Wheel/suspension problem, help needed

Mosser · Post by **Mosser** » 04 Sep 2005, 02:53

I have been having a very strange feeling with my cars handling recently, when driving in a straight line, the car wanders left and right a bit and i have to work hard to correct it, and when i'm gong round a roundabout, the front tyres feel like they are flat and feel like they are drifting sideways even at relatively low speed corners, the steering has suddenly (in the last few weeks) develped some play (about 5mm) and the car is generally hard work to keep it going in a straight line and doesnt like corners anymore, all tyres are inflated to 35psi and i have tried varying them slightly and it doesnt help, and also there is now considerable scuffing the the front left tyre on its outside wall and the outside third of the tread,
About a month ago, there was a small clicking noise that sounded to me like a wheel bearing breaking up and the abs light came on at the same time, it only lasted for a few seconds and the steering felt very slightly different after that and has slowly got worse, the abs light stayed on for about 3 days then went off and then came on and off at random over the next 3 weeks, but it hasnt come on for about a week now,
I have been under the car and checked everything i can see and it all looks secure and i have pulled and pushed everything i can thing that would cause it and nothine seems loose, the wheels have no wobble in them either top to bottom or side to side when rocking them,
I am a bit stuck at the mo as the car i getting worse and i dont know how to diagnose or fix it, its really frustrating me as i am used to fixing everything on my cars and havent used a garage for anything for years,
anyone got any ideas ?

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 04 Sep 2005, 03:04

The first sign that a wheel bearing is going isn't play, by the time you've got play it's pretty much finished. The first sign is usually noise or grittyness, the grittyness will be difficult to feel with a wheel on if it's slight because the inertia of the wheel will mask it.
Since you can feel it through the steering, its more likely a front end problem, there are only really two things it could be, a wheel bearing or a CV joint. CV joints and wheel bearings should be free, quiet and without excessive play.
If it isn't obvious what the problem is right now, leave it a while to get worse, then it will be obvious. CV joints and wheel bearings can soldier on for some time when they're noisy before they become terminal, I wouldn't really recommend waiting for the fault to become obvious but since you've had no luck in finding the problem you might just have to wait and see.

Mosser · Post by **Mosser** » 04 Sep 2005, 03:07

Thanks Kowalski, Since its the front left tyre that is scuffed, i will guess that its that wheel bearing/CV joint that is on its way out, I think i will take it apart on tuesday and see whats going on with it
cheers

Dave Burns · Post by **Dave Burns** » 04 Sep 2005, 03:11

Worn track rod ends will cause wandering and make straight line driving interesting to say the least.
Dave

Post by **Peter.N.** » 04 Sep 2005, 03:12

If the scuffing is only on the n/s tyre this would indicate that the wheel is out of vertical, but that would take a long time to cause noticable uneven wear. What is more likely is that for some reason the wheels are out of alignment, that would cause rapid wear but would also wear the o/s tyre, so first, I would check the tracking.