Steering and suspension

Steering and suspension guides cover the way a golf buggy tracks, turns and rides: wander and pulling to one side, free play at the steering wheel, worn tie rod ends, do-it-yourself toe alignment, kingpin and bushing wear, clunks over bumps, leaf springs and shock absorbers, and a steering wheel that sits off-centre. Two simple checks separate most of these faults. First, equalise the tyre pressures, because a soft front tyre on one side will pull the buggy convincingly enough to imitate an alignment fault. Second, raise the front of the vehicle, grip each wheel at nine and three o'clock and rock it: movement felt there implicates the tie rod ends and steering linkage, while rocking at twelve and six o'clock exposes wheel bearing or kingpin wear instead. Toe alignment itself is measured as the difference between the distance across the front of the tyres and across the rear of them at hub height, and the target is a matter of only a few millimetres, which is why a kerb strike puts it out so easily. Tie rod end replacement, toe setting with the string or tape method, and shock absorber replacement are moderate owner jobs. Kingpins, leaf springs and steering box internals are heavier work, and wander that survives fresh pressures and a careful toe set deserves professional eyes; book a Hawke engineer.