| Author |
Message |
setzer
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 25, 2005 - 7:45 pm: | |
I have a 1964 Eagle and have changed the tires to 24.5 and it drives awful. Does anyone know of some one in the Lower Part Of Soutn Carolina that knows how to align for oversize radial tires? Would appricate any help. Hate to have to go back to the orginal tire size after buying all new tires. |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 25, 2005 - 8:01 pm: | |
any truck shop that does front end alignment |
don (Bottomacher)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 25, 2005 - 9:02 pm: | |
Call a local charter bus operator, church or individual who has a bus. Ask anyone you can find. Alignment is consistently the single most incompetently performed operation that I have paid for in nearly fifty years of driving. I will never have it done by anyone who has not been well recommended. There is reportedly a good shop in Atlanta, and I'll try to find their name. |
Chuck Lott (Chuckmc8)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 6:26 am: | |
Don, If you and I are thnking of the same shop-
it's
ALIGNNMENT & FRAME
2441 Main Street
East Point, Ga.
phone is 404-767-1416
This is a shop that is set up for OTR trucks and buses. I called last year and they get $95.00 for the front on MCI bus and there was another charge for the Tag axle-Seems like $35.00 or so, but I don't remember.
Setzer-You might give them a call and explain your situation-He may have a suggestion via phone to try. These are nice folks who know their stuff and aren't "skeered" of buses. Reccomended by every one I checked with.... |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 5:35 pm: | |
Most truck repair shops that I approached would not take on aligning my Eagle. I finally found someone in Oregon, who I was referred to by Southern Oregon Diesel. Even then I had to have some preliminary work done before they would touch it. I would advise anyone to be extremely cautious about going to just any heavy truck shop for a bus alignment. Bus and truck frame alignment are different critters. BTDT
Richard |
David Dulmage (Daved)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 9:49 am: | |
Many alignment shops fail to correctly centre the steering. I don't have any abnormal tire wear, but the steering wheel is not centred. It affects the cancelling feature of the turn signals and the fact that the spokes partly obscure the gauges is a little annoying. It probably also has a slight effect on the full steering angle in each direction as the tie rod end adjustment is biased to one side. It might be more critical with an integral power steering box than with the externally power steering assist, which I have.
Dave Dulmage
(MC-8) |
Marc Bourget
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 12:24 pm: | |
David,
My parts book for the MCI-9 shows an adjustable drag link.
Do you have an adjustable drag link from the pitman arm to the spindle?
If so, should be easy to correct steering wheel centering by lengthening or shortening the drag link. The link shown is kinked so I don't know if the ends have reversing threads.
Somebody up top centers the steering wheel (front wheels straight ahead)while you look, the direction of movement while centering will tell you to shorten or lengthen. I'd shorten the end with the most exposed threads and lengthen the one with the least if they're assymetrical.
Don't mess with the tie rod, it'll change things besides the steering wheel position.
Don't forget to tighten up things to finish.
Onward and Upward |
Stan
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 12:58 pm: | |
Before you adjust the drag link, ensure that the steering box is on the worm high spot. If the steering box is centered, you just have to pull the steering wheel and put it back on in the proper position. I don't know what top shaft you have, but all MCIs that I have worked on had an equal spline so the wheel can be put on in any position. |
Syd Pygott (Sydstoy)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 1:04 pm: | |
When I was a driver for metro they put radials on the older buses and then took them back off. It seems older buses were not designed to use radials. Just a thought. |
David Dulmage (Daved)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 1:34 pm: | |
I hadn't thought about the drag link. I'll take a look at that.
Dave D |
Jim Bob
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 1:44 pm: | |
Center the steering box first. On many buses it has high spots built into the gears to compensate for wear at center. Then pull & orient the wheel & replace.
If the steering is off to one side then, look at adjusting the drag link but make sure the box is centered first. |