Q The steering gear of one of my vans had to
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be realigned following a minor accident and I am not satisfied that the job was done properly. When cornering, the tyres tend to squeal and one of the tyres is wearing unevenly. According to the chart presented by the repairers, caster angle, kingpin inclination and toe-in correspond to the maker's recommendations, Assuming that they are correct, what fault could cause tyre squeal? The van has a beam axle.
Ait is probable that the trouble is caused by incorrect "toe-out-on-turns" which should not be confused with toe-out of the
wheels when the vehicle is running on a straight line. A check of toe-out-on-turns was not included in the alignment readings you mention.
When a vehicle is being driven on a curve, the inner front wheel travels on a smaller circle than the outer wheel and provision for the difference is made by angling the steering arms inwards. Possibly one of the steering arms (and the track rod) of your vehicle was bent in the accident which would normally result in the wheels toeing out on the straight. The track rod may have been straightened and the correct toe-in provided by adjustment. But this would not have compensated for excessive toe-out-on-turns produced by the bent arm. If rechecking on alignment equipment reveals that this is the fault, the arm or arms should be replaced.