What the!!!!

Ok, '82 Gti goes in for MOT and Brake Pads, :cry:  running ok (but not brilliant), they say needs new Discs and a new outer driveshaft gaitor, so i say ok go ahead, then i get a call saying whilst trying to see why the rear fog did'nt work they looked at the fusebox and now it won't start at all. Now the Fusebox has always been flakey at best and i if you just look at it - it throws a wobbly and stops working so i know to keep away from it. They say no spark so it's the coil, i give them another coil and it makes no differance. After 2 days with them it decides to start again, and stop and start and stop etc, but passes MOT so i go and pick it up. I drive away and along with cutting out i now have a steering wheel that points way to the right (quarter turn) to go in a straight line. i then go to get the wheels aligned and the guy at the tyre place says he can't do it as the passenger wheel is so turned outward it won't correct that far (you can visualy see it as well). Question is what could be wrong as that was the side they did the Gaitor, and should i give it to them to do again or bite the bullet and go somewhere else? - they've agreed to look at it but are not exactly enthusiastic about it, and i'm not filled with confidence i'm afraid.

I reckon instead of taking the drive shaft off to swap the gaiter they removed the hub inc track rod end and then separated the CV to swap the gaitor...then the put it back all wrong and disturbing the camber and tracking.

Yeah i think he said they removed the hub. Is seperating the CV a bad idea then?

No you have to separate the CV to swap the gaitor but if you do it by removing the shaft from the hub and gearbox drive flange you don't disturb the strut/track rod and thus preserve the camber etc settings.

If you have a ramp like most garages do I'd say its easier to remove shaft instead of the hub anyway?

Is it something they can fix easily or am i going to have to go somewhere else? (they don't have any tracking facilties)
Thanks for your advice Early-1800

In theory you can mark the hub camber setting before dismantling, and put it back together again and the camber/tracking should be about right (never quite the same though). If they forgot to do this, then its their problem. If they have to go to another garage to get it aligned, its still their issue!

The electrical problems - sounds like you have water in the fusebox, a relatively common issue.

The other thing that confuses garages and tyre places when trying to adjust the tracking on a MK1 is that only one side is adjustable. Then when thats done you'll prob have to re-align the steering wheel.

I'd try and find another garage, poss VW specialist, that knows what they are doing.

Think you might be right about giving to someone else. The problem was as the tyre guy adjusted the tracking the other side went way out, (and it still wasn't close on his laser), he said if he adjusted it anymore the end would fall out so something was'nt right. What is camber? i thought it was how much the wheel leaned in top to bottom, this problem is the toe i think.

You're right (about camber) - but when you adjust camber, it throws out the tracking (toe in/toe out).

These adjustments are starting to sound like they should be done at a Tyre place rather than a normal garage as they quite often don't have tracking facilities, how do you correct camber?

Find somewhere that can do a full geometry check up and reset everything.