Hello
2649 has always pulled to the left in my ownership. I've had the tracking done twice and that's straight. I get uneven wear to both front tyres, over a long period, not to mention the effort needed to continually pull the steering back to centre. I've ask my mechanic who suggested that the near side Spring sits 12mm lower than the offside Spring, so that's one possibility. I've also spoken to a steering specialist that has advised that the fault must lie with the caster which needs adjusting and recommended me to investigate this further.

I've looked through the routemaster maintenance manual and found no reference to a caster let alone adjustment of one or the correct setup. Any ideas chaps?
Kind regards
Barry

My bus number (if any): 2649 & 2697

Probably the cheapest and easiest things to do is to get one of the commercial vehicle mobile laser-alignment specialists to check it out for you. It will need to be on smooth, level concrete, or preferably on a ramp or over a pit. You will need to make sure that the man doing the job understands that the bus has two subframes.

There is a very strong possibility that the problem does not lie at the front end at all, but with the alignment of the B frame and hence the rear axle. This needs to be eliminated and the best method is as mentioned. Apart from deteriorated B frame rubber mountings the actual frames lozenge. It would also be sensible to check the panhard beam carefully around the rod mounting bracket. A problem at the back end will give exactly the symptoms you describe. A common, but not exclusive indication is opposite front tyre shoulders wearing n/s to o/s.

I think if you delve into the archive on this forum you will see several entires on this very issue.

Think of the childrens song about the knee- bone -connected- to -the- leg- bone etc. and this will give you a simplistic but accurate prognosis.

Everything on the front suspension and even the rear has a bearing on handling, tyre, braking and bearing wear.

The rear end plays a very large part in the overall performance. Like Roy says the 'B' frame bushes alone can affect tyre wear.

This is why often carrying out a renewal on one side does not always succeed, as some minor wear opposite gets accelerated when a correction is made on one side. It compensates but then wears and as that happened the new side wears in wrongly. Which is why so many safety components are automatically replaced in pairs.

Springs and shockers, Bushes, Track rod ends, linkages, bearings,tracking, toe in, camber, castor, even wheel balance are all linked. With everything set and matched correctly and in top condition, the bus will feel fantastic.

A really well set up RM is really something and I have to say I've only know a few. RM 23, 804 & 1420 & RML2630 spring to mind, 2345 another, these latter two I can recall being like Rolls-Royces at HL in latter years.

The only way this can be achieved is to renew everything on both sides with even tyres on the front and the new laser systems of wheel alignment make a huge difference by harmonising the back wheels with the front to achieve true rolling as the drawing specified. Something that very few buses even managed when new.

Properly set up, especially in preservation, should lengthen the serviceable life of all the components considerably.
One defective, or more likely, incorrectly set component in the whole set up can have a domino effect on the whole lot.
Consequently, you never get a smooth handling, straight steering, minimal vibrating drive.

The sheer amount of paint on wheels can make a difference. Paint can add over 1.5 kgs per wheel and if applied unevenly send the balance awry. A wheel shot blasted and rebalanced then balanced again after being retyred makes a huge difference. As well as the simple task of always checking the tyre pressures.

Again, for stored and lesser used vehicles, Taking the weight off of the vehicle helps. Resting on blocks to stop flat spots on tyres and deforming bushes from static compression caused by lack of movement .

Modern vehicles have power everything that numb the driver from detecting defects. But the costs in wear are huge so our trucks have very regular tracking/steering and suspension checks, the devices and a few minor adjustments with a spanner have saved literally thousands of Euros in premature replacements, and contributed too, to on-road safety.