Pulling to one side

Post by **winger300** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 5:42 pm

My list of problems is steadily getting shorter!

This time its the steering. The car has always pulled to the left. I had my tracking checked, and it was way out. Its now perfect, with the correct camber and toe-in, but the car still pulls.

What can cause this? Worn bushes? trackrod eyebolts? and which side is likely to be at fault?

Post by **rayofleamington** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 6:02 pm

pulls?
do you mean under accelleration, cruising at a steady speed, during braking, or under heavy braking?

Post by **winger300** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 9:29 pm

Under all these conditions. I think its something to do with the suspension / steering geometry rather than drivetrain/braking inbalance.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 9:37 pm

if it happens during driving AND braking - have a close look at the tyres to see if they match.
otherwise it may be some alignment problem

Post by **Kevin** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 11:14 am

As Ray says check the tyres because if the tracking was way out you might find the left hand tyre has worn the tread in one direction, and have you checked the brakes to make sure that the left hand side is not over adjusted causing drag on that side or even a distorted brake drum

Post by **winger300** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 12:43 pm

Im in the process of replacing the drums for 8" ones. There tyres are fairly new, and don't appear have uneven wear.

The pulling is only very slight though. If you have even a finger on the steering wheel the it drives straight. Just when you take you hands off it turns a few degrees to the left.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 5:00 pm

Hi Andrew,
Did you manage to get all your set of 8" parts yet? I aquired some spares of e-bay recently so let me know if you're stuck.

If there's only a slight turn in the free position it isn't always much to worry about. One important check is to see what happensunder heavy braking.
Try an emergency stop without your hands on the wheel (do it somewhere safe). If the car stops in a straight(ish) line then it is probably ok. If the car starts to pull heavily, then something is wrong - if the car pulls heavily, this can cause hairy moments if you need to do a real emergency stop.

Post by **winger300** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 7:28 pm

yeah, i got everything for the brakes. However i forgot that i'd need longer brake shoe tension springs.

I had to hacksaw through the copper bridge pipe since the bolts had seized, and resort to using the molegrips on the brake hose which wouldn't come off without a fight.

On one side i had to stretch that bridge pipe a little. It now touches the kingpin which im a little dubious about, but since they all move together it shouldn't cause i problem.

I tried the emergency stop with the 7" brakes, and it didn't pull anymore than usual, so i suppose its not much of a problem. Maybe with the new brake setup it will be sorted. The old drums did seem to be a bit oval shaped.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 8:49 pm

forgot that i'd need longer brake shoe tension springs.

I'm looking for some for tension springs for 9" drums... ;-)

Post by **Matt** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 1:57 am

it could just be the camber of the road if its only a very slight pulling!

Post by **winger300** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 3:44 pm

I've now tested it with the new 8" brakes installed.

Its pulling to the other side now! So i can assume that its all down to the brakes binding a little on one side, and some uneven tyre wear. The 8" drums were difficult to get on and the new brake shoes rub even with the snail cams completly undone. So i suspect it will sort itself once the shoes have worn a little.