Re: 20k service

[John Hamill <jhamill@incert.com>]

Actually, A1 and A3 designs are almost the same, the only differences are
geometry, the a-arms evolved, and the upper strut mount was improved
tremendously. The A3 design was also simplified a bit over the A2, you don't
need that special tool to get the slotted nut off anymore. I find all VW
suspension designs effective and simple to work on (you might argue the VW Fox
had a few things not so great).  VW also stopped using those lower concentric
strut bolts that allowed camber adjustment. All A3's have straight bolts on the
lower struts, so camber adjustment is basically using the slop available in the
bolt holes of the strut itself.

For the steering wheel to go a little off center after a violent handling
maneuver might imply the steering rack moved on its mounts a little, or that one
of the struts moved a little.

Michael & Carmen Keith wrote:



> A friend of mine was experiencing a similar problem with his A1 GTI, & Mahan
> (the biggest VW dealer here in Houston) could not diagnose it.  He started
> poking around himself & found one of the camber bolts at the bottom of the
> strut to be bad.  He bought a new one, & it instantly solved the problem.
> I'm not sure how much A1's & A3's have in common as far as suspension design
> is concerned, but it may be worth a little poking around.
>
> Also, the dealer may not have torqued everything sufficiently when they
> straightened your wheel.
>
> Either way, while the U-turn you describe is an extreme maneuver, it should
> not cause you steering wheel to move off-center.  Take your car back; the
> dealer didn't do their job.
>
> Michael Keith
> Pasadena, TX
> '98 Jetta GLX
> '85 Golf SCCA ITB/DSP
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Talitmon@aol.com <Talitmon@aol.com>
> To: jettaglx@igtc.com <jettaglx@igtc.com>
> Date: Friday, October 02, 1998 8:21 PM
> Subject: 20k service
>
> >I just had my 20k service on my 97 GLX, they did the usual.  They finally
> >ordered a new part for my window to solve the grease marks on my passenger
> >window.  I posted a while back that my stearing wheel was off-center and
> >a couple people responded that theirs had become off-center also....well
> >my rambling is leading to the reason why my steering wheel had become
> >off center. .........The dealer straightened it out, and was in the process
> >of meeting my girlfriend at a coffeehouse, as we left she forgot her purse
> >as I whipped my car into a u-turn juiced the throttle in 1st, and chirped
> the
> >tires into 2nd ( the whole time I was not in a straight line ) after I hit
> >2nd, I had
> >realized that the wheel was no longer in-center.....So I guess that's how
> >mine became off-center, maybe some of you have experienced the same,
> >and sorry for the rambling...........
> >
> >Talat
> >97 GLX
> >Blk/Blk
>
>
>





--
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John Hamill               Incert Software Inc.
Senior Sales Engineer     201 Broadway
jhamill@incert.com        Cambridge, MA 02142
ph:617-621-8080 x105      http://www.incert.com/
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