Not sure if this is in the right place - but here goes
right then i have a 1990 TII and the steering just doesnt feel quite right
it seems to pull to the left , if you let go of the wheels , then it pulls at quite a dramatic rate
So
take off the front wheel , and the disc isnt binding ( which i was hoping that it was - cheap fix! )
put the wheel back on and the bearings and cv joints seems OK ( grab at the top and bottom and juggle , and its fine , and same with side to side )
now the best way to explain this , is that when you drive along , you can feel the steering wheel trying to move , its not perfectly still at all
this is what has been done so far
1 - tracking ( done by national tyres and they say its fine ) - they got recommended as the best place to do it
2 - wheels balanced
3 - all got 32spi in each tyre
4 - swapped by tryes for fronts
5 - check passenger side front wheel and disc
i check the passenger side , as i thought if it pulled to the left , it should be the left hand side
any body got any ideas on this ( and please god dont say steering rack as i am lead to believe they are a knightmare to change )
please be gentle with me , as if its a real bad outcome there is 2 choices
1 - stick with it and worry later ( but no track days )
2 - someone gets to buy a real cheap TII
thanks
stu
put it this way i had an EGI that gripped like there was no tommorrow and i could take corners at say 90 , in this i would prob drop to 50 then go round
That sounds odd? I\'m not very well up on geo but it sounds like you\'ve done all the std stuff.
I know its fairly easy to bend suspension on road cars. Hope its not the case?
If you do decided to part it or somthing give me a bell.
Chris
Sounds odd. Even more if you\'ve got CV joints at the front!!!
I would still suspect the brake binding. Can you -
remove left front wheel,
push pistons away from disc on left,
carefully drive without using the brakes,
and now see if it pulls to the left.
i suppose it could be a bind in the left rear brake, too.
I had a turbo 11 with similar problems. i had 17" wheels. The problem came from two things, the T11 has rear wheel steering so you cant just have the front tracking done, they take the front wheel set up from the back, did they do a full four wheel alignment? If not thats what you need. The thing that made the most difference was buying a set of four new matching tyres with a slightly larger profile, I went to 45 profile instead of the rubber band type 40 profile that were on the 2nd hand wheels i bought. Hope this helps.
Ok, Try this
1. Measure the distance between Top of the wheel arch and tyre on both sides (make sure there both the same) basicly checking the ride hight.
2. push down on each of the two ft corners and see if it takes the same amount of force to move the suspension.
3. Jack up the car and have a good look at the Wishbone Bushings, make sure they look in good condition with no big tears etc you can also check them by placing a large pri bar between the wishbone and crossmember and lever, if it moves alot without much force they need replacing.
4. measure the lenth of the car from the center of the rims (make sure the ft wheels are in line) it will give you a rough idea of any damage there may be? (ie the wheel is back)
5.Check for uneven tyre wear (only aplies if its been doing this for some time)
6. Remove the wheel, then remove one of the brake pads then with a screw driver gently push one of the two pistons showing in slightly (dont go mad you have to get the pad back in), look for the other piston moving it should move smoothly and with little force,replace pad and repeat with the back pad.
7. while its jacked up check the spring for damage (cracked or a bit missing) and have a good look at the strut for damp patches.
8. may sound a dumb one but i\'ve seen it. Check you\'ve got all the same tyre sizes.
9. you said you\'ve checked the bottom ball joint does the top of the strut move about if you try to lift the wheel up (with it jacked up)
10.if you have had a realy good look at the ft and there is nothing wrong jack the back up and make sure the rear steer bushes dont move to much. you can usally tell if you drive at speed down say the motorway and the road bears slightly left or right, the back of the car will feel unstable or even like its about to brake away.
11. All this is ok you can give it to me ;) lol
Chris
I have been thinking about it.
Is this a trick question!
Would have nothing to do with Britans S**t roads and the fact that any car with hardish suspension follows the Ruts in the roads and even follows the camber that is put there so the water flows to the gutter?
Chris
Real good comments and suggestions going on with this thread that will help many people ,
But for the problem in hand as suggested already l would have a good four wheel laser line check done
This not a bad thing to get done as this normally transforms most cars and pays for itself due to reduced tyre wear.
3rd Gen\'s benefit hugely from having this done, people also forget that if you lower your car a fair bit you need the geometry resetting, or your car will probably handle worse instead of better!!.
Hope this helps.
I have found that increasing the toe in helps no end with a car that is wandering.ATS have a program for the FD that works very well and it shows how far you can go with the toe in and still be within Mazda peramators.
