pulling to the right ... updated

[steve_16v 0]

I've done a search on this and there are quite a few suggestions on what the problem might be but what's the most likely culprit for making the car pull to the right? I've had the steering arms, bushes and ball joints replaced recently, had a new wheel bearing put on (drivers side only - the others are fine) and it's literally just been tracked, but it's still pulling to the right and is especially evident when you take your foot off the accelerator.

 

The guy who did the tracking reckoned the camber wasn't out but it wasn't a full on laser allignment rig so I doubt he could say for sure.

 

There's no noticeable noises when cornering so I don't think it's the CV joints, but I'm no expert on this and could easily be very wrong.

 

ideas?

[davidwort 0]

I've done a search on this and there are quite a few suggestions on what the problem might be but what's the most likely culprit for making the car pull to the right? I've had the steering arms, bushes and ball joints replaced recently, had a new wheel bearing put on (drivers side only - the others are fine) and it's literally just been tracked, but it's still pulling to the right and is especially evident when you take your foot off the accelerator.

 

The guy who did the tracking reckoned the camber wasn't out but it wasn't a full on laser allignment rig so I doubt he could say for sure.

 

There's no noticeable noises when cornering so I don't think it's the CV joints, but I'm no expert on this and could easily be very wrong.

 

ideas?

 

brakes not totally free on that side?

air pressure in tyres

different wear/brands of tyres

suspension top mounts OK?

is the steering rack free and smooth in operation

 

you can check your camber with a spirit level and a flat bit of road

 

That's all I can think of at the mo.

 

David.

[GIXXERUK 0]

engine mounts

cv's will usually only make a noise on full lock ,moving slowly they click

do the front wheel look at the same angle when you look from the front ?

do the brakes get hotter on the drivers side , binding

tyre pressures

does the rear look level , poor rear suspension will make the car lean and pull

are the tyre directional ? are they on the right way ?

 

hth

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Have you got coilovers?

 

I had a 4 wheel alignment done by stealth about a month ago and they set the car to exactly 60cm (ride height off the floor) all round before setting the camber. About 2 weeks after that, the car developed a very slight tendency to pull right on the motorway. It turned out that the coilovers had 'settled' more on the driver's side than the pass side, so after i readjusted them back to 60 all round again, it's now straight as an arrow again.

 

That's the prob with coillies, they can do with checking and readjusting after a month or so's use from first fitment.

 

If you've got regular suspension, get the camber checked and also make sure it's not the roads causing the pull.

[Geo 0]

If the tyres aren't directional then swap them around from right to left and see if that makes any difference.

 

If they are directional try swapping front to back on the rh side.

 

Sometimes the way the tyres wear causes the car to pull one way or the other and swapping them around cures the problem.

[steve_16v 0]

Blimey that was fast!

 

Here goes...

 

The Front brakes were replaced six weeks ago, haven't had the rears checked though and they do creak a bit if the handbrake isn't on at the top of its travel. Both fronts are about the same temp after a long drive.

 

The suspension is all standard (at the moment) though there is a very slight weep on the front passenger side shock, I'm saving some money for coilovers (or H&R springs and Koni shocks, no need to start a debate on which is best there's plenty of threads on this already :wink: ) so I don't really want to spend loads on having it all aligned now and then have it done again in a few weeks.

 

I'll go down to the car park in a minute and check but the ride height looks level all round (4x4 style!)

 

The tyres were all replaced about 1000 miles ago (toyo proxes t1-s) and the pressure feels the same on both sides, but will check the pressures properly tonight. They're directional, all point the right way and there doesn't seem to be any excessive wear in any one part of any of them.

 

The steering rack seems alright and moves properly when it's up on ramps.

 

I had a go at the spirit level thing the other night on an admittedly not totally level road, there was about 2mm difference between them which didn't seem a lot but I hear the corrado is notoriously fickle if it's not all set up perfectly.

 

(apologies for the long post!)

[steve_16v 0]

Just had a good look at the ride height and to the naked eye it looks like the passenger side rear is slightly higher than the rest (about a cm), need to confirm this with a bit of tape measuring action when I get home.

 

I do remember looking at the front wheels once and thinking the drivers side camber did look out but then when I got home it looked fine, is there anything that could be worn that affects camber in such a way?

 

Do the engine mounts make much difference to the way the car behaves? This does sound plausible because it definately pulls more when deccelerating than accelerating. (If you let your foot off the gas and take your hands off the wheel it will drag itself fully into the next lane within seconds).

 

Also, if you push it sharply to the left to straighten up it will stay straight for a few seconds before wandering off again.

 

All in all the car isn't much fun to drive anymore :(

[GIXXERUK 0]

the engine mounts do make a difference mate but i can only speak really about the VR which is a big heavy lump

 

if you are only looking at a matter of weeks before you upgrade the suspension i would try and live with it til then to tbh

the new suspensionand 4 wheel alignment will rule out a lot of things

 

did you check the top mounts ?

[billinjah 0]

you might have the same problem i have....if you solve it pm me!!

[steve_16v 0]

No worries Billinjahg60

 

I'm going to try and leave work early today and take it to the garage that fitted the wheel bearing last friday, it's been getting progressively worse since then and doesn't feel particularly safe at the moment.

 

Also noticed when I was checking the tyre pressures last night (they were fine) that the drivers side tyre wall was warm whilst the passenger side was fairly cool so there's definately something wrong somewhere.

[GIXXERUK 0]

warm tyre suggests the tracking or camber as the tyre is scrubbing

[steve_16v 0]

If the garage can't find anything obviously wrong tonight it looks like I'll have to speed up my plans of changing the suspension.

 

Would the camber being out affect whatever is adjusted when the tracking is done (track rod ends presumably)? Because everytime it's been tracked they've had to use heat to get it to move.

[GIXXERUK 0]

not really mate , the tracking is done by adjusting the track rod ends and the camber is adjusted using two bolts at the bottom of the strut

[dutch 0]

My VR has an annoying pull to the left...haven't really looked into it. Planning on swapping out the suspension over the next couple of weeks, i'll go over everything then..

[steve_16v 0]

Just got back from having it looked over by a better tyre place that does camber, it would appear the drivers side track-rod end is fecked, from having it tracked on monday to today it's gone from parallel to 8mm out! :shock:

 

It was also pretty obvious to tell the camber was out when it was up on ramps as well, so tommorrow it's going for new tyre, track rod ends and a full camber, caster and tracking alignment. How the chimp who did it on monday didn't spot it I don't know but needless to say it's the last time I'll be going there.

 

Hopefully this will cure it once and for all though because the 10 mile drive back to work was a bit hairy! One wheel went over a manhole cover on a bend and the front end just skidded across it :pale:

[GIXXERUK 0]

glad your getting sorted , spanner monkeys :-(

[steve_16v 0]

Yeah at the first place it was a youngish lad, really interested in the C but crap, he had use the acetyln torch twice when he was adjusting it and didn't notice a problem!

 

Bloke at the second place thought it shouldn't even be driven, and after geting back to work I was inclined to agree with him.