Hi all,

I finally got my brake lights working so i decided to take my "new" favorit for a proper spin.

From 1mph up to sort of 50mph the steering wheel rocks from side to side, getting faster in proportion to my speed. and after that (50mph) it feels smoother but i think the wobble is happening so fast i cant feel it. If i let go of the steering wheel the car pulls to the left, but if i hold the wheel straight the car goes straight as expected and if i hit the brakes hard it does not pull any more to the left so i dont think its the brakes or the tracking. Im thinking a bent drive shaft?

Im planning to jack up the front and put it on axle stands and then put it in gear and see whats wrong, but has anyone had this before? and what should i be looking for?

Thanks in advance

Courior

I'd guess that your problem is a combination of front wheels that need balancing (the wobble) and the tracking being out (the pull to the left).

I think it's very unlikely to be a bent driveshaft - for a start, the Skoda shafts are pretty strong, and second the vibration from a bent shaft would be unbearable at all speeds, and unlikely to get better the faster you got.

cheers

James

Hi all,

I finally got my brake lights working so i decided to take my "new" favorit for a proper spin.

From 1mph up to sort of 50mph the steering wheel rocks from side to side, getting faster in proportion to my speed. and after that (50mph) it feels smoother but i think the wobble is happening so fast i cant feel it. If i let go of the steering wheel the car pulls to the left, but if i hold the wheel straight the car goes straight as expected and if i hit the brakes hard it does not pull any more to the left so i dont think its the brakes or the tracking. Im thinking a bent drive shaft?

Im planning to jack up the front and put it on axle stands and then put it in gear and see whats wrong, but has anyone had this before? and what should i be looking for?

Thanks in advance

Courior

If it still persists after getting the wheels balanced & tracking done, I would hazard a guess at a buckled wheel.

Thanks for the advice all.. After some googling i found thats its mostly going to be (as FellyMagic said) a damaged wheel rim or tyre.

James - Thanks for the information on the driveshafts, thats calmed my nerves a bit but im going too slow i think for wheel balance to be out.. even if u let the car creep along in 1st on idle the steering wheel does a left right shimmy in time with the rotation of the wheel(s).. and if i hold the steering wheel dead ahead the car tracks dead ahead fine which let me to believe tracking is ok.

Im going to swap out each wheel 1 by 1 with the spare and see if anything improves.

If anyones got any other theories i'm still ears open as i will only get a chance to look at it tomorrow (sunday).

Cheers

Courior

Edited 7 May, 201115 yr by Courior

I think that'll be a knackered wheel,when I've had cars with missing balancing weights it only affected it at certain speeds 55mph+.

I hope it the tyre and not the rim, i got the car for 400 euro and the best bit is its got a decent set of rims on it!

I spent most of today getting the rust out of the spare wheel well and rear wheel arch. Then filled/sanded and primed the rust on the bonnet, will get some new paint 2moro. Also i took the ripped and torn seat covers off to reveal a dusty, but 100% MINT interior!! well chuffed.

Rims shouldnt be expensive mate. The missus had a Fiesta with a buckled rim a couple of years back, a good 2nd hand one including tyre cost less than £20 from a scrappy.

The thing is to get them posted over here costs 50 quid + (without tyres). I've found someone on the island who has some original skoda favorit alloys with tyres for 100 euro. im gonna check my car out properly tonight and if its the wheel i will go for these

Well what a result!!

Took the front passenger wheel off and had a good fiddle around and nothing seemed loose or bent, in fact there is not even a pinhead of rust anywhere under the car! So i put the spare wheel on in place of the passenger side front wheel and took it for a spin and it drives perfectly!!! to say i was relieved is an understatement!

So at this point im thinking I have a buckled rim or something but when i got back to my garage I checked the pressures and found that the passenger front wheel was half the pressure of the driver side. so i pumped them both up to 32psi and what do u know, it drives like new! feels really planted and the steering is so light and easy, it really is a nice car to drive now!

So lesson learnt... Keep tyre pressures even and at a decent level!