Volvo s40 Steering problem

php-fox

Hey everybody.
I have an 08 Volvo S40, diesel.

The car seems to be pulling to the left in a strange maner. I was told there is play in the lower ball joint. So I got that replaced. And the ball joint on the track rod end too. Got wheels aligned and balanced, by two different garages, just in case.

The car is still pulling to the left, however, differently. It seems like, it requires noticeably less force to turn the steering wheel to the left, than to the right.

If I turn the steering wheel to the right, and let it go. It will come back to a perfectly straight horizontal position. If I do the same, from the left, the wheel will stop 3-5 degrees short of the normal horizontal position.

So, since it's easier to turn it to the left, if I let the steering wheel go, at speed, on a straight stretch of the road, the wheel seems to turn itself to the left, to those 3-5 degrees, after just a few seconds.


Any suggestions what could cause that?

Thanks!

Nissan doctor

Have you got 4 identical tyres on the car?

php-fox

2 tyres on the front with with about 5k km on them (from new), same brand.

2 tyres with about 5k km left on the them, on the rear, of the same brand, but different brand from the front.

biko

Steering rack issue maybe? Was thrust angle checked at the time?

Esel

php-fox wrote: »

2 tyres on the front with with about 5k km on them (from new), same brand.

2 tyres with about 5k km left on the them, on the rear, of the same brand, but different brand from the front.

Not an answer to your problem, but anyway...

Best advice (from major tyre manufacturers, for most cars) is to put the better / newer pair of tyres on the rear. Sounds counter-intuitive, but that's what they say.

biko

Esel wrote: »

Best advice (from major tyre manufacturers, for most cars) is to put the better / newer pair of tyres on the rear. Sounds counter-intuitive, but that's what they say.

Esel

^ Thanks for that excellent video.

php-fox

@biko
>>Was thrust angle checked at the time?
I'm not sure, but here is the report: http://i3.minus.com/i0xMbPpyUHhBV.jpg
Was it adjusted?

>>Steering rack issue maybe?
Is there an easy way I can check that?

>> put the better / newer pair of tyres on the rear
Yeah, I am going to get two new tyres very soon. We'll see if it makes any difference


EDIT:
I see the thrust angle was tweaked a little bit

Wheelnut

Sounds like these are not the original tyres. You don't mention the brands but it's not too important (unless they're absolute cheapos) because any brand can come up with a rogue tyre. You could try swapping them left-to-right and see if the "pull" changes to the other side. Changing them to the rear would remove the effect from the steering so trying that is another option.

BTW: Is it safe to presume you have checked the pressures?

php-fox

Wheelnut wrote: »

Sounds like these are not the original tyres. You don't mention the brands but it's not too important (unless they're absolute cheapos) because any brand can come up with a rogue tyre. You could try swapping them left-to-right and see if the "pull" changes to the other side. Changing them to the rear would remove the effect from the steering so trying that is another option.

BTW: Is it safe to presume you have checked the pressures?

The ones on the front were 100 euro each (bought by me). The ones on the rear, I don't know. They came with the car.
But the guy who replaced my front tyres made a bad remark about them, kind of implying that they're not the most expensive ones out there.

I thought about swapping them. Next thing on my list actually. Unless they're directional.

Yes, I checked the pressure. :P

biko

It wont matter if they are directional for the purpose of testing the theory. Switch over and see. Preferably front to back imo.
If this improves the pulling you know there is an issue with the front tyres.

php-fox

@biko,

got it, thanks!

robert2010

you could try lifting both front wheels off the ground and with the engine off, grab the tire and try to turn/steer the wheels.
They should be movable, but maybe it'll be more difficult on one direction, this would rule out any tire issue.