to turn left' problem completely. THe car also has more apparent power without the brakes being constantly on ! |
#7
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Hard to turn left
Keep an eye on the ground around that wheel for a while to make sure that
oil does not start to collect on the ground when it is parked. Sometimes excessive heat can mess up the rear wheel seal - maybe damage the o-rings on the wheel seal or something. -- KWW '65 Beetle (Jenny the IOC) '64 Beetle (TBD the Blue Wave) "bokuglen" > wrote in message oups.com... > > Everybody: I found the problem- it was the brakes ! > > I noticed my right rear wheel got very hot after a short drive. After > removing that drum, I found that the wheel cylinder was sticking open, > causing the brake shoes to drag. This caused the car to be very > difficult to turn left. Sort of like those dune buggies with the > separate rear brake handles to assist turning. > > I couldn't find any issue with the cylinder, as when I opened up the > bleed valve, the cylinder retracted properly. The real issue was the > rubber brake tubing that connects to the metal brake lines. These were > very old and collapsed over time. They would pass brake fluid OUT > because of the high pressure from stepping on the brakes, but would not > allow the fluid to come back IN, hence locking the brakes on. > Replacing the rubber lines fixed this problem, and the 'hard to turn > left' problem completely. THe car also has more apparent power without > the brakes being constantly on ! > |
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