Technical 06 Doblo Cargo handling problem

[Dr No]

Hi guys & girls. We've bought an ex Royal Mail Doblo for cheap, thinking they would have looked after it to a reasonable standard. Apparently I was wrong, all kinds of problems so far. The harder I look, the more issues I find.

Anyway, today's problem is as follows: When cornering left at 45mph+, the Van seems to behave normally up to a point, but then suddenly it will veer, quite hard, to the left. This doesn't happen when cornering to the right.

Lower suspension bushes look ok, ball joints and bearings feel tight, the only thing I see visually is the driver's side strut top mount bush is starting to let go.

Is that likely to be my problem? I've never had that part fail on a car before, so not sure exactly what effect it would have on handling. MOT is next month, so will need replacing anyway, but I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had this or similar issue with their Doblo, and how it was resolved.

Cheers

 

[stephenbebop]

are you sure its not had a bump on the front? Might be something a little bent and not lined up properly

 

[Dr No]

Well, I've replaced both strut tops, had the wheels realigned and now the problem is considerably more pronounced. Something that has become apparent is that it only really pulls left while under power (accelerating, pulling up hills etc), then seems to jerk to the right if I release the throttle.

To me this seems like either an engine mount or perhaps a lower arm bushing? Guess I'll have another look underneath and report back.

stephenbebop There is a crack in the bumper on the passenger side and the PS headlight has been replaced too, so I guess it has had a knock at some point. Are the above symptoms something that could be related to that?

 

[varesecrazy]

Well, I've replaced both strut tops, had the wheels realigned and now the problem is considerably more pronounced. Something that has become apparent is that it only really pulls left while under power (accelerating, pulling up hills etc), then seems to jerk to the right if I release the throttle.

To me this seems like either an engine mount or perhaps a lower arm bushing? Guess I'll have another look underneath and report back.

stephenbebop There is a crack in the bumper on the passenger side and the PS headlight has been replaced too, so I guess it has had a knock at some point. Are the above symptoms something that could be related to that?

Hi,
check the lower bushes like this..,:idea:

put a wheel brace on a wheel nut(bolt) and slowly "ROCK" the tension / pressure on + off,
look for the wheel rocking back + forth in the wheel arch

it'll be pretty pronounced to make it pull Left AND Right..,

mine have just made the steering "VAGUE",

let us know what you find..,

Charlie

 

[stephenbebop]

so a crack on the bumper ? Might be nothing but could suggest camber or caster out if its been knocked hard enough. But it could be bushes that are worn out as well. I'm afraid it's one of those things that can take ages to find the solution to. I hope you sort it soon.

 

[varesecrazy]

so a crack on the bumper ? Might be nothing but could suggest camber or caster out if its been knocked hard enough. But it could be bushes that are worn out as well. I'm afraid it's one of those things that can take ages to find the solution to. I hope you sort it soon.

quite true,
BUT if something is just twisted out of line it would ALWAYS pull to one side ,
not veer from left to right.. that implies "free play/ movement" to me..,
Charlie

 

[Dr No]

Seems I didn't look hard enough the first time lol. I found some play in the front bushing on the Driver's side bottom arm. I'm reasonably confident that if I throw a pair of bottom arms at it my troubles will be over. Well, at least for this particular issue.

Many thanks chaps.

 

[Dr No]

I got my new bottom arms today, I have them fitted, but now I'm having trouble getting the anti roll bar back into place. I've bolted it up loosely to the subframe with the rear bushes in place, but I can't get the front brackets to line up with the bolt holes on the bottom arms.

Seems like I just need to muscle it into place, but I'm not Clarke Kent. Even with a 2' pipe slipped over the end it still doesn't want to line up. Is there an establish method to fitting this type of ARB?

 

[Dr No]

Nevermind guys. A good night's sleep and some strong coffee this morning gave me the He-Man like strength required to get it done. Bloody awkward it was, although I was working alone, on the ground with axle stands.

Cheers.

 

[Mad one]

Nevermind guys. A good night's sleep and some strong coffee this morning gave me the He-Man like strength required to get it done. Bloody awkward it was, although I was working alone, on the ground with axle stands.

Cheers.

In suspense now!

Did it cure the problem.......?

 

[Dr No]

In suspense now!

Did it cure the problem.......?

Ah, yes. Drives much better now.

Turns out the front bushing on the driver side was completely shagged. Even though it looked fine mounted, upon removal I found I was able to push the centre of the bushing out completely with my thumb.

Bottom arms were otherwise OK, so I could have got away with replacing that one bushing, but I don't have a lot of patience for this sort of thing. I'm thinking at some point I'll replace the bad bushing and hang them up as spares for the future.

 

[500e]

Would be interesting if you could find Polly bushes for them