Rookie Questions

Felipe

Felipe

Low mileage
Picked up my X yesterday and made the 75 mile drive home without incident.

Always had Triumphs in the past so the X is a complete mystery to me.

Dumb question #1 - are side marker, brake/tail lamp bulbs Pep Boy items?

#2 - Can't seem to get the steering wheel straight. Came off easy (pleasant surprise) and seemed straight after putting it back on but low and behold first drive proved me wrong. It seemed like the wheel would only bolt back on in 2 positions neither of which are result in a straight wheel position when driving.

Thanks in advance.
 
Rookie answers

Felipe said:
Are side marker, brake/tail lamp bulbs Pep Boy items?
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Yep! #194 and #1156

Felipe said:
#2 - Can't seem to get the steering wheel straight. Came off easy (pleasant surprise) and seemed straight after putting it back on but low and behold first drive proved me wrong. It seemed like the wheel would only bolt back on in 2 positions neither of which are result in a straight wheel position when driving.
Thanks in advance.
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Sometimes the only thing you can do to get it exact is to adjust the front end on both sides of your steering rack..
This affects your toe in/out settings, so is best done at an alignment shop.
 
No dumb questions here...

1. Yup, standard lighting technology from the 70's, available at any car parts store.

2. You will probably have to align the steering wheel with a toe adjustment. This will be standard practice with a 4-wheel wheel alignment, which would be a good idea if the car is of unknown history or has any weird wear patterns on the tires. Lots of forum members also do their own alignments with simple tools (string, jackstands, etc). It's not too difficult but is kind of tedious. Search "string alignment" or look in the wiki.

Pete
 
Try under the dash...

drop the bottom steering column cover. The steering shaft has a single bolt clamp where it joins the gear from the steering rack assembly. Loosen the clamp, pull on the steering wheel as you push up on the steering shaft. Turn it a couple teeth or whatever to straighten and re-assemble.

If you are out of alignment and correct that, then the wheel will be crooked again.. :mallet:
 
Remove the steering wheel.... again... AFTER the front wheels are in a known straight heading. Once the steering wheel is off, re-position it so it is centered, tighten the nut. Done.

BTW, if the alignment is off or some suspension bit is seriously wore out tired or a front suspension bit is bent, these problems can cause the steering wheel to be off centered.

And, if the previous owner/care taker tinkered with the front alignment without the steering wheel held at center, it will cause the steering wheel to be off center too.

Oh, welcome to the Italian X family... and you will discover the x1/9 to be "quite" different than a Triumph in many, many ways.

Bernice

Felipe said:
#2 - Can't seem to get the steering wheel straight. Came off easy (pleasant surprise) and seemed straight after putting it back on but low and behold first drive proved me wrong. It seemed like the wheel would only bolt back on in 2 positions neither of which are result in a straight wheel position when driving.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
 
!

I also made the switch from Triumph to Fiat. It makes the old TR's feel like RATTLE TRAPS. The TR's were sturdy though with the old Standard tractor engine.

The important thing to remember is that the Brit's are good at doing shop manuals. Fiat has terrible shop manuals. Learn to decipher the shop manuals and fill in the blanks with this forum and you'll have nothing to fear!
 
?!

WOW, I thought that the Fiat factory manuals were great! Maybe the pics weren't always the clearest, but there's a lots of good info in them. (Except they are missing good wiring diagrams for some models.)

The Triumpth factory manuals must be better than the Clymers and Haynes manuals are for Fiats.
 
Bentley manuals for Triumph are illogical and written in the King's English with British terminology for parts.. Been there, done that.

Bernice

MikeHynes said:
WOW, I thought that the Fiat factory manuals were great! Maybe the pics weren't always the clearest, but there's a lots of good info in them. (Except they are missing good wiring diagrams for some models.)

The Triumpth factory manuals must be better than the Clymers and Haynes manuals are for Fiats.
Click to expand...
 
If you suspect bad alignment at all right now, get the wheel alignment done first then if the wheel is still not right, go under the dash and you might get more adjustment on the section where the column shaft attaches there.

Welcome to the fold...
 
Thanks to everyone here for sharing your expertise. You are a wonderful bunch!!

Had the wheels straight before remounting the steering wheel so I guess its time to tinker.

Car tracks straight as an arrow and tires are evenly worn.

After years of Triumph's what has impressed me most is the X's handling, suspension and over all comfort.

