Odd steering/front end happenings

[GeneralDogsbody]

Thanks again. So as the caster was out, this would point to one of the wishbones being bent? And is this why the trackings always out a tad? 

Edited 15 August, 2017 by GeneralDogsbody

[JWvrs25]

Not actually 100% sure but I would say it would

 

if you imagine your wishbone is bent causing the bottom of the hub to be further forward/back in the arch, the caster would be affected 

[JWvrs25]

like this

[GeneralDogsbody]

Interesting stuff. I have to eyeball my wheels and see if they look out slightly. And the positive camber bit is quite telling on that diagram, as my steering wheel is off slightly.......  

[GeneralDogsbody]

Hiya everyone. A bit of any update. After the gearbox was changed on my car last Wednesday, the off centre steering problem has vanished! (Shame that the 'box is FUBAR'd) The steering wheel is still vibrating horribly when braking above 40 mph, though. and if you take your hands off the wheel on uneven surfaces, it's shakes a tad......

 

My 'mechanic' (if you can call him that!) did a visual check of all the wishbones, and said that they're fine. So is he blind? Or is it front discs instead? 

 

Thanks in advance

Edited 1 September, 2017 by GeneralDogsbody

[vindaloo]

On 01/09/2017 at 22:42, GeneralDogsbody said:

Hiya everyone. A bit of any update. After the gearbox was changed on my car last Wednesday, the off centre steering problem has vanished! (Shame that the 'box is FUBAR'd) The steering wheel is still vibrating horribly when braking above 40 mph, though. and if you take your hands off the wheel on uneven surfaces, it's shakes a tad......

 

My 'mechanic' (if you can call him that!) did a visual check of all the wishbones, and said that they're fine. So is he blind? Or is it front discs instead? 

 

Thanks in advance

 

Check it's not the rears.... Try pulling up the handbrake on a clear straight road and see if it starts vibrating.

[GeneralDogsbody]

25 minutes ago, vindaloo said:

 

Check it's not the rears.... Try pulling up the handbrake on a clear straight road and see if it starts vibrating.

 

Hiya, Vinda. By 'pulling up the handbrake' do you mean fully, or just a little? And at what speed? 

 

Does it make a difference the wheel wobbling is speed and pressure sensitive? The wheel also wobbles over 60 a tad, when not braking. I've had the tracking done. 

 

[mogwye]

Maybe you need the front wheels re-balancing, if they are unbalanced they will cause steering wheel wobble at certain speeds.

 

DB.

[vindaloo]

7 hours ago, GeneralDogsbody said:

 

Hiya, Vinda. By 'pulling up the handbrake' do you mean fully, or just a little? And at what speed? 

 

Does it make a difference the wheel wobbling is speed and pressure sensitive? The wheel also wobbles over 60 a tad, when not braking. I've had the tracking done. 

 

 

Handbrake, start "lightly" and increase pressure on it.

 

You probably have 2 problems. For the wheel wobble at speed (no braking) it's likely the wheel balancing, outof round tyres or a bent wheel.

[JWvrs25]

Try putting on the spare to one side and see if makes a difference, if not move it to the other side, unless you have 2 bad wheels this should highlight any wheel or tyre problems

[Breezy_Pete]

The change in the steering may well indicate that the subframe was loosened/lowered during the last gearbox manoeuvre and put back in a better position than it was.  

 

Liking @clarendon462's suggestion above for the other issue.

[GeneralDogsbody]

On 9/3/2017 at 17:57, vindaloo said:

 

Handbrake, start "lightly" and increase pressure on it.

 

You probably have 2 problems. For the wheel wobble at speed (no braking) it's likely the wheel balancing, outof round tyres or a bent wheel.

 

Thanks everyone. I forgot to say that the balancing (on the front wheels) has been done. The NS front tyre is scrubbing off on the outer edge, mind you.  Makes sense about the subframe being better positioned. The mechanic I use is poop.  If I could find a decent one in and around Cambridge (who's cheap and knows these cars!) I'd never go back to him again. Miserable sod!  

 

EDIT: I tried bringing the handbrake up whilst moving - no luck. The rear of the car now 'squeaks' every time I get out, though! 

Edited 4 September, 2017 by GeneralDogsbody

[GeneralDogsbody]

Me again! here's an odd one for one - if I've been driving quite hard and using the brakes a lot, the vibrations get worse?! Warped discs, then? I was going to buy some Mtec 'dimpled/grooved' discs - any good? 

 

http://www.mtecbrakes.com/brake-discs/skoda/fabia-00-07/fabia-1-9-tdi-100bhp-atd-axr-engine-03-00-12-07.html

 

And sadly, the link that Clarendon posted selling the wishbones, threw up a dud - the seller couldn't tell me if they fitted my car or not - (wanted me to do the leg work) and only had one side listed! Are there any other sellers about? (And you DON'T need to replace them in pairs?)  

