Suspension/steering vagueness help

[danrooke]

Hi all,

 

I've recently had a fair bit of work done on my 2009 Limited Edition estate which is now on 103k miles after debating whether to sell or keep for another year or so.

 

The main issue I had and unfortunately am still having is vague feeling to the suspension/steering. This all seemed to be triggered earlier in the year after some heavy snowfall and having a bit of trouble getting the car up and over my hill involving a good workout (back and forth) of the steering system as it struggled for traction and trying to avoid sliding down the hill.

 

I've taken the car to a VAG specialist in Leeds and initially they said all was well after an inspection but they agreed there was an issue after a test drive. They recommended replacement of the front shock absorbers due to the mileage on the car. There were problems with seized top mounts and so these were replaced but one of the new ones failed during fitting, this was then replaced with another. Full four wheel alignment was done at this time also but I was surprised to have the car returned with an off centre steering wheel, took it back in and they said they could only correct it by swapping the front alloys over which seemed odd to me but apparently is normal.

 

Things have felt different since this work was done but it is still not right and seems to be getting worse. Very difficult to describe how it feels wrong but with a centred steering wheel on the motorway I get an unusual small side to side movement of the car which makes it feel twitchy and unsteady. I've also noticed that the steering doesn't always feel right either. The car is due new tyres all round in the next month or so, I'll be getting that sorted soon which may help but can't see it solving things. The other idea I had was to replace the rear shocks also for good measure.

 

Appreciate that this is probably a nightmare to diagnose remotely but if anyone has experienced anything similar with their car I'd be interested to hear about the solutions please. I'd like to get this sorted to restore some confidence in the car, would like to avoid just going through the possible culprits and replacing parts if possible due to limited funds.

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

[trundlenut]

Do you have the before and after results from the 4 wheel alignment?

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[FatblokeVRS]

There must be some play in the track rod ends or the suspension/steering somewhere. Hope you get it sorted.

[brad1.8T]

I'd say they stuffed up the alignment- especially if they say they can only fix a crooked steering wheel by  swapping the wheels.

[meaty101]

I honestly don't know why they've told you to change the shock absorbers. If they're not leaking and performing ok that would be last things i would've changed. In order, imho, i would change track rod ends, note any changes, then look at suspension arm bushes, they may be starting to go at that mileage, if no joy, ball joints, then lastly tyres. I've seen tyres completely bald have no effect on steering feel. Grip levels yes but thats all. To advise customers to just change parts because 'they'll probably be worn' is ridiculous. Just check for movement/ wear then work through one by one because it'll cost you a fair bit to change all those parts I've mentioned. It could be possible the steering rack is shot but that would be the last resort.

[wilson323f]

Had a similar thing with mine started feeling twitchy during the back end of the winter. I left it a while and thought maybe it was the shocks so i changed them one was leaking a tiny bit made a slight diffence to the car but didnt fix it. I checked everything else and it all seemed tight with no movment but i managed to get new wishbones very cheap on ebay £24 for a brand new pair with new bushes and ball joints and console bushes so changed the wishbones and the car felt brand new straight away. Cars a 07 1.9tdi with 106k so could be something that looks and feels fine.

[meaty101]

On my previous car ( mk1 Octavia Vrs ) i changed the wishbone bushes for Audi TT items and steering was like night and day. The car felt planted like a brand new car. I don't understand why they would recommend changing shocks yet leave bushes and track rod ends.

[wiilydog]

Front console bushes are a common weakness on high mileage cars and worth getting checked out

[meaty101]

Front console bushes are a common weakness on high mileage cars and worth getting checked out

They were a known problem on the mk1 as well. And a fair bit easier to change than shock absorbers.

[danrooke]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Had the car up on the jack tonight to check for any play or movement when rocking the wheel horizontally or vertically, this seems to be the technique for checking track rod ends according to YouTube! There was no movement at the front with a tiny bit of movement at both rear corners but the whole suspension arm moved so I don't think it's anything to worry about. One of my bump stops has disintegrated and the other is on it's way out but that's a separate issue.

 

When I first went to the VAG independent I did ask them to check all the bushes and they were all reported to be fine. Reading other threads it sounds like they can appear fine on first inspection but replacing them makes a big difference.

 

Ideally I'd like to take it to a garage who knows or has an educated guess as to what needs replacing and get it done. Replacing all the parts meaty101 has suggested sounds expensive with several trips to the garage required :( Do you have any idea of what the costs would be for each part fitted?

 

Replacing the wishbones sounds interesting, I assume I'd need to be doing this on all four corners? Is replacing the whole part cheaper (including labour) than replacing bushes/ball joints? Roughly how much would I be looking at fully fitted?

 

Thanks,

 

Dan

[robt100]

Whereabouts are you Dan? Someone may be able to recommend someone local to you. (sounds like console bushes............or if they really stuffed up the alignment, reverse caster angle!)

[danrooke]

It has had replacement console bushes in it's lifetime but probably about 50k ago. A Skoda dealer picked this up at the time so would have thought the VAG specialist would have been able to spot this.

I'm in Huddersfield but I work in Leeds, so any recommendations for a specialist in the area would be great.

Thanks,

Dan

[brad1.8T]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Had the car up on the jack tonight to check for any play or movement when rocking the wheel horizontally or vertically, this seems to be the technique for checking track rod ends according to YouTube! There was no movement at the front with a tiny bit of movement at both rear corners but the whole suspension arm moved so I don't think it's anything to worry about. One of my bump stops has disintegrated and the other is on it's way out but that's a separate issue.

 

When I first went to the VAG independent I did ask them to check all the bushes and they were all reported to be fine. Reading other threads it sounds like they can appear fine on first inspection but replacing them makes a big difference.

 

Ideally I'd like to take it to a garage who knows or has an educated guess as to what needs replacing and get it done. Replacing all the parts meaty101 has suggested sounds expensive with several trips to the garage required :( Do you have any idea of what the costs would be for each part fitted?

 

Replacing the wishbones sounds interesting, I assume I'd need to be doing this on all four corners? Is replacing the whole part cheaper (including labour) than replacing bushes/ball joints? Roughly how much would I be looking at fully fitted?

 

Thanks,

 

Dan

I find doing the push/pull of the wheel will only reveal bushes / parts that are totally knackered.  You really have to get a pry bar & a decent torch onto the job and lever the bushes directly.

 

Do you have any suspension specialists in the area?  They should be able to at least check what is wrong.  The 1Z chassis is fairly easy to work on so they wouldn't have any issues doing the work.