Technical front left corner

[Stuart_89]

Hey,

im just after a bit of advice,

i think i have an issue with my front left wheel/suspension etc. It seems the pull to the left a bit excessivley but is dramatically worse when there are people in the passenger seat. it also seems to lean to the left...

Also it feels a little unsteady some times.

Ive had a rear strut brace on for about a month and waiting to put the front one on. Im going to get the tracking done but i dont think this is the root of the problem as going over a few bad speed bumps recently and occasionaly the front left corner will make a loud clunk so im thinking possible damper issue.

I know its common for the springs to break but i cant see any cracks or anything.

By the way its 1 1.9 JTD 115

Cheers

Stu

 

[roy lovelock]

drop links will cause the knocking, but as you say its unstable i would look at the lower wishbone, the ball joint would cause the knocking as well, but the back mount often overlooked keeps the wheel square to the car, if that rubber is worn the wheel will move back and forth causing the unsteady feeling.
an easy way to check this is just park the car up and just pull the wheel back and forth, there should be very little movement but if its moving quiet a bit then get it changed, not a very difficult job.

the spring is also another area which would cause the problem mine broke at the top and the only way i could tell it was broke was by counting the coils one side then comparing them the other, the spring will look more compressed on the good side if one has broken.

the only other area is track rod ends, they will allow the wheel to exessively move as well.
good luck with the investigations im sure you will find the problem
roy

 

[Stuart_89]

hi,

cheers for the great reply.

I took it to the garage about a weak ago, they said they looked but didnt find anything, they said the tracking was way out and tyre pressures were down, corrected both and it felt so much better for about a week......

now it feels like it did before the tracking was done, could this be a sign its the track rod ends? i.e. i havnt hit any curbs or major pot holes to throw the tracking back out?

i did crash-ish about 10 months ago and my front left wheel tuck quite an impact on the curb, possibly damaged them?

cheers

Stu

 

[Stuart_89]

I took my wheels of to have a look to see if i could see naything myself.

Ive taken pitures of things i wasnt sure about and was hoping some one on here may shed some light.

First of all theres a metal bar attached to the drop link going back towards the axcel arear, im a little unsure on the rubber bush (pic below) however the one on the drivers side looks about the same. the second thing is, thers like a split/small crack/crater like split on top of the bar (i've highlighted with a red circle, sorrys its not the best quality)






the second thing i notices was the angle the wishbone (i think) was at, heres a pic. Its the same the otherside so i think its okay?



Then i noticed this slight crak in the sub frame behind the wheel, the second picture is a close up of the area. Shouldi be woried about this?





i hope some one can shed some light on these

cheers guys

Stu

 

[Argonought]

I could be wrong but the large rubber bush on the lower wish-done looks wrong to me (your picture #3) but if so then it would account for the tracking going out.

You don't seem very keen on lubing your suspension

I'd have had the wayoil out ages ago as hate seeing active signs of rust (make sure you protect the suspension springs too - as I'm sure you know they're well known for breaking!)