 

EDIT: I've found this seller - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-FABIA-MK1-1999-2008-FRONT-LOWER-SUSPENSION-WISHBONES-ARMS-PAIR-LEFT-RIGHT-/351599568783?fits=Car+Make%3ASkoda|Model%3AFabia|Cars+Year%3A2007|Plat_Gen%3A6Y5|Cars+Type%3A1.9+TDI&epid=703789776&hash=item51dcf7a78f:g:L1EAAOSwbdpWZuwl

 

EDIT EDIT: Would replacing these parts stop the knocking noise/feeling that I'm getting at low speed, whilst on lock?  

 

 

 

Edited 14 September, 2017 by GeneralDogsbody

[GeneralDogsbody]

Er, guess who? That's right, its me again. And guess what? I'm still having alignment issues with the Fabia. 

 

The car was steering beautifully for a while, after locating the problem of the camber issue on the NS front etc and the tracking was done by the garage who fitted the replacement console bush housing and ball joints to fix the problem. 

 

So, what did stupid do? That's right, whilst the snow came, I hit the NS front, not once, but twice (at low speed) on some kerbs near to my home, knocking the steering out (the wheel has to be a certain degree to the right, or the car veers to the left) 

 

I went back to the garage again who fitted the last set of parts (and who last sorted the tracking so well) The tracking was redone, and now its miles off again! Also, I have the problem back of a definite change of grip in certain direction of corners. If I'm going round a left hand bend, it sticks well - if its a right hander, then it almost feels like I'm driving on the outer edge of the tyre again, and everything just feels off and 'wobbly' Oh and the wobbling when braking has returned.... 

 

It seems that I am driving on the outer edge of the wheel on that side, as its wearing the tyre across the outer edge (only slightly, but enough to see it compared to the OS) 

 

The garage I went to last, of course, want the car in for a full stripdown on that side, to ascertain the source of the problem (which will cost a packet) as there's 'Nothing wrong with our equipment mate, so it must be the car' 

 

Will I need a four-wheel alignment done again? I can't go back to the garage who last did it, as they ripped me off a treat, and bodged repairs to my wishbones to get the camber right. 

 

Would it be better to whip off my spacers, and replace the wheels with 6.5j items (I'm running 6js at the moment) , and then run the same profile tyres etc? 

 

Is it bad that I've been to four different garages who've all screwed me over? I've lost the will to live! 

 

Thanks again for all the help and sorry for the long post.... 

 

 

 

 

Edited 6 April, 2018 by GeneralDogsbody

[KenONeill]

@GeneralDogsbody - Start by checking the RHR damper.

[Grilled]

Are they hubcentric spacers? If not then they can cause problems. 

 

If the steering wheel vibrates/wobbles when braking that usually points to bad brakes or unbalanced wheels, as you hit a curb maybe it needs balancing again. Also check your tyre pressures as that will also cause the car to feel off and wobbly more on one side than the other. 

 

You can try getting tracking done again, maybe get them to check over the steering components to make sure they’re not too worn or damaged. 

[GeneralDogsbody]

Thanks for the help. The car seems to be much better after properly pumping up the tyres! I've put 32 psi in all of them, and the car doesn't wobble around so much under cornering etc 

 

Could low psi in the tyres thrown the tracking out, hence why the wheel is at one o'clock? (daft thought, I know) 

[Grilled]

6 minutes ago, GeneralDogsbody said:

Thanks for the help. The car seems to be much better after properly pumping up the tyres! I've put 32 psi in all of them, and the car doesn't wobble around so much under cornering etc 

 

Could low psi in the tyres thrown the tracking out, hence why the wheel is at one o'clock? (daft thought, I know) 

 

Yep on the front tyres it’ll cause the steering to edge to the side which is under inflated (I think). 

 

Low rear tyres make the car feel very vague and sketchy around corners roundabouts and corners, I’ve had a few scary moments thanks to a slow puncture  

 

It’s something that’s so easily overlooked but it’s free (or 50p) to fix! I try and check my pressures monthly at least to check if I’ve any air escaping over time. My alloys have some bad corrosion on the inside so I’m a little paranoid! 

[TMB]

4 hours ago, GeneralDogsbody said:

Could low psi in the tyres thrown the tracking out, hence why the wheel is at one o'clock? (daft thought, I know) 

 

No.

[KenONeill]

@Grilled @GeneralDogsbody @TMB Nothing that extreme, but yes a very soft (think 1bar rather than 2) front tyre can give you some pull to the side it's on.