Steering drift...pulling left

[BigGreenThing]

Hi folks,

I did a fair amount of motorway miles this last weekend and I've noted a slight "pulling to the left". Accompanied by very slight steering wheel wobble.

When I'm at 70+mph - the steering wheel wobble kicks in a bit more.

Did the obvious checked tyre pressures...and all were the same except the front nearside, which was slightly lower. So raised the pressure. That pressure has held to date. Inflated to 38psi. All round.

All four tyres were replaced with Pirelli Scorpion All Seasons in Oct 2021.

I'm probably being pedantic, but I don't want things to get worse. Speaking with a local tyre guy - he seemed to think it was an alignment more than a balancing issue.

I've done nothing else, as yet, to sort it. I'm so used to a solid steering wheel feel (no wobble) and the car running totally straight!

I've not hit any big ol' pot holes either!

Has anybody experienced similar and what were the solutions (e.g. balancing, alignment, dodgy shaped tyre, steering component, suspension [shocks] on the way out)? I dread going to Volvo Dealer for 4 wheel alignment at a cost of £100!

As always - any thoughts and feedback gratefully received!

[tommyweaves]

Hmmm.....I had a leftward drift on my MY2011 V70 quite early in its life. Damned if I can remember what caused it, but I seem to remember it was tyre related. I'll have a search for previous posts as I may have posted about it at the time.

[BigGreenThing]

Originally Posted by tommyweaves

Hmmm.....I had a leftward drift on my MY2011 V70 quite early in its life. Damned if I can remember what caused it, but I seem to remember it was tyre related. I'll have a search for previous posts as I may have posted about it at the time.

Thanks Tommyweaves! Just weird how I suddenly noticed. It’s not really getting worse…but certainly not getting better! In 2022, it’d be weird if the tyre (only few months old) was to blame…

[azzledazzle]

I'd take a look at control arm bushes as that can cause drift and wobble. Also maybe warped discs so take a look at them too, although if it was warped discs you'd probably feel the vibration intensify greatly under braking.

I had the same symptoms on my xc90 but I changed both wishbones, droplinks, inner + outer tie rods and new discs and pads all round. Plus an alignment at the end of all that. It fixed the issue so it was definitely related to one of them, I'm just not sure which

They were all looking tired which is why I opted to do them all at the same time.

[Simmy]

check all tire have been fitted with the correct rotation check all steering components lower arms. rack ends ball joints . an alignment done with worn components will just be a waste of your money .also check for any broken springs.

[Tatsfield]

I will tell you my sad story. I bounced a kerb on a traffic island where the council had failed to replace the bollards and I didn't see it. Afterwards the car pulled to the left which was no surprise. Then the "fun" started. I had the steering re-tracked. No better. I swapped the wheels back and front. No better. I had the suspension strut on the impact side replaced. No better. I had the drive shaft on that side replaced. No better. I had the hub replaced. Slightly better. I had the subframes accurately centred and the steering re-tracked. Slightly better. During the work I also had the rear trailing arm bushes renewed because they needed it but that wasn't relevant and didn't have any effect. I had the steering re-tracked on expensive Hunter rigs four times during the process of the work but I feel that the operators may not have been as clever as the test rig!

In all I had the main dealer look at it but they said there was nothing wrong with it despite it pulling left. "It's the camber" despite that it didn't do it before the impact. An independent Volvo "specialist" who replaced some of the stuff and left the sub-frames out of alignment and my long established local garage who effected the work that did have some effect and re-aligned the sub frames. But the car isn't how it was and I've run out of ideas and don't want to spend more money on it. No doubt I'll get used to the fact that the steering is more sensitive to cambered road surfaces and now tends to follow them but it isn't the car I drooled over when I first had it.

I wish you luck and hope that you get it fixed and especially hope that, if you do, you'll post here what you did to fix it. The XC70 is a beautiful car and a beautiful piece of automotive engineering but although it has AWD, it isn't a cross country vehicle and is best kept on smooth roads and away from kerbs!

