Team-BHP - Wiered Car Pulling Problem

Guys I have a 1998 maruti 800 run 63300 km.I have this Wiered pulling problem in the car.On most road surfaces it pulls to the left and on some road surfaces it goes in a straight line without any pull.I am confused that is this an alignment problem or what.I showed it to the maruti guys around a month back and when he was driving the car was going absolutely straight and he said alignment is absolutely fine.He checked the wheel bearing,brake capillers and there was no drag also.
I had changed the entire suspension of the car at around 46000 km including steering arms+lower arms+steering arms.
My tyres around 30000 km old and front tyres have around 50 tread left where as the back ones have around 40% tread left.
Guys what could be the problem.I have driven my relatives zen(which has Power steering) and his car does not pull on any of the road surfaces which my 800 pulls.Could it be because of the power steering??

Quote:

Originally Posted by humyum

Hi,

Take your car to any stretch of the new concrete roads which hopefully should be level. Before doing that ensure that you have equal tyre pressure and then drive in the centre of the road to around 60-80kms speed. Once the speed is attained leave the steering and see which side the car pulls if at all it does. Try swapping the front tyres with the rear and get the alignement checked at a reputed place. You should be able to pinpoint the problem.

Viper

Suddenly noticed this happening in my Esteem on Saturday on the Mumbai Pune Expressway:

It was raining cats and dogs and just keeping the car going in a straight line with the amount of water on the road was a challenge... I was suddenly aware that above 80Kmph, when I accelerated, the car would pull left (quite signifcantly) and if I took my foot off the accelerator, the car would pull right. If I let go of the steering while attempting the same thing, while accelerating, the steering would actually move about 10 degrees anti clockwise and 10 degrees clockwise while decelerating!

I managed to "limp" to the only petrol pump on the Pune - Mumbai side of the expressway and checked the pressure with my own pressure gauge. I had supervised as a "hawa" attendent had checked / corrected the pressure back in Pune, but I wanted to be sure.

Tyres were completely cold and pressure in 3 tyres was just what I had filled, but the front right tyre was overinflated by 10 Psi !!! I correctled this and drove off again. This time the "pulling" was not so significant, but its still there. I have been driving over some of the world's worst roads the last 2 weeks, but can't remember any "significant" pothole events, so I dont think I've bent anything (yet!) ...

I couldn't get the problem looked at by my fav. alignment shop over the weekend in Thane, but plan to take the car to an alignment shop in Pune ASAP (Pune guys / gals, PM me with reccomendations!).

Anybody faced a similar problem / have tips on what to look for?

- T u r b o C -

Looks like a jammed Front brake capiller to me.Maybe the piston in the capillar has got stuck leading to a somewhat constant contact of the brake pads with the discs one of the front brake discs.If this is not the problem then i guess wheel bearings is the 2nd thing u can look at.
Front the accelerating and decelerating thing u told does not look like a alignment problem to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by humyum

Looks like a jammed Front brake capiller to me.Maybe the piston in the capillar has got stuck leading to a somewhat constant contact of the brake pads with the discs one of the front brake discs.

Thanks... will check this out too and post findings! Brakes have been sticking slightly since the begining of the monsoons... once in a while there is a faint squeal from one of the front wheels even when I'm not applying the brakes.

The car is due for an alignment check anyway... so I'll probably check for stuck brakes when the alignment work is in progress.

- T u r b o C -

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbo_c

Suddenly noticed this happening in my Esteem on Saturday on the Mumbai Pune Expressway:

T u r b o C -

Buddy even i was on express way on sat night in my esteem didnt face any problem while going but while cuming back on sunday i have experienced the same problem but it was due to heavy rain and wind. coz after entering mumbai i was crusin on 120 but didnt experience same issue it was just on express way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by humyum

I sugges check the alignment and check your rims make sure that its not bent from anywhere and check the Hole size.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdev29

I was on the EWay at 1pm in the afternoon on Sat... yeah it was windy and rainy, but the problem was there all thru the weekend and even today during my drive back to Pune (dry roads no wind!) ... I was hoping that it would "fix itself" but alas!

- T u r b o C -

Update:

Wheels Aligned & Balanced
Brakes serviced

Steering & brakes are smooth and even... but the original problem is still there! :(

While testing the car after alignment, the mechanic mentioned that there was "excess play in the rack" and that I should get it adjusted. He came to this conclusion because the car would tend to unpredictably change direction slightly when the wheels hit an uneven surface. We tested it upto 100Kmph, but lack of a decent traffic free and pothole free stretch of straight road prevented testing at a higher speed. I'm a bit sceptical about the diagnosis because I paid big money last October to a Maruti Dealer workshop to REPLACE the rack as advised! It can't go bad in 10KKm! (I hope!)

At speeds below 80, there is absolutely no problem, but as the speed climbs above 80, the problem becomes more and more pronounced. Even in 5th gear (where the acceleration is low), stepping on the accelerator makes the car pull right (need to counter by turning the steering slightly left) and if you then suddenly take your foot off the accelerator, the car immediately pulls left (need to turn the steering slightly right to counter it). If you dont counter these changes in direction, it is actually possible to change lanes without using the steering! This feels quite scary on a wet Expressway!

The rims and tyres are in perfect condition and I have been running on them since last October without any issues. This problem cropped up after a trip to Matheran, but nothing "special" happened on the trip to trigger off the problem.

I need some help with these:
1. What is the procedure diagnose "excess play in the rack"?
2. How can such play be corrected?
3. What other faults could cause the behavior described above and how do I diagnose them?

- T u r b o C -

Update:

Steering rack excess play ruled out...

Showed the car to the floor supervisor at a local Maruti Auth. Service Stn yesterday evening, was too dark to inspect it from underneath, but he was able to rule out problems with the steering rack...

He moved the steering quickly left-right-left-right and said that there is no excess play in the steering rack, he suspects that one or more bushings in the suspension may have given way or there may be a problem with the tie rod ends.

I will be dropping off the car at the garage tomorrow morning for them to check it out.

Updated Questions:
1. Can anything be done to adjust for play in tie rod ends? (Short of replacing the tie rods)
2. What other faults could cause the handling problems I am experiencing?

- T u r b o C -

Tie rods ends=steering arms right(little confused)
Well this could definately be the cause as even in my 800 the tie rod ends had worn out and it caused the steering to feel as if the wheels were not touching the ground.The car would feel as if it was wandering from left to right without much steering input.
Unfortunately nothing can be done and they will have to be replaced.

Quote:

Tie rods ends=steering arms right(little confused)

A "tie rod" is a solid metal rod about 1/4" dia. and 2' long that connects the end of the steering rack to a (front) wheel. It has a ball joint on the end that connects to the wheel, not sure what kind of joint is on the other end.

When you turn the steering wheel left / right, the rack moves in the opposite direction (perpendicular to the motion of the car) pushing one tie rod and pulling the other. This is what makes the two front wheels change their angle.

I can't "feel" the play in the tie rod(s) via my steering wheel, so the steering "feels" fine... but the car does change direction (slightly) in an unpredictable manner. Maybe only one is worn / damaged... will find out tomorrow.

In the meanwhile, is there anything else I should look out for?

- T u r b o C -