Fitted New Wishbones ... Doesn't Quite Seem Right

[jamiej 0]

A while back I made apost aout my car swerving under accelleration and swerving the other way under decelleration ... and with an advosiry from the MOT about play in a nearside wishbome pin/bush, the general consensus was that i needed a new wishbone (or wishbone bushes) ....

 

So ... i fitted some nearly new wishbones, with new peugeout bushes pressed in. Job was a bit of a mare but it got done, all fixed ? NO

 

Just went for a little drive and the steering wheel naturally wants to sit about an 1/8 of a turn anti clockwise and the wheel is loads easier to steer anti clockwise (to the left) than it is clockwise. It almost feels as if the steering wheel has power steering when turning to the left and no power steering to the right. My car DOES NOT have power steering.

 

I managed to tighten the inner pivot bolts with the car on the ground, with great difficulty, but can anyone lend a hand as to why this may be happening.

 

Could the pivit bolts to be too loose ?? thats the only idea i have.

 

Im yet to experience the heroic handling of the 205, some one please help !!!

 

CHeers

 

Jamie

[M@tt 77]

how were the ball joints on the replacement wishbones? they should be fairly stiff to move by hand although not impossible, when these go loose they will give vague wandery handling as well.

 

have you done anything to the track rod ends? your tracking could be out if you find its easier to steering in one direction easier than the other.and the steering wheel not sitting in the middle

[Fox 3]

Get your tracking checked. The slightest differnece in bones will be knock the tracking well out.

[jamiej 0]

The ball joints where very stiff, i think the replacement wishbone was very new, it was still a gloss black with only some minor scuffs. and the balljoint bush looked new.

 

The I did not touch the track rod ends but the steering issue was present before i did the new wishbones so maybe its magnified by the new stiff bushes ? if that makes any sense.

 

The steering wheel definately does not sit in the middle.

 

The wishbone i removed, one of the bishes was really bad, thats why i thought "bingo" porblem solved !! but its not !

[jamiej 0]

I have 2 new track rod ends. Would it be worth chaging these, i only bought them as they where going really cheap. then get the tracking done, or do these parts rarely need changing ?

 

cheers for the help guys

[M@tt 77]

might as well change them as if you need to change them at any point in the future you'll need tracking redoing anyway,therefore save you some extra expense further down the line.

 

before you fit them though put your steering wheel on full left lock, then count the number of turns to full right lock then steer back half of that. This will make sure your steering rack is centralised. Next remove the steering wheel and then put it back on so that it is pointing stright ahead.

 

You can tehn replace the track rod ends. Put the new ones on with the same number of threads showing and adjust each side the same amount till the wheels look like they are straight. This will make sure that the garage ahs minimal adjustment to do and isn't likely to wind one side in loads and the other out loads therefore offsetting your steering lock.

 

HTH

Edited July 24, 2008 by M@tt

[skeggyrik 3]

You never know, it might have had 309 wishbones on it before, so a new 205 one would put the tracking way off and cause other weired "feelings"

 

Or vice versa?

 

Just a thought????

 

EDIT: thought you had only done one of them..... Still might be the case that the new ones are an odd pair if not new?? Or if both are different to the ones they replaced it would be thowing the tracking miles off.

 

Get the tracking checked as it is obviously out, then see what happens.

Edited July 24, 2008 by skeggyrik

[James_R 3]

Other option is an ovalled hub?? that gives symptoms like this aswell, just jack the car up and then pull/push the bottom of the wheel see how much movment you get, tightening up the bottom bolts can help, but if the hubs ovalled then it comes back quickly and is new hub time.

[Rob Thomson 6]

Sounds like something's assymetric to be making the steering feel like that. What about one 205 wishbone and one 309? And you're sure they're both straight?

[jamiej 0]

New track rod ends ... tracking done .... problem solved !!!!

 

Cheers Guys

 

Jamie

[Alastairh 47]

Other option is an ovalled hub?? that gives symptoms like this aswell, just jack the car up and then pull/push the bottom of the wheel see how much movment you get, tightening up the bottom bolts can help, but if the hubs ovalled then it comes back quickly and is new hub time.

 

Agreed. My first port of call.