hi all!

 

got my MOT on my 2001 1.9tdi octavia estate today, it needed a couple of perishables and a new driver's side swivel ball joint fitting, as well as (pretty sure on this but can't read his writing and didn't quite catch it when he said it).

 

This was all done for £112, which I thought was pretty reasonable, if not even too cheap..bear with me

 

as i drove away, i took it for a test drive round some quiet local streets as i always do after I have work done on it, to see the difference. I immediately noticed that the steering wheel is now off centre - is this a likely side effect of having a swivel joint replaced? 

 

I also noticed two other things that have got me wondering -

 

1.  it now steers a lot more easily at low speeds and while stopped, especially when steering to the right, i guess this is due to the new part. however, it almost seems to steer too light for the first few degrees of wheel turn.
2.  the front tyres have noticeably had some air taken out, but the garage swear they haven't removed any. I slightly had my doubts about this place as they always seem to work very quickly, which in my book is not always a good thing, but they come well recommended.

 

from what i've said, does anyone think i have any cause for concern regarding the quality of the work?

 

any advice is much appreciated

 

p.s they've asked me to bring it back in the morning so they can re-position the steering wheel, as the tracking guy had gone home this afternoon when i picked it up. 

Edited 26 September, 20178 yr by hebdenwill

@hebdenwill - My first thought about the off-centre was that they'd re-tracked the car, but by winding all the adjustment on one side, rather than doing both about equally.

 

Check the tyre pressures yourself, because low pressures would normally tend to make steering heavier.

thanks for the reply Ken, I've just taken it back for tracking (at half price as they said it should have been done yesterday) and it steers like it did before now, except a bit lighter. And I think i was mistaken about the tyres..it all seems to be ok for now