Technical Pulling to the left...

[dtimmins1985]

Hi everyone,

The stilo is doing my nut in again.

Close to 3grand nearly spent on it now and dont want to let it go just yet.

Last week, i had some new tyres fitted on the front as the old ones where shot after 14 months... crap soft compound...

Before the tyres where replaced, the steering wheel was a little off centre, gaf tracking done last year when i put the soft tyres on and it was fine, i then had a bump and had all the o/s front replaced (rack end, drop link, wishbone, drive shaft, hub, shocker, spring and top mount.

Since all that, there was a groove in tyre caused when the o/s front was shunted back... the groove was causing the car to drive towards the right when steering wheel was centre, letting go of the wheel would allow it to drive straight but wheel was off to the left

Had it checked over and over and its all aligned correctly.

I replaced tyres with some generals the other week and had tracking checked and all is fine, the wheel is centred and drives dead straight if i hold the wheel in place... before it didn't seem centred (the damaged tyre was causing this) so now its all good with the new tyres but... i feel it pulling to the left now... if i let go of the wheel it pulls to the left, you can also feel it pulling the steering wheel a bit when holding it straight.

Im at a loss as to what it can be, rear tyres are all even and same make, tyre pressures are 32 psi all way round. All mechanical parts are fine, the geomatry and tracking has been thoroughly checked and is perfect... even after the shunt and repair last year... the garage said i was lucky the subframe hadnt bent or moved.

So im at a loss, can anyone help?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[dtimmins1985]

Forgot to add... its 1.2 3dr active 2003

 

[Kulsius]

As far as I know, it might have been caused by:
different tire pressure,
a little bump on tire (offcenter when tire is spinning),
tires not being aligned correctly.

That's only according to my newbie knowledge. My dad always tells me to check pressure and tires after each change. Also told me to go to service for tire alignment for same reason as you have (strong pull to left and actually steering wheel being way off stable center)
If you come up with any other cause, let me know please

 

[Ralf S.]

Have you had a 4-wheel alignment done, or just the front end?

If the rear wheel alignment is out, the car could be crabbing.

Are you sure the front is all straight and aligned? Any "pull" on the steering suggests the tracking is not where it needs to be.




Ralf S.

 

[dtimmins1985]

Sorry for the late reply.

Yes had the 4 wheel alignment checked and it's perfect.
The garage said it there no need to adjust it as it was aligned perfectly, they checked front end and tracking was fine, alignment was fine, also checked rear and that was fine too, they also checked each side (front to back alignment) and that was also fine.

The garage said it could be the wheel or even the diff in the gearbox causing it, I'm totally stumped.

The rear end isn't crabbing, when I let off the gas it is fine, I can coast in a straight line with hands off the steering wheel it will stay straight, it seems to happen under load which leads me to believe it could be the diff.

Weird thing about all this is that the wheel was slightly off centre before but didn't pull to any side when under load, it would veer over to the right a tiny bit when the wheel was centred but if I let go it would drive straight but with the steering wheel off to the left a tiny bit, since the tyre change and tracking / 4 wheel alignment check the steering wheel is centred but it's pulling to the left under load.

I feel a may have to live with it whilst I save up for another car, I'm done with the stilo now I've had just about every known issue there is and some more things keep going wrong, I can't afford to keep spending more and more on a 13yr 1.2 motor.

Thanks guys.

 

[Peat]

Budget tyres?

 

[dtimmins1985]

Budget tyres?

Not the tyres bud... the tyres are fine.
It seems to be getting worse - desperate to get another car now, EML has flagged up on the dash today - not in LIMP but it's come up and didnt go away after three restarts of the engine.

Seriously had enough of this car now.

 

[MrDerv]

Have you checked the condition of the bushes in the front lower suspension arms?

I had a car that started doing that, it was the rear bush on the front lower arm that was deteriorating, causing movement. When accelerating, it would pull to the right, and under braking, it would pull to the left.

Get a good look and check for play with a pry bar or similar

 

[dtimmins1985]

Have you checked the condition of the bushes in the front lower suspension arms?

I had a car that started doing that, it was the rear bush on the front lower arm that was deteriorating, causing movement. When accelerating, it would pull to the right, and under braking, it would pull to the left.

Get a good look and check for play with a pry bar or similar

It's not the bushes on that side either, i replaced the whole wishbone with a new one about 6 months ago along with new brake pads and discs all round.

However, the wishbone on the other side is on its way out, the garage said this is not a problem at the moment tho and in its current state would not cause any problems.

Anyhow, ill have to live with it for now... another problem has occured which is more important as its the brakes, starting a new thread for this.