V70 Pulling to left advice

[benja]

Hi, just a quick scan for opinions:

2001 V70 2.4T 130K

Been pulling to left under normal driving conditions (not braking etc.)

had a mechanic friend have a look while servicing it and he sent it to a garage to have a look, they said front wheel tracking is fine, wishbone bushes seem worn and tyres worn on the inside. possible play in the steering rack etc.

- advise changing wishbones as a starting point

after a read on here i tended to agree.

I have a garage I use, so as my friend doesn't like doing serious work on modern cars I sent it to there for their opinion, expecting the same.

- advise change tyres first to see if that makes a difference, wishbones a bit worn but probably not causing pulling.

I just cant see tyres making that much difference, the pulling is definite and I constantly have to hold the wheel straight.

My hunch has been wishbones especially since reading on here.

Any ideas? can tyres cause this?

Cheers

Ben

[pierremcalpine]

man, I don't know about tyres being the "cause." I could certainly see tires being impacted by something else and THEN becoming a contributing factor but I'd be very hesitant to put new tyres on before confirming root cause lest you waste your money on a set of tyres.

Can't hurt to replace the wishbones at that mileage, that's for sure. You will definitely get a tighter ride.

Could the handbrake be dragging on one side possibly?

[oragex]

Same here about the tires, maybe that garage is selling tires? You don't want to ruin new tires with the same wear, I think

Of course, first thing to check is tire pressure and brake drag

How many miles on this? Wishbones need attention after about 100000 miles so depends how worn thy are. Maybe even cause pulling if one bush has really give up on one side.

If changing them, be sure to get a quality brand, Lemforder, Volvo or at least an Ipd HD

About the pulling thing, when driving on a level section of the motorway, does the steering wheel look perfectly centered?

Here's what happens on my car. Recent tires, no wear problems, good pressure, good brakes, recent wishbones, perfect geometry. BUT I have new shock absorbers in front which rise by about 1" the front of the car, compared to the original height. This also causes steering pulling when the surface is inclined to one side.

[davebb]

Hi Why does no one look at the rear tracking/alignment on these cars , when the car is going to the left/right ? YES THE FRONT IS OK, yes do the front wishbones,
Dave

[volvo for ever]

Is it a pull or a drift

[benja]

Thanks for replies:

Like the idea of handbrake, my handbrake has been weird recently - not engaging until the car has had a little roll!

The pulling increases with road camber but it doesn’t account for it, as I’ve checked on wrong side of the road or flat sections of road.

I’m not sure why the rear wheels weren’t checked. Is there extra equipment required?

Glad the consensus is that tyres alone won’t cause this.

I don’t know if I’d know the difference between a pull and a drift but it’s like a ghost is gently turning the steering wheel- is that a pull?!

I think I’ll get it looked at at the Volvo specialist nearby.

Thanks again for replies.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by benja

Hi, just a quick scan for opinions:

2001 V70 2.4T 130K

Been pulling to left under normal driving conditions (not braking etc.)

had a mechanic friend have a look while servicing it and he sent it to a garage to have a look, they said front wheel tracking is fine, wishbone bushes seem worn and tyres worn on the inside. possible play in the steering rack etc.

- advise changing wishbones as a starting point

after a read on here i tended to agree.

I have a garage I use, so as my friend doesn't like doing serious work on modern cars I sent it to there for their opinion, expecting the same.

- advise change tyres first to see if that makes a difference, wishbones a bit worn but probably not causing pulling.

I just cant see tyres making that much difference, the pulling is definite and I constantly have to hold the wheel straight.

My hunch has been wishbones especially since reading on here.

Any ideas? can tyres cause this?

Cheers

Ben

you should have had a 4 wheel align that's how cars have been for the last 20 years or so , the front should never be adjusted on it's own it needs to be centred with the rear axle this then also centralises the steering wheel mechanically . ..
Also tyres can cause pull , even new ones .. I would swap the 2 front wheels over and see how it alters , then get a 4 wheel align as long as the front wishbone bushes are not flopping around .

Wear on inner edges is usually down to running low tyre pressures if inner edges on both sides are worn ..

[D5meister]

The HB on these does have a roll,
as the metal ends of the shoe do not usually sit on the pivot block. There is a gap. So this float transfers to a roll of maybe 10degrees

[benja]

Originally Posted by Clan

you should have had a 4 wheel align that's how cars have been for the last 20 years or so , the front should never be adjusted on it's own it needs to be centred with the rear axle this then also centralises the steering wheel mechanically . ..
Also tyres can cause pull , even new ones .. I would swap the 2 front wheels over and see how it alters , then get a 4 wheel align as long as the front wishbone bushes are not flopping around .

Wear on inner edges is usually down to running low tyre pressures if inner edges on both sides are worn ..

Thanks for this, I’m going to do it in the next day or so.

Seems so obvious you’d think the garage would try it as part of their diagnostics wouldn’t you?!

It does need new tyres so they have a point but I don’t want to spend too much on the car as it’s not worth a whole lot and 500£ of tyres/wishbones etc. Isn’t going to add any value if the issue is still there!

[D5meister]

The rears are independantly adjustable too ( the rear Tie rods have eccentric cam bolts ) If one or both rears look in / out, the back can climb the camber and make the front drop away to the kerb.. Like a fork lift rear steering action. so not always just bushes or front track.

Its a combo of all of it and it all needs to be pretty good for good all round perfomance.

Even when all set, most uk roads have a generous camber and a lot of cars will TEND to fall away to the NS if you let go or dont keep mindful of holding them up from the kerb.

If a car was always actively climbing the camber, (So you didnt need to hold the wheel) when you got into a region with lower camber roads, the car could cross into oncoming traffic during a lapse in cencentration, rather than glance off the kerb.