[BigGreenThing]

Originally Posted by azzledazzle

I'd take a look at control arm bushes as that can cause drift and wobble. Also maybe warped discs so take a look at them too, although if it was warped discs you'd probably feel the vibration intensify greatly under braking.

I had the same symptoms on my xc90 but I changed both wishbones, droplinks, inner + outer tie rods and new discs and pads all round. Plus an alignment at the end of all that. It fixed the issue so it was definitely related to one of them, I'm just not sure which

They were all looking tired which is why I opted to do them all at the same time.

Thanks azzledazzle. Hhm. Not sure it's the brakes. Car doesn't veer not steering wheel wobble when I brake etc.

I had nearside front Lower Arm Ball Joint replaced (as dust cover was knacked etc), and x4 wheel "Volvo special" alignment... along with pads all round and rear discs replaced last August.

Last October, I then got near side track rod end (also called "wishbone")?) replaced. Tyres were balanced and the full 4 wheel "Volvo special" (and expensive) tracking done..after that -car drove like a dream! Totally straight!

Maybe it's time to look at the offside/drivers side of things! Although I imagine nearside takes a comparative pounding due to being nearest the verge and in line of the bigger potholes etc!

[T5R92011]

Front control arm bushes.

[BigGreenThing]

Originally Posted by Tatsfield

I will tell you my sad story. I bounced a kerb on a traffic island where the council had failed to replace the bollards and I didn't see it. Afterwards the car pulled to the left which was no surprise. Then the "fun" started. I had the steering re-tracked. No better. I swapped the wheels back and front. No better. I had the suspension strut on the impact side replaced. No better. I had the drive shaft on that side replaced. No better. I had the hub replaced. Slightly better. I had the subframes accurately centred and the steering re-tracked. Slightly better. During the work I also had the rear trailing arm bushes renewed because they needed it but that wasn't relevant and didn't have any effect. I had the steering re-tracked on expensive Hunter rigs four times during the process of the work but I feel that the operators may not have been as clever as the test rig!

In all I had the main dealer look at it but they said there was nothing wrong with it despite it pulling left. "It's the camber" despite that it didn't do it before the impact. An independent Volvo "specialist" who replaced some of the stuff and left the sub-frames out of alignment and my long established local garage who effected the work that did have some effect and re-aligned the sub frames. But the car isn't how it was and I've run out of ideas and don't want to spend more money on it. No doubt I'll get used to the fact that the steering is more sensitive to cambered road surfaces and now tends to follow them but it isn't the car I drooled over when I first had it.

I wish you luck and hope that you get it fixed and especially hope that, if you do, you'll post here what you did to fix it. The XC70 is a beautiful car and a beautiful piece of automotive engineering but although it has AWD, it isn't a cross country vehicle and is best kept on smooth roads and away from kerbs!

Blimey Tatsfield - that's about as frustrating as it gets bar the actual car refusing to start up!! I hope the madness of it all subsided! Was it a "minor" veering or quite "determined pull" that you experienced?

I think as time trickles on I generally have to acknowledge that nothing's perfect..not even a Volvo (but still pretty good!). I agree - the XC70 is definitely one of the greatest cars I've had the privilege to own - and it's 11 years old..so it's far from new! I'm hopeful of not going down the same journey. I don't recall going over any massive (or even minor) potholes of late really.

Other than taking a quick "look see"...I could see anything other than a rear offside shock that's JUST beginning to weep very slightly. Seems to operate/ride bumps well enough.

My gut reaction is that it's possibly tyre (with balancing) and/or tracking related. There's no clunks or noises over bumps/turning corners or anything.

Anyway - I'll have to get it investigated as I don't have the time/kit/space to undertake it myself...and most certainly will share the journey to sorting it as it doesn't seem to be an unusual occurrence having hunted through the forum etc...to be continued...

[BigGreenThing]

Originally Posted by Simmy

check all tire have been fitted with the correct rotation check all steering components lower arms. rack ends ball joints . an alignment done with worn components will just be a waste of your money .also check for any broken springs.

Thanks Simmy...I'm going to nick this listing along side checking of the Front control arm bushes. Thanks for ya help!