Uneven tyre wear MK2 Ambulance

[Gunslinger]

cant do that with mine at the moment, no space and it doesnt drive

i can understand it more on a front wheel drive vehicle than on a rear wheel drive

something does not sound right there at all !!

[AndyG]

Sorry to here yours is not on the road
I mean any vehicle at all This is not just a Transit thing

[Gunslinger]

oh right, ok i'll try and get a look at my little volvo and see what that does

and dont be sorry, its now been off the road longer than on it since i have owned it

[stevew]

i would also be wary of these "all singing and dancing" laser alignment things. especially if the wheel contraptions fix around the tyres ..... far to much room for error, should always go to the rim or hub, otherwise the snot nosed kiddie trying to set it up will always get 2 different readings from 2 separate attempts on the same vehicle

Agreed on that!
It often seems like these guys have had 5 minutes training at most.

Anyone used those pads that you drive over? Are they any good?

Steve

[chrisvmax]

I've got a mate who's a mechanic and has been for years and years and he'll check the tracking for me. Didn't get round to taking any photos last night, it was dark by the time I got home. I will do it at the weekend and post them on here.
Bought a new tyre yesterday only £37 fitted and balanced, so wearing tyres out too fast could be worst

Regards,
Chris

[Gunslinger]

Anyone used those pads that you drive over? Are they any good?

Steve

if i remember correctly (and it was a long time ago i was trained to use those) they could be tricky to get an accurate reading from, i think it was a case of trying it about 3 times and you need to keep a steady motion over them, otherwise they get moved as you come off them, i think the guy at the college said he had seen them in one garage mounted into the floor and that was by far the best method as it was flush with the floor that way, but that was an older garage .... and to find them in full time use now your probably going to struggle

can't hurt to try them though

[stevew]

I was thinking of the type you can use yourself. Like this:
Trakrite

Steve

[Gunslinger]

hhhmmm, haddnt seen those, they do look a little like the older ones i was thinking of just a little "cheaper" in build .... no idea, would be interesting to hear from someone that has tried those

[stevew]

Exactly! I've lost faith in garages for tracking. Just about every vehicle I've ever had anything to do with has had the tracking checked and at £20 a time the Trakrite would soon pay for itself. But is it any good?
Last time I tried to build my own using two long spirit levels and a laser pointer. It kept me busy for bit but was too inacurate to be of any real use! Still working on it though....

Steve

[MrMPuk]

This is the type you want.



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dunlop-Tracking-W ... dZViewItem

[Gunslinger]

if anyone wants that, find out exactly where in oxford it is and then if you win it i can collect it for you, then you'll just have to collect it from me whenever is convenient for you

[stevew]

This is the type you want.

That wasn't what I was thinking of but it would be nice to have a proper set like that. They always go for quite a bit though on Ebay.
Watching it none the less!

Steve

[Transitwalla]

This is the type you want.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dunlop-Tracking-W ... dZViewItem

Hmmm . . Father in law has a set of these . . . . . has anyone thought about wheel bearings in relation to the original topic of this thread? I had uneven tyre wear on my MK5 and visited 3 different establishments for them to do the tracking and each one said it needed resetting, and it was done as I stood and watched them do it [ trust is something best kept from spotty faced kwikfit centres ] . Didn't realise what the problem was until I was driving back from Pembrey, along the M5, when the damn thing collapsed slewing the van across two lanes and causing the bloke overtaking in the middle lane to stop on the hard shoulder and change his trousers . Changed the wheel bearing and had to have the tracking reset again . Just a thought....

[Gunslinger]

yup if the bearings are real bad you would notice a difference in tyre wear/tracking ..... but i would also hope that the loud knocking noise would prompt you to investigate