Alignment issue? CV Joint?

[Grant Lenahan]

am i mising something?

http://www.performance-cafe.com/images/axle.jpg

On Dec 1, 2008, at 10:20 PM, Paul Heneghan wrote:

> From: Rob Beatty [mailto:beattyr2003 at cox.net]
> Sent: 01 December 2008 22:48
> To: quattro at audifans.com
> Subject: Alignment issue? CV Joint?
>
>> 1.	The inner "end" isn't really a joint, its just a rubber bushing so
>> what the hell was the 1st guy talking about?  Did he just confuse  
>> inner
> with
>> outer?
>
> Probably.  I suppose the inner bushing could wear (particularly if  
> it got
> some steering rack fluid on it), but I've never known it happen - it's
> always the outer joints that develop too much play.
>
>> 2.	I just jacked the car up and rocked the right front wheel back and
>> forth and there is a decent amount of play in that tie rod end.   
>> Could that
>> be my culprit?
>
> Yes.  There should be no play.
>
>> 3.	If it is the tie rod end, why isn't it a problem at lower  
>> speeds and
>> why only when turning to the left?
>
> Small out-of-balance problems are never obvious at low speeds.  If  
> there is
> any play in the linkages, you can get a resonance.
>
> It's also worth checking the bearing (RHS).  I had a violent shimmy  
> when
> turning left that turned out to be a worn wheel bearing.
>
>> 4.	Is it worth trying to unfreeze the adjustments with a couple of  
>> days
>> worth of penetrating oil or should I just bite the bullet and buy  
>> whole new
>> rods?
>
> I went through this process a few weeks ago.  I wasted hours trying  
> to free
> the adjustments with the entire rod still on the car.  Eventually I  
> decided
> to take the entire rod off (it only took a few minutes), and then  
> it was so
> easy to undo.  I had already tried lots of penetrating fluid and a  
> plumber's
> blowtorch.
>
>> 5.	If its not the tie rod end, could it be my CV joint on that side
>> being really bad?
>
> Possibly, but I've always found that they tend to clunk during full  
> lock
> rather than create a shimmy.
>
> With a car of that age, you should also think about the tracking  
> control
> arms - particularly the outer rubber mountings.
>
> Good luck!
>
>
>
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Grant Lenahan
glenahan at vfemail.net
(201) 602-4702 mobile