Kind regards
Carl
blimey - thats a lot of replies - thanks guys !
right the tracking was a 4 wheel laser align thingy - with figures from pip - so thats OK ( or you assume it is ! )
the car seems ok - body wise - so i cant see it being in a prang or the such like
when the front was jacked up - the front shock looks ok and feels tight ( bolted in correctly )
the front ride hight - will check that tommorrow - but again - from looking at it straight on from the front - there is no noticable lean
all the tyres are the same size ( and pressure ) - OK - they are really cheap tyres and i have never heard of them - not sure if that could be an issue - the blue EGI had yokohama\'s on and gripped like a dream !
point 10 of GRIZZLY comment - thats the prob the EGI had , this car just gets very unsettled at 135 - so i backed off !! :)
i was actually putting it down to bad roads to be honest ! - but not sure !!
i mainly notice it when throwing it into a corner - its takes a lot of pressure on the wheel to get round - well that and it pulls to the left !
would a sticking back brake mean that it would still pull to the left - as i havent thought of checking that one ?!?!?
i thought about tyres being worn - thats why i swapped the back to the front - so see if it would make a difference
Chris - would you beable to tell what is wrong just by driving it - im just thinking if you are at the next meet - you could take it for a spin and see what you think ?
just to add - this is from one of the emails by the seller :
Just had new rear suspension bushes and new rear bearings
by Hurleys in Coventry - New ABS brake pump fitted by Mazda in Leicester.
so i am assume - that , that is item 10 covered !!
this is really annoying me - as i want to do a track day - but not sure if it it wise ???
it sounds stupid - but when they did the tracking , the wedge the wheel in a straight line and the tracking was ok - now if i hold the wheel in a straight line - it goes to the right - its like when the is no pressure on the front end everything is pointing where it should , but when you sit it back on the floor , something moves or points in a different direction
it only passed its MOT 6 months ago , so back joints or suspension should have been noticed ( and i have only done 500 miles since then ) - and the guy who did the tracking had a nosey round and said that everything felt tight and no play in it ?
failing all this can someone lend me a full set of wheels and tyres ??? this would eliminate one problem at least :) :) :)
thanks guys - keep the ideas coming
Stu
Did the problem happen after Hurley\'s did the suspension work?I ask cos the rear suspension contains a passive rear wheel steering system that may have been messed,or incorrectly put together(Bushes) and now be creating all of your problems.Seems to be the next thing to check.
Kind regards
Carl
the suspension was done before i bought the car - so i cant say to be honest !
just to cover all bases i\'d just go over the rear suspension with a spaner to be on the safe side, I\'m a bit paranoid like that.
out of intrest it has\'nt been lowered at all?
No vibrations or strange noises?
when you checked the Ball joints etc did you do it by hand or did you use a Pry bar? i ask as the suspension should be tightend up with load on (with the wheel on the floor) this causes the bushes to try to pull the suspension back to the loaded possition when the wheel is off the floor. basicly what i\'m trying to say is there will be force on the ball joints which may make you feel they are ok when there not? This why i like the Pry bar method.
Four wheel alinment is realy good when done correctly alot of muppets will jack the car up moments before making the settings etc out. best off getting it done by somone that knows what there doing not your typical muppet that has a geo so it looks good or he can charge a higher hourly rate.
I had thought about things that would not show on a Geo that could cause this sort of thing but to be honist it would be things like dead bushings maybe even strut tops but if your armed with a guy who knows his Geo and has a good rep you should sort it. just make sure it aint your Brakes or you\'ll look a Muppet your self ;)
Chris
One more before i go get some much needed sleep.
have a look at the ft of the rear suspension. jack the rear up and look directly under the back edge of the sill (next to the wheel) you will see the ft of the back subframe with the rear swinging arm. you will have to lie on your back (with an axle stand under it!!) you should see where the swinging arm meets the subframe ther is a funny looking bolt with what looks like a clock face on it, make sure both sides (off side and near side) are in the same place.
if you understand that they should be in the same place, when i fitted polly bushing to my red T2 i cocked it up and had to get the caster camber reset.
chris
blimey chris - thats a fair time to be posting :)
the car hasnt been lowered at all - so thats a start
and yes - it does vibrate a lot at high speeds - thats why i got the wheels balanced
i never spotted any of this on the test drive as i was only doing about 40 MPH round town - so you cant really tell - and i was more concerened about the engine being OK - not the steering
it will take me some time to check what you have suggested chris - its a pity i dont have a nice big garage or at least a drive way that you can walk around the car - that would make life a lot more simpler !
i just cant believe that this is causing so many probs - oh well eh - back to the drawing board !
uh oh did someone mention Hurley (cough) cowboys (cough) (http://www.stopstart.freeserve.co.uk/smilie/hayseed.gif)
Si (& his almost a cowboy smily ;) lol)
Have a good look around it mate, if it vibrates alot to me it sounds like a bad ball joint or bush, if its badly set up it would\'nt make any vibration but would pull.
So make a list and happy Hunting.
Chris
i had a similar problem and it turned out to be that the rims where different from one side to the other, but that would be obvious if you where checking tire sizes