pulling to the left

rivercar · Post by **rivercar** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 9:14 am

hi my steering is pulling to the left slightly. was just wondering if there were any thoughts as to why this would be happening. my first thought was the tracking but then a friend suggested the steering may be worn? how likely is this?

regards
matt

Big Brother · Post by **Big Brother** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 1:04 pm

I have the same problem so I am interested to know if anyone can help

Ad

turnac · Post by **turnac** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 10:28 pm

just my mean nature..have you both checked the air pressure in the tyres both left and right?? Because that might be a slight case..

pol · Post by **pol** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 10:39 pm

Depends how much it is pulling to the left. Most roads slope to the left anyway. Could be tracking, do you have odd tyres on the front? Could be a badly balanced wheel. I've seen before a damaged hub which damaged the soft alloy hub seat on the wheel, setting it off balance and making it pull to the left. Hit any kerbs lately?

pol

Milosz_480 · Post by **Milosz_480** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 3:08 pm

Try to check geometry of front wheels. If it's not correct set it at ending of steereing stick(don't know English name for it: two sticks go out of steering gear and they are connected with wheels with rubber endings with

rpruen · Post by **rpruen** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:21 pm

Milosz_480 wrote:Try to check geometry of front wheels. If it's not correct set it at ending of steereing stick(don't know English name for it: two sticks go out of steering gear and they are connected with wheels with rubber endings with

'Track rod' is what you are looking for I think.

Richard

RichT · Post by **RichT** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 11:59 am

I have this problem too.

I have done/checked the following:
Checked tyre pressures
changed wheels over
swapped wheels for standard volvo wheels (have 17" fox alloys on)
had disks and pads changed all round
checked wheel alignment
replaced the track rod ends
and have even tried driving on the wrong side of the road to see if it was just the way the road naturally pulls to the left!!!

BUT it's still pulling to the left slightly!!

It's driving me mad!

could it have anything to do with the suspension?? i am planning to lower the car on 40mm PI springs soon so is it worth checking the bushes and dampers too?

I dont know what else to check so any ideas???

Murf · Post by **Murf** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:18 pm

i'm sure i read somewhere that volvo designed a slight leftward bias into the handling for safety reasons.
if you fall asleep or pass out at the wheel the car will naturally draw you into the safety barrier at the side of the road and not head first into oncoming traffic.

all the 480's ive owned have done the same, lowered, standard perfectly tracked, whatever!

Milosz_480 · Post by **Milosz_480** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:35 pm

Murf wrote:i'm sure i read somewhere that volvo designed a slight leftward bias into the handling for safety reasons.
if you fall asleep or pass out at the wheel the car will naturally draw you into the safety barrier at the side of the road and not head first into oncoming traffic.

What about Left handed cars? Why my 480 is pulling left then? I know wheels geometry isn't perfect.

chris1roll · Post by **chris1roll** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:39 pm

Murf wrote:i'm sure i read somewhere that volvo designed a slight leftward bias into the handling for safety reasons.
if you fall asleep or pass out at the wheel the car will naturally draw you into the safety barrier at the side of the road and not head first into oncoming traffic.

all the 480's ive owned have done the same, lowered, standard perfectly tracked, whatever!

I think its a story made up by someone who can't get their car to go straight.

I doubt volvo would design a car to mow down pedestrians.

V480TI · Post by **V480TI** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 8:56 pm

Maybe some part is bend.
A college of mine had the same with a golf3.
Called assistence and what ???

Do not know in english but litterally translated from dutch":::
wheel carry arm

I am suggesting that some part may be bent, but in his case it was broken.
( not suggesting that all of you are blind, cause most of you do all the work on your cars yourselves, but better to take a good luck than be sorry)

greetz and good luck

Ps, I have driven several brands of cars including 6 480's and none of them pulled to the left , nor to the right.

Murf · Post by **Murf** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:20 pm

I think its a story made up by someone who can't get their car to go straight.

does seem likely but why do all 480's do it to one degree or another?

chris1roll · Post by **chris1roll** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:22 pm

cos they're all 10yrs old or more, having had more than one owner?

Murf · Post by **Murf** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:59 pm

our 440T is 15 years old, weve had it since 93 as the 2nd owners. it has a higher mileage than 2 of my 3 480s but it drives straight as a die!!??

Roo · Post by **Roo** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:10 am

Mine pulls very slightly to the left too. Had it laser aligned a while back and it made no difference whatsoever!

Roo · Post by **Roo** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:11 am

Murf wrote: ...my 3 480s...

Stop boasting!

chris1roll · Post by **chris1roll** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:06 pm

our 440T is 15 years old, weve had it since 93 as the 2nd owners. it has a higher mileage than 2 of my 3 480s but it drives straight as a die!!??

I don't effing know!

Perhaps you and the previous owners just happen to not have driven it into kerbs...

catgroom · Post by **catgroom** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 8:35 pm

Yep,affirmative!All of my 3 480s,not owned simultaneously,have done this too!

Is it not something to do with the rear having the panhard rod in the set-up.Im sure Rich knows this one!

JohnTurbo · Post by **JohnTurbo** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 8:39 pm

Mine stopped when i did the bushes.

MrE · Post by **MrE** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 10:28 am

Well mine pulls to the left quite alarmingly on the motorway. Had it tracked three times in different places to no avail. Changed every bush on the car practically..made no difference.

Chris, Richard and i did some highly techincal(tape and some straight edges) measuring with the car on the ground and jacked up. The wheel centres changed at least 5 mm each side as the suspension moved through its travel ( one side getting longer the other getting shorter!!)

We came to the conclusion the front subframe must be bent as the wishbones, bushes etc are ok. As i'm now changing my engine i've got a nice square subframe ready to go in. Measured diagonally across the mounting bolt holes to check it. Hopefully this will cure the problem.. I'll let you know! Edd