Pulling to Drivers side

[Peet]

Recently my car has started to pull to the drivers side (when just driving normally), also the inside edge of the passengers side wheel has started to wear very badly, looking at the car the passengers side wheel seems to have quite a bit more camber than the drivers side.

Does anyone have any suggestions what it could be?

[Kos]

check tyre pressures then have an alignment check done

that could flag up a few things which can cause this.

[rp2]

yeah wheel alignment sounds out for some reason. A number of things could have caused this, pot holes, hitting a curb, worn suspension parts, fitting a new part?

as kos said go to a mechanic/tyre place and get a wheel alignment check done!

[Peet]

all pressure where are the same as normal.

just seems odd wi the camber issue on the front (not hit any kerbs or pot holes that i was aware of)

got a few other jobs to do on it so whilst its off the road for the winter and i got it in the garage, i'll pull the suspension off it and check the bushes then get it alligned

[Kos]

get it aligned first then you might be able to figure out whats worn or damaged.

its only £35 to check and adjust here in london, probably less up north

[maxfield]

I get it done for a fiver but thats from a mate...

I would get the car up in the air. And first check for play in anything obvious before taking it to be aligned. Just my 2p

[e30-EVN]

worn shock maybey?? my shock was knackered on the drivers side which caused the car to pull to 1 side and be very lungy around left hand bends, this did my wheel bearing in ect so i changed the whole leg.
check things like track rods ect to, least case scenario will be tracking which around me is £20

[Peet]

Thanks for the replies, I’ll check it out tonight and if I can’t find anything serious I’ll take it to have the trackin set up when it goes back on the road.

Everything was ok when I built the car up at the beginning of the year but at least everything will come to bits easy.

[Peet]

well i pulled it to bits tonight and everythin seems normal, only 2 things i can find is that the lolly pop bushes are a bit perished and for some reason its sitting 10mm lower on the front drivers side (center of wheel to arch), but still can't under stand why the passagers side wheel has alot more camber than the drivers side

[kevo]

if one side is lower than the other you probably have a broken spring or you could also have a worn out top mount which would explain the camber too although if you're lollipops look worn this will also cause uneven wear. have a look at th topmount first as it's simple and you omly have to open the bonnet to do so. check it's condition with the other side and if you're unsure post a photo up of it, also give the car a shove side to side and up and down and look at what it's doing it should barely move.
to check the spring jack the car up and look to see the condition of the spring, is it rotten to start with? and with the car in the air on akle stands put your hands in the gaps to feel for any debris (bits of spring). although the only proper way to tell is to remove it fully.
Kev

[Peet]

both top mounts didn't look perrished and measured the same just before
the springs seem in good condition no broken coils.

when you push on the drivers side wing the susension moves but push on the passagers side and it stays still, both shocks work the same when not in the car (without the springs on)

[kevo]

as for the height difference, assuming that both your tyres are the same profile etc and you haven't got a 50 on one side and a 55 or similar on the other; then the only other thing that would make a noticeable difference to the height is the spring, strength of your shock and the top mount. would you say the car has recently dropped 10mm on the drivers side or that the car has raised 10mm on the passenger side? have you done any work on the struts recently? it's difficult to see when a spring has broken often as the coil usually breaks at the ends of the spring and is very difficult to see. when did you take the shocks out last if you say they work the same when off the car? was it recently? when you say the passenger side stays still and the drivers side moves i don't quite follow, are you saying that the body doesn't give at all? also do you have standard suspension or lowered shocks/springs etc?
a million questions i know but i'm just playing catch up.
Kev

[Peet]

when i built the car at the bigging of the year it all sat level, i did about 5000 mile in it and it was all going good then it started to settle on the passangers side front and handleing went a bit strange (its hard to describe but it doesn't feel connected reet well) after a bit it wore the inside edge off the tyre (so i had a look at it again) that was when we noticed that its got more camber on that side than the other.

not done anywork on it since i put it on the road in march

just had both struts out tonight to see if that was the problem

yeah when the car is on its wheels and you push down on the drivers side the suspension gives and the body goes down, do the same on the pass side and the body doesn't move it just seems to flattern the tyre a tad

i measured the hight from the hub center to the arch as to take out the factor of the tyre

not sure on what drop its got as the springs n shocks came with the shell when i bought it, but it is sat very low (280mm from hub centre to the front arch lip)

[kevo]

when you press the top of the strut down as it's fitted to the car the passenger side is solid? unless you have seriously stiff suspension fitted this shouldn't be the case? you actually had the spring off the car and the shock un compressed tonight? i would say that the shock is u/s but normally they go super soft rather that super hard. when you first had the car were the shocks really firm? re reading what you've said the drivers side has dropped 10mm over 5000 miles or so and now feels noticeably softer than the passenger side. are all four of the shocks aftermarket stiffened items? sounds like they are and one of them has died giving you a soft ride one side and a firm on the other, which is also why your car veers to the right as it's sitting lower on the front right and the car will unevenly distribute it's weight during driving because of this. as for the uneven tyre wear i'd say that you need to replace the lollipop bush and have a good look over all the ball joints too as rock hard suspension isn't very forgiving on a cars bushes etc.
hopefully i've understood you correctly?
cheers
Kev

[e30-EVN]

This as far as the symptoms sound is most definatly a worn shocker! 1 has gone saggy. Exactly the same as what my car went like, push the 1 side and doesn't hardly move but push the other and it bounces or lunges yes??.... Also this will make the car sit uneaven and would explain the peculiar handling you describe!
Change the shock but if you have enough cash do the 2 front ones regardless of the other sides condition. It may be okay right now but could perish in the same way in the near future. On the other hand it could last a while but always best to change in pairs mate.
Oh and by the way, once I changed the offending shoker the car was transformed again! Had it traked up and been fine since.

[Peet]

thanks for all the advice

i am goin to put new shocks n springs on it and see if that makes it any better