Passat B5 pulling to left - Tracking done twice

FGR

Hi all, hoping you can help. Car is a 2003 Passat 1.9tdi

Since getting the above car I've had issues with it pulling to the left on the roadway. It only takes 2/3 seconds for the car to veer from the centre white line to the hard shoulder without keeping a constant pressure on the steering wheel to keep it going straight. The steering wheel, if held straight, causes the car to drive straight however there's a resistance that continues to pull the car to the left.

I've driven this route numerous times with at least four previous cars and, while taking into account the slight camber on the roadway, have driven straight as an arrow.

When the car was in the garage the mechanics did the tracking on it. When I got it back it was still pulling in the same manner. I brought it to another garage who tracked the car again, and after no result rotated the tyres to see if that helped - no result. I've been told it's only the toe that can be adjusted on the B5 and it's bothering me as it's quite apparent when driving and my daily commute isn't exactly short.

Would anyone have any idea as to what the problem is? Would I be better off bringing the car to a VW specialist as the front suspension in the B5 is supposedly more complex than standard setups?

Also - are Autowerks still operating in Cork?

jayok

Can you post the alignment report?

mullingar

Did you try a proper 4 wheel alignment? Some garages have cheaper 2 wheel alignment.

I'd be very surprised if only the toe can be adjusted, maybe they meant that they only had the equipment to check the toe and not the camber??

George Dalton

mullingar wrote: »

Did you try a proper 4 wheel alignment? Some garages have cheaper 2 wheel alignment.

I'd be very surprised if only the toe can be adjusted, maybe they meant that they only had the equipment to check the toe and not the camber??

They are correct actually. There is no camber adjustment built into the suspension setup on those Passats. The only way to adjust the camber is the very very limited amount you get by moving the mounting bolts on the suspension arms.

galwaytt

George Dalton wrote: »

They are correct actually. There is no camber adjustment built intho the suspension setup on those Passats. The only way to adjust the camber is the very very limited amount you get by moving the mounting bolts on the suspension arms.

If wheels and tracking are ok, and as you say camber can't be adjusted - but what did the camber actually measure at ? Is it actually in spec or out ? If out of spec I'd be looking for a bent component somewhere. ....if in spec, what about castor ? Again something bent.

If all check out, has the car had a prang at any time ? Are mounting points in order, and where they should be ? 4-wheel alignment should shed light on these points.

Any unusual tyre wear ?
Does it handle evenly to lh and rh turns ?

gyppo

What brand of tyre's are on the car?
I had a mondeo that always pulled to the left - until a set of continental tyres went onto it.
Some budget tyre brands can really be crap when it comes to a car tracking true.

Celly Smunt

Wishbones?

mullingar

pmcmahon wrote: »

Wishbones?

Popoutman

Having had the same model era Passat, there are a few possibilities:
1. Oddly worn tyres - unlikely but they can still cause odd behaviour. I had this with a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 when the tread went down to 3mm or so. New tyres stopped the tramlining.
2. Worn anti-roll bar drop links. If these wear, the tilt of the car on cambered road surfaces will be worse.
3. Worn bushings in the control arms will also cause these symptoms.

The camber can be adjusted by getting adjustable control arms such as these ones - but at a hefty price. For most mortals, there's no need for this level of adjustment - the OEM standard is fine as long as the car itself is straight.

FGR

Thanks all for your replies, including the wishbone!

I'm after dropping the car back into the garage but get a distinct impression from the mechanics that they're just going to try and track it again. I have my doubts that it will work tbh. Hopefully it will but the first two attempts were unsuccessful. I might try and convince one of them to take the car for a drive to see for themselves what I mean.

homer90

Assuming you have checked tyre pressures ?

FGR

Had checked them just before and after getting the wheels rotated and they're all bang on 34 psi. When I had bought the car initially the alignment was bang on and it didn't go all over the place until shortly after I had a bit of control arm work done at a VW Dealer. Ever since then it hasn't been right at all.

Craggy Island

Have you been carrying a very fat front seat passenger. Try letting them drive for a bit and see what happens. It might pull the other way.;)










(The views and advice given here are purely for my own sad humour. I accept no responsibility for any consequences of taking this avice.)

galwaytt

FGR wrote: »

Had checked them just before and after getting the wheels rotated and they're all bang on 34 psi. When I had bought the car initially the alignment was bang on and it didn't go all over the place until shortly after I had a bit of control arm work done at a VW Dealer. Ever since then it hasn't been right at all.

Eh ?
What work - exactly - and why ?

There is a possibility - slim, I know - that maybe they fitted a wrong or faulty part ?

FGR

"-Front brake pads and discs
-Front brake hoses
-Rh outer cv joint and boot
-Bottom control arms
-Front anti roll bar drop links"

Fortunately I had an e-mail outlining the work done..!

Tropheus

From experience, I would guess worn bushings. I had the same problem on my Audi Allroad (suspension control arm layout similar to Passat B5). Everything was fine on the alignment bar the front camber on the driver's side. Turned out to be worn bushings on both top control arms. Once replaced, all was fine. IME, it's the bushings that fail rather than the ball joints.

YbFocus

FGR wrote: »

"-Front brake pads and discs
-Front brake hoses
-Rh outer cv joint and boot
-Bottom control arms
-Front anti roll bar drop links"

Fortunately I had an e-mail outlining the work done..!

At a guess I'd be getting a look at the control arms to make sure they are done correctly. This would make a catastrophic difference to the track if it were wrong. Although after doing my own there is no real way you could install them wrong.

FGR

ksimpson wrote: »

From experience, I would guess worn bushings. I had the same problem on my Audi Allroad (suspension control arm layout similar to Passat B5). Everything was fine on the alignment bar the front camber on the driver's side. Turned out to be worn bushings on both top control arms. Once replaced, all was fine. IME, it's the bushings that fail rather than the ball joints.

Thanks for that. Did this cost you much? I want to keep this car for a while but not if it's going to empty the ol wallet!

FGR

Mechanic took the car out for a drive and can see exactly what I'm on about. He's after ordering in a pair of upper control arms as one of them is gone and the other is due to go. Here's hoping it helps..!

FGR

Just want to thank you guys for the help. Turned out to be those control arms alright and the car now drives true..!

Bobo78

George Dalton wrote: »

They are correct actually. There is no camber adjustment built into the suspension setup on those Passats. The only way to adjust the camber is the very very limited amount you get by moving the mounting bolts on the suspension arms.

One question for you George.

I have the same car and I have done tracking 2 months ago and while the tracking was done I noticed that my front drivers camber was in red.

The man said to me it that this is normal on them and that they are very sensitive and that only way to correct this would be to change the suspension.

Can you tell me is this correct and how can you actually correct the camber on them if its not possible to do it through the tracking?