ix Chapter 1 Basic Suspension and Steering Systems Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Need for Suspension Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Need for Steering Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Development of Suspension and Steering Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Suspension System Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Steering System Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Modern Suspension System Components . . . . . . 4 Front Suspension Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Rear Suspension Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Steering System Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Rack-and-Pinion Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Conventional (Parallelogram) Steering Systems. . . . . 9 Power Steering Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Four-Wheel Steering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Vehicle Frames and Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Body-over-Frame Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Unibody Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Center of Gravity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Vehicle Drive Train Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Front-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Rear-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Electronic Control of Steering and Suspension. . . 18 Electronic Suspension Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Electronic Steering Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Electric Power Steering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Chapter 2 Shop Safety and Environmental Protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Carelessness: The Usual Cause of Accidents . . . 26 Types of Accidents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 The Danger of Spring Tension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Maintaining a Safe Workplace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Performing Work Procedures Properly . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Preventing Environmental Damage . . . . . . . . . . 32 Preventing Solid Waste Contamination. . . . . . . . . . . 33 Preventing Liquid Waste Contamination . . . . . . . . . 33 Preventing Damage to the Atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . 33 The Environmental Protection Agency . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Chapter 3 Special Service Tools and Equipment . . 37 The Importance of Quality Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Basic Suspension and Steering Tools . . . . . . . . . 38 Ball Joint and Tie Rod End Removal Tool. . . . . . . . . 38 Coil Spring Compressor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Contents