Steering nightmare

[hornmeister2000]

Dear All,

I wonder whether someone could help with a problem:

A few weeks ago, my MG Maestro 2.0 EFi 1990 suddenly started pulling badly to the left, and 2 garages are now having trouble locating the problem. The first could find nothing wrong, the second said it MAY be wear in the n/s strut, which they only managed to find after jacking the car up, and the wheels up to road height. It's a big job, and I'm looking for some reassurance. Here are the symptoms:

- pulls left, even at very slow speeds A LOT!
- when jacked up, the wheels to not turn left
- the happened quite suddenly, which is why I'm not sure it's just wear
- tracking has been done and tyres are OK
- the wear on the strut really took some looking for: the first garage didn't even find any

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks,

Neil

[E_T_V]

Unlikely to be a strut.

Does it pull to the left only when under power or engine braking? Does it do it both in and out of gear?
Does the wheel hub get hotter on one side than the other - if so look at sticking brakes or duff hub bearings.

Is there signs of scuffing on the tyres? If so then there is a geometry problem. Check/change the bottom ball joints and check that all the tyres are round. Try swapping tyres over left to right both front and back and if the pulling swaps side then you've got a duff tyre somewhere. Also check for sticking rear brakes.

Lastly check the rubber bushes on the front wishbones but it is unusual for them to just let go.

[hornmeister2000]

Thanks for the advice. It pulls in neutral too, but not when jacked up, and does it in and out of gear. Brakes were the first thing I thought, but the hubs are equal temperature. Also, both wheels turn freely when jacked up.

National Tyres thought there was a LITTLE bit of scuffing on tyres, but not much. All tyres are round and OK.

When you say the bottom ball joints, what are they exactly? Is it where the suspension joins the hub? If so, the MGOC also said that but my mechanic said they were OK... I wonder if it could be a power steering problem too. Haven't checked the rear brakes, but they make a grating noise in wet weather. Could this be connected?

[G Force]

If you have not allready done so I would do as etv suggests and swap the front wheels left to right to see if that sorts out the problem.

Gary:)

[BikerGran]

You say the tyres are ok but I had this problem with a tyre that looked perfect - but when it was changed the problem went away!

[oseerees]

I would swap tyres over - you say it doesn't do it when jacked up, well that's when the tyre is doing nothing!

Check those bottom ball joints too.

They can last a long time but when worn cause all sorts of problems.

If they are riveted (3 'large' rivet heads) to lower arm (look behind hub) they are ORIGINAL and have never been changed.
If they have 3 nuts/bolts they have been changed - check bolt tightness!

Good luck.

[hornmeister2000]

Thanks - I'll try the tyres at the weekend, and the rear brakes, just in case. Then it's off to the garage again. They couldn't find any movement, but I'll ask them specificatally to look at those things. Thanks for your help, all!

[hornmeister2000]

2 garages tell me can't be a tyre - one says steering rack, the other says struts. National Tyres say the tyres are fine. Swapped the tyres this morning just in case and the problem is now solved - even the steering wheel, which wasn't straight, is now straight again. Thanks for your help guys - you've saved me a fortune!

[oseerees]

Professionals eh? You can trust them... not!
Brings a whole new meaning to DIY.
Yep, you have to DO IT YOURSELF!