I want to introduce more castor in my 240 wagon for little more straight line stability and steering wheel return . Currently steering wheel return is sluggish , I mean I have to rotoate the wheel to bring it to its straight line position esp. in slow turns.


Here on the board I had found this info but do not remember who had posted it.


"The caster can be made adjustable by slotting the holes in the rear mount of the lower A arm with a large round file. The slots should allow the mount to slip sideways when the three mounting bolts are loosened. This action pivots the A arm on the front bushing and thereby moves the spindle forward or backward. Moving the spindle in this way changes the angle of the strut which is the caster angle. "


So has anyone done this. What is the exact procedure.

Regards,
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DD-1990 240 DL SW M47II FI 3.1 234 K miles

The balljoint to control arm bolts have a bit of play. I was able to decrease the camber by about a degree by pulling the ball joint to the outside of the car before tightening. You might be able to gain a little camber by pulling the ball joint forward then tightening.

Thats is worth checking , thanks.
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DD-1990 240 DL SW M47II FI 3.1 234 K miles

That was my message. It is a method I devised to compensate for a slightly out of spec caster on the right side of my '81. The car has never been in any accidents and I had replaced everything except the upper strut bearings and front A arm bushings.

Definitely make sure everything is in order and have the existing alignment measured on a system that gives you a printed report. If a good front-end technician cannot fix the problem then the above method will work. I explained to the alignment technician what I had done and how that would change the caster. The change should be done by an alignment shop, with a printed before and after report, because all adjustments are interactive. The technician simply needs to loosen the bolts on the side needing adjustment and tap the bracket with a mallet to move it left or right. You only need to slot the holes 1/8" in each direction to be able to make a couple degree change in each direction.

Thanks, Yep that was you.Situation is not bad in my case, I was thinking of making it little better .Those three bolts are in a triangular config with not much bearing are around two of them at least, I think one of them is on edge. So in your case is it stable. Did you slot holes in front-back direction or left-right, just want to be sure even if I do not go along with it.

Regards
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DD-1990 240 DL SW M47II FI 3.1 234 K miles

Left and right. To visualize this open the hood and look down at the A arm. Imagine the bottom of the strut moving forward and backward just a small amount. Then look at the A arm front inner bushing. The A arm would be pivoting at this point back and forth parallel to the ground. Now visualize how the rear A arm mount would also have to move side-to-side.

Your problem is definitely not normal. A good alignment or front-end technician should be able to check the joints and alignment to tell what parts to change before bringing it in for an alignment. Or it may just need an alignment.

There is some clearance in the bracket bolt holes. You may be able to move the bracket a very small amount yourself. You only need to break the three bolts loose to be able to move the bracket by taping it with a mallet. The bolts do not need to be backed out at all. You do not want the bracket moving around by itself. Move the bracket outward to increase the caster. If the caster were out of spec the front bushing would not be properly aligned anyway.

Thanks That was good information. So there is some scope of adjustment without making the holes larger. May be at this point it needs an alignment and technician may be able to squeeze some caster without putting undue stress on front bushing. I will check

Regards,
Gopesh
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DD-1990 240 DL SW M47II FI 3.1 234 K miles

I'm pretty sure you don't want to do this. The rear part of any McPherson setup takes a true beating. Those three relatively small bolts likely won't provide anywhere near enough clamping force to keep things static. Since those bolts thread into captive nuts *inside* the unibody (i.e. not accessible), it should be a given that you don't want to overtorque them.

I think some companies make adjustable control arms. Check www.trianglesunlimited.com.

The real solution here is to figure out why your steering is stiff. Could just be an alignment that you need... or it could be bad U-joint(s) in the steering column, ball joints, tie rod ends, strut bearings, or maybe the rack (probably not). Try pouring some oil on the lower U-joint. See if that frees stuff up a bit.

-Ryan
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Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 324k, Dog-mobile, E-codes
1990 245 DL 137k M47, E-codes, GT Sway Bars, GT Braces, Dracos
1991 745 GL 304k, Regina, 23/21mm Turbo Sway Bars

I was thinking of making it better, Steering wheel does rotate back 2/3rd of the way .Those custom arms are worth some thing. Although current rubber bushings are good I will try to replace those with Poly ,may be that will give me little more sharp response. Probably shimming the bushings will also be a bad idea.
Thanks
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DD-1990 240 DL SW M47II FI 3.1 234 K miles

Would that be "castor oil"? Sorry, couldn't resist..

/*bump*/ Looks like it is not a good topic

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DD-1990 240 DL SW M47II FI 3.1 234 K miles

It's not that it isn't a "good" topic but one that many may not have experience with--I'll take a shot. Whatever you can do to kick the ball joint center forward relative to the upper strut mounting will increase + caster. Before you start this project though there are things you should check to be sure the front end components are in good shape and not binding. Ball joints, upper strut mount, steering shaft joints and the rack itself are all things that can effect steering wheel return. You will probably have to disconnect some components to check them thoroughly--such as the shaft joints--unless you see telltale signs like rust around the joints. Are your ball joints the type that are offset rather than the early non-power steering centered type? Has this condition always been the same or did it develop over time? How about simple stuff like tire pressure? To check the actual caster angle you'll have to utilize a hub/wheel mounted caster/camber tool. Offhand I don't know of any simple way to check the angle.--Dave

Thanks for your suggestions . It has been like this since I bought the car and with no other reference car I was somewhat content with this till I thought that it could be improved. All components are sort of in fine shape with tie rods and rod ends new.
Regards,
Gopesh
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DD-1990 240 DL SW M47II FI 3.1 234 K miles