mumof4 Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 ive seen them on ebay...depends what colour your interior is and whether you would mind one seat a diff colour!!..there were 2 going on there last wek Quote
AndeeeH Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 VW AUDI BREAKERS in Melksham, Wilts had loads of them from Sharan disability conversions and were selling them for Quote
Dirtbag Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Posted February 13, 2006 :) So many real-world solutions on here! The interior colour is a kind of two-tone blue/grey colour, leather and suede. I'll look into the various seat-belt options, see what I can dig up as a best solution for us :) TTFN DB Quote
Rallim Posted February 13, 2006 Report Posted February 13, 2006 My Sharan has the same, lap belt in the centre, and we had the same issue when we had our 3rd child. I wasn't happy whilst using rearward facing baby seat, as our eldest had to sit in the middle seat or the back. Once the baby was old enough we bought the Britax ISOFIX seat and put that in the centre, and now the other 2 children have the proper 3-point seat belts. The ISOFIX is excellent and is quick to fit and remove + solid as a rock. Gordon Quote
Dirtbag Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Posted February 13, 2006 Hi, Is the Britax ISOFIX OK to use with just the lap belt? I thought all child seats required a three point harness? Anyway - the plot thickens on the pulling issue. I've just been to a place to have the wheels checked with a Lazer device that hangs off each wheel (not sure of the precise name for it). Bottom line is it appears I may have been well and truely ripped off by my local VW dealer - one front wheel was reading +5, the other -5. So neither front wheel was correctly aligned to the rears. The guys made adjustments, but one side is still reading +3, and they can't adjust anymore without it compromising some other aspect of the alignment. This all points to there possibly being something bent. Certainly the steering wheel is now straight, and it still pulls to the left - but nowhere near as aggressively. So if that +3 could be corrected - it may even drive straight! Until the next cast iron bollard jumps out from the hedge that is..... :( So now I need to go back to the dealer and discuss. I want my toe & camber print out. And an explanation of why it was SOOOOOO far out after their whizzy Quote
Rallim Posted February 13, 2006 Report Posted February 13, 2006 Is the Britax ISOFIX OK to use with just the lap belt? I thought all child seats required a three point harness? That's the best bit, ISOFIX does not use the seat belt but the ISOFIX mountings built into the seat. Its a standard that the car manufacturers agreed on for a common seat mounting system. I'm guessing your Sharan is newer than 1998 so it will have the mounts just where the back of the seat folds on the base. I've just looked at the Britax site and it appears they now produce an ISOFIX newborn seat. Link to Britax Gordon. Quote
Bigjeeze Posted February 13, 2006 Report Posted February 13, 2006 Wishbones? Try here http://www.buypartsby.co.uk/wishbone_displ...xt&txtmake=FORD Quote
Dirtbag Posted February 14, 2006 Author Report Posted February 14, 2006 Blimey - that's cheap! OK - have order an auxiliary glowplug, and will get onto ordering a nearside wishbone. Need to call the garage to get it booked in. But today I'm off into the dealers to discuss the Quote
mumof4 Posted February 14, 2006 Report Posted February 14, 2006 hope you have better luck than i did with the dodgy garage i dealt with!!im still fighting to get money back. <_< Quote
tim-spam Posted February 14, 2006 Report Posted February 14, 2006 Tyres are Continentals, 215/60 16's. I haven't discounted them not helping matters (nearside tyre is scrubbed on outside edge, offside is fine). The correct size of tyre is 215/55 x 16, so yours (215/60) will be slightly too large in tread diameter, which may make the car react more to cambers. As well as checking the camber and toe settings (front and rear), the caster angle could also have been knocked out of true. Another thing to check is the weight on each wheel - if, for example, the right front or left rear spring was settled / bent / broken, the weight on the left front wheel would be higher. this would cause the car to pull to the left. Quote