By the way...is everyone's "fasten seat belt" light on?? :dunce:
 
Sort of...

Felipe said:
By the way...is everyone's "fasten seat belt" light on?? :dunce:
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In my car, (1986) the seat belt light works off a timer located in the fuse panel area.
Factory made it that way. It goes out seconds after the car starts.
 
This is one of those things that drives me crazy.

The steering wheel should never be removed for anything other than a repair activity and should always be replaced in the original position.

To properly fix this one needs to center the steering rack. The tie rods are then adjusted to provide the correct toe in.

With the rack properly centered you can now place the wheel in the correct, centered position relative to the center position of the rack.
 
Don't get confused

Proper steering wheel alignment is to get all 4 done on a current "Hunter" align. machine IMHO. I have worked with many this is the best.

Set the steering wheel straight before setting toe, but the Hunter machine will set the wheel straight correct 99% for the tech . Unless you want to have the fun of doing it yourself with the string and experimenting with tie rod ends and steering shafts to get it correct. Expect alot of time involved if you have never done this type of thing.
 
Welcome Felipe... but lissen-up...

Karl Mead said it best, and so did many others...

If you know what yur doin' you can use the String Method to set the toe in and also adjust the tie-rods on the rack and in the rear... and THEN center the Steering Wheel.

Otherwise, find a good alignment shop that will do all four corners.

The car will then track straight and handle wonderfully.

Do yurself a favor and always check here first before doing ANYTHING... even after you've owned the car 27 years like I have. There is always someone here that will help you save money, time and frustration...

Welcome to the addiction!
 
Black-Tooth said:
Karl Mead said it best, and so did many others...

Do yurself a favor and always check here first before doing ANYTHING... even after you've owned the car 27 years like I have. There is always someone here that will help you save money, time and frustration...

Welcome to the addiction!
Click to expand...

The collective knowledge here is amazing and I'm sure that the trial and error experience here trumps just about anything.

I followed this website before I purchased my X and would never attempt doing anything without checking here first. I am sure I will have questions that are obvious to many here but please bear with me. Thanks again for everyone's warm welcome to the addiction.

Sidebar - I live in a condo with many Italian residents and had been asking about getting an additional parking spot. Yesterday, only hours after bringing the X home I was called to the condo office and told that another resident donated a parking spot for the X free of charge!!!

Guess the X still brings a smile to peoples faces and has a warm spot in the hearts of others.
 
WOW... what a COMMUNITY you live in!

I bet when ya go down to start wrenching on it they'll be coming out to lend you a hand also!

Congratulations again!
 
Many times, the cars individuals drive are reflective of who owns them.

Curious, what got you to become a exxe owner now?

And, what Triumphs were in you life and what was Triumph ownership really like for you?


Bernice


Felipe said:
Guess the X still brings a smile to peoples faces and has a warm spot in the hearts of others.
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Bernice,

For the most part I agree with your assertion that a person's car gives insight into their personality.

That said I may fall into the "is he out of his mind" category. Back in the days when my friends were "souping up" their Chevy's and Fords I had a 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2, 1963 GT Hawk, 1964 GT, a nightmare Benz 230 SL, 1979, Renault Gordini, 1982 Turbo Fuego, 1958 Packard Hawk, TVR 280i,1990 Alfa Quad Spider, 1989 Volvo Bertone, 1986 Benz 16V, Saab 9-3 and my beloved TR6 (owned for almost 12 years).

My Triumph experience was great. Very few problems, easy to repair and that wonderful exhaust note. Drove it to the Vintage races at Watkins Glenn many times ( beautiful in Sept if you ever have the chance).

I had always liked the X but finding a nice one is really difficult. I was actually looking for a 124 Coupe which in my opinion is even more difficult to locate.

My purchase was basically right price for the right car and love at first sight (doesn't everyone walk around their cars after parking them to enjoy the view from multiple angles).

To me the X is a whole lot of car for the money. Sorry for the long winded answer to your brief question.
 
Studebakers huh... GET OFF THE BOARD!

Yur toooo much outta you mind for this site!

HA!

I loved the Avanti myself... couldn't tear me outta the showroom back in '63... and then the R3 or R4 came out the next year with an 8 pound boost and did something like 163 at Bonneville.

What an Awesome Orphan!

Now look at you... HOOKED on X's... What a poor example you are for future generations!

HAHAHAHA!
 
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