pulling left on acceleration

[Markeyboy]

on the way to work this morning, traveling about 50mph, i noticed that every time i accelerated the car pulled to the left and as soon as i let off it moves back to the right, it is only moderate 5th gear acceleration
it is quite a concideriable movement (as if i had turned the steering wheel 1/8th to the left)

my arb has a very slight amount of play in it which i will be replacing the bushes on soon with ploys (could this be the cause of the problem?)

nothing else seems to be loose and rattling around, have given it a shake and a kick in the work carpark but still have no leads on where to start looking

i fitted new lower arms with all 3 bushes on both sides along with track rod ends on both sides about 2 months ago,all tightened up with load on the arms etc, had it all tracked up ok, and has been fine untill today

i wont be able to get to have a look underneath untill late tonight, does anyone know of any problem areas to start looking?


cheers

Mark

 

[aragorn]

Could be a sticking brake caliper?

 

[Markeyboy]

cheers fella, will give that a check when i get home

 

[Alais DJA]

cheers fella, will give that a check when i get home

Does it pull on the left while breaking?

 

[Markeyboy]

I don't think so, but I will check on the way home

 

[Markeyboy]

been chatting to a few guys at work, heres my list of things to check

draging brake (cheers aragorn)
lower arm bolts
wheel bearings
tyre inflation???
arb bushes and links
engine mounts???
steering rack bushes???

any more ideas?

 

[Alais DJA]

been chatting to a few guys at work, heres my list of things to check

draging brake (cheers aragorn)
lower arm bolts
wheel bearings
tyre inflation???
arb bushes and links
engine mounts???
steering rack bushes???

any more ideas?

Sorry to state the obvious, but get your tracking done. Can you notice any un-even wear on the tyres at all?

Bold spots on the edges, specifically the left side of the car....

 

[XFi]

I have this also! Really annoying when coming on boost in 5th and 6th it's almost like the nose of the car rises it floats left. Only noticed it since I replaced my wishbones. Had a 4 wheel laser alignment at the weekend but it hasn't helped. Will be having a look under my car at the end of the week for other possibilities.

 

[Markeyboy]

The tracking got done straight after fitting the lower arms

Xfi sounds EXACTLY the same as what mine is doing

I will keep you updated with what I find tonight

 

[sideways steve]

Are you sure its not just following the camber on the road ? The road camber is to teh left therefore most cars will pull in that direction slightly depending on how the wheel alignment has been set.

 

[Markeyboy]

It was playing up on a variety of different roads and various cambers

Just a thought
Is it possible for the camber of the front wheels to be changed/adjusted by the location of the ball joint on the end of the lower arm to the hub? Iirc there was a bit of movement where that bolts to the lower arm, giving a bit of adjustment on where to locate that ball joint?
Is this possible?

 

[Markeyboy]

Iv got the car home and up in the air, turns out (to my horror) that the right hand lower arm front bolt was loose,

It is now f-tight, hopefully this is the cause, as it was giving me loads of front to back movement on the right hand side wheel,

Will check the tightness again after I take it for a test run

Cheers guys

 

[Markeyboy]

Test drive complete, it's cured!

XFi. First point of call - check ur bolts


Feel like a bit of a fool now, but a happy fool

 

[XFi]

Test drive complete, it's cured!

XFi. First point of call - check ur bolts


Feel like a bit of a fool now, but a happy fool

My bolt was loose but I tightened my bolts the other day and the problem is still there but will take another look.

 

[Markeyboy]

thats a shame fella, did you have the cars weight on it when you tightened it up?

 

[sideways steve]

That could have been nasty ! LOL

And yes is the answer to your other question, you can get some slight camber adjustment from the ball joint bolts where it meets the arm.

The main thing is you have it sorted now

 

[Markeyboy]

yea, im very pleased now, so much so that iv been to see AMD about getting it remaped lol