I had to remove the front cross member to be able to remove the 4wd transmission unit to replace the DMF & clutch, I thought I had repositioned it in the same position but had not realised just how much clearance there was on the bolts for the factory alignment, the person I had helping acting as my eyes (I am partially sighted & seeing close up  whilst simultaneoulsy being dazzled by the flourescent pit lighting is a challenge) and we thought it was correct from the clean paint marks under the washers but it wasn't.

 

What surprised me was how far out it put things, driving the steering wheel had to be held 15-20° anti-clockwise to drive straight on, so much that I questioned whether the rack had dropped out of the clamp whilst unsupported & had gone back in a different position.

 

Not knowing if the tracking had been mucked about with before I started by counting the turns lock to lock either side of the central position, dead equal at 1.5 turns each way, then I measured the exposed threads on each track rod, again dead equal at 20mm each side so I was confident that the vehicle was stock & I had misaligned the cross member.

 

I then did a home 4 wheel alignment check first with a MK1 eyeball & even this half blind geezer could see it was a mile out! then with a 3m straight edge, then a laser spirit level on a metal rail attached to the wheel spokes (photo below).

 

I used a paper target on the B post held in place by the closed door for both the front & rear axles, the rear was a little bit out which I will correct later this week and which makes me realise that most 4 wheel alignment checks start out from a bad datum of the rear wheels.

 

The front was massively out, 6mm from the laser spot to the drivers door directly beneath the waist moulding, 73mm on the passenger side Anyone whose front subframe has been removed for a clutch job could be driving a vehicle that crooked and all a garage would have done would be to take the error out by tracking, big-big mistake!!

 

Looking at where the bobbing is bolted to the chassis rail above the wishbone (access hole in wishbone for the fixing) I could see the paint marks where it had not gone back in the same position, these could not be seen from the pit. In hindsight i would now spray a contrasting paint over these 2 points before unbolting.

 

I needed to move the subframe slightly to one side and to twist it to the limit of the bolt clearances to get the laser alignment spot on.

 

The car now tracks perfectly and with the steering wheel central, in fact better than it ever has as the subframe was not correctly aligned before further confirming my suspicions that the transmission had already been removed (loose bolts, broken solenoid connector etc). I still have the rear axle to tweak very very slightly to have a die straight ride.

 

The laser level works very well for checking if the subframes are aligned, definitely check this before making any other adjustments like camber correction.

 

Finally the kits of stepped washers sold by specialists to "remove the tolerances and align your subframes central where they should be" are snake oil sold by those who dont understand why the clearances are there in the first place and how the front and rear subframes should be aligned for the correct wheel geometry.

 

A small amount out makes a huge difference!

 

 

Edited 23 June, 20214 yr by J.R.

Oh that is really quite clever, I have one of those levels somewhere, thread copied to the keep folder!

Glad you liked it!

 

You can also shine it vertically to take measurements from the wheelarch or inwards to a better fixed datum, suspension pick up point etc to see if the axle is misaligned sideways, the wheelarches may have had a ding & been repaired.

 

On the front the 30mm misalignment was clearly a rotation of the subframe but 3 or 4mm was sideways movement which I could see from the paint marks.

 

I checked the rear today and had 0mm on the drivers side and 6mm on the passenger one so a 3mm misalignment, I have left it for now as I could not get enough purchase to undo one of the fixing bolts, its a good thing because on reflection I need to check the sideways alignment measurement to know in which way to move the rear subframe, it will only be a small nudge to get the 3mm over half the wheelbase.

 

My tracking guages are in the UK, when I check the front & rear track which should be 10' of toe out I will make a shim so I can mount the level facing straight ahead (or behind) with that done measurements can be taken from the laser spot to the wheel rim or better still driveshaft bolt of each side of the other axle to make sure there is no stagger.

 

I know what I mean but its hard to put into words.

 

I have always done my own suspension set ups on my race cars using strings, levels, straight edges and my tracking guages, I made my own camber guage, being able to use the laser level is a game changer.

 

I have always believed that someone with a true understanding of what they are doing with basic equipment like string a levels can do a better job than someone with hyper expensive computer equipment that does not have a clue.

 

I have seen lots of prints outs posted from Hunter 4 wheel alignment rigs where it was apparent to me that the rear axle should have been aligned before even taking the measurements, followed probably by the front and only then any adjustments made.

 

I was really shocked by how far out mine was after my refitting the crossmember taking great care (but not enough) to put it back where it was, I'm pretty sure it had already been out and not put back correctly, how many mechanics doing a clutch change would even be aware let alone take the significant time involved to get it right?

If this is on your Yeti, then that's not on the MQB platform, J.R.   It's the VAG A5 platform, if I remember correctly.  MQB is the Kodiaq, Karoq, etc.  

Thanks.

 

I thought my Octavia 2 was MQB and this looks so familiar I thought it was the same, what other vehicles are on the A5 platform?

1 minute ago, J.R. said:

Thanks.

 

I thought my Octavia 2 was MQB and this looks so familiar I thought it was the same, what other vehicles are on the A5 platform?

 

• Audi A3 Mk2 (8P)
• Audi TT Mk2 (8J)^[1]
• Audi Q3 Mk1 (8U)
• SEAT León Mk2 (1P)
• SEAT Toledo Mk3 (5P)
• SEAT Altea (5P)
• Škoda Octavia Mk2 (1Z)
• Škoda Yeti (5L)
• Volkswagen Touran (1T)
• Volkswagen Caddy Mk3 (2K)
• Volkswagen Golf Mk5 (1K)
• Volkswagen Golf Mk6 (5K)
• Volkswagen Jetta Mk5 (1K)
• Volkswagen Scirocco Mk3 (13)
• Volkswagen Jetta Mk6 (1K)
• Volkswagen Beetle (A5) (16)
• Volkswagen Eos (1F)

Thanks, I was just reading the Wiki page, they are both PQ35 platform cars hence the similarity, every day is a learning day.

 

It's very usefull to know the other more popular vehicles for Ebay parts searches

Edited 23 June, 20214 yr by J.R.