Scorpiorefugee Posted February 14, 2006 Report Posted February 14, 2006 Sorry to keep coming back on this. Your symptoms are an exact match on what I had several years ago. I'd had 2 or 3 lots of tracking. In desperation, I got under and balanced the two arms - (1/4 ") as I remember. Set the tracking by hand using a telescopic tube and trial and error. Amazingly, the wheel was now centred! Went back and got the tracking done under supervision. No more trouble. I can only tell it as it happened. However Tim-spam and the others are all correct. Steering geometry is a matter of minute measurements and all of the vertical, horizontal and fore/aft positions have to be exactly right! Again - good luck. Ron. Quote
Dirtbag Posted February 14, 2006 Author Report Posted February 14, 2006 Afternoon <_< Right, I've had a full refund from my local VW dealer. That's right - Quote
sasquartch Posted February 14, 2006 Report Posted February 14, 2006 great result ! I think if people were more persistent then eventually main dealers will improve their service ! Quote
Dirtbag Posted February 14, 2006 Author Report Posted February 14, 2006 I think luck also played a part. I wasn't going to bother - I hardly expected to get anywhere with the main dealer. But that's just soooooo british not to complain eh! Anyway - the search for a car that steers straight goes on... DB Quote
Dirtbag Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Posted February 22, 2006 OK, Had the auxiliary heater glow plug replaced - no white smoke screen now :huh: Also had the front nearside wishbone replaced. But my tyre center is unable to set the steering/tracking etc. (using Lazer SuperTracker) within tolerance still :P And yes, even with the closest to tolerance setting - car still pulls left. So I've shot it. Took my elephant rifle out and put a slug through it. But it won't die, and still pulls to the left. Like a monkey on my back...... So where do I go from here? Replace the offside wishbone? Start looking into the steering rack and associated bits? I'm (tongue in cheek) thinking the best solution is to put a 65 section tyre on the nearside :huh: DB Quote
Scorpiorefugee Posted February 23, 2006 Report Posted February 23, 2006 At risk of becoming a total bore... :lol: It does look as if your motor has some history. I,ve had a look at diagrams of the steering rack and Seatkid is right about the difficulty bit but, racking my brains, the easiest way to check if the steering arms are balanced is to count threads on the rods although somone who knows about this particular rack may know better. I have to say that my most recent experience of this type of problem was some years ago and since then I have stuck to the principle "If it aint broke, don't let ANYONE near it" and I've had about a million miles of relatively trouble free motoring since. Also, if anyone tells you it's broke, get a second opinion. I am sure that everything that has been said is more or less true but, they would have been balanced from new and the steering wheel would have been centred from new so the one should work with the other to give a reliable starting point. Remember that any final setting should be in equal increments to both sides. The most likely causes of your problem are man made or serious bang. Serious bang I cannot help with but if it is man made, through ignorance probably, then this is the most likely place and the easiest to check and, since it is the centre of the steering mechanism, the first place to start. Sorry to go on but I've seen so many instances of long and fruitless attempts at repair because the basics had been taken for granted. Again, good luck. Ron. :ph34r: Quote
Dirtbag Posted June 2, 2006 Author Report Posted June 2, 2006 Forgot all about the help I had on this forum - but for those that contributed help and were interested in the problem, we eventually found the cause. Having moved back to Dorset, I took the vehicle to a garage I trust and have used in the past . This is a proper garage where they fix things and get oily in the process, not just unbolt one bit to bolt on a new bit. Anyway, the problem with the vehiclepulling to the left was..... .....a mullered nearside top strut mount and bearing. In fact - the slotted bearing was in several bits, and the rubber "cup-shaped" top was also broken up and perished. This was allowing the suspension strut to move around at random, so no wonder the tyre place couldn't align it!! All fixed for under Quote
Bigjeeze Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Great news - Its always good to have it confirmed you were wrong again!!! :P Still at least now with similar symptoms I'll know what to check.. Quote
Dirtbag Posted June 2, 2006 Author Report Posted June 2, 2006 Great news - Its always good to have it confirmed you were wrong again!!! :P Still at least now with similar symptoms I'll know what to check.. :D It matters not really, all help was, errr, helpful. Just thought I'd share the fix in case anyone has a similar issue....... Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.