Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Rob James on 09 January 2008, 10:41:43

Title: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Rob James on 09 January 2008, 10:41:43
Hi,

I'm finding that my car pulls to the left. I've checked the tyres are ok and have had the tracking adjusted, but it is still the same. Initially I thought it was the camber on the road but this doesn't seem to be the case as it still pulls when driving on the wrong side of the road. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Rob.
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: markey mark on 09 January 2008, 12:21:14
wishbones droplinks steering idler ?? need to get front of car up in air and have a good look and pull about see whats loose/damaged !!  ;)
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Danny on 09 January 2008, 15:37:35
if its none of the above, you'll need a full geometry set-up and realignment, it cured mine PERFECTLY
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Rob James on 09 January 2008, 16:14:04
Quote
wishbones droplinks steering idler ?? need to get front of car up in air and have a good look and pull about see whats loose/damaged !!  ;)

Would these type of problems been picked up in the MOT, as it has just had an MOT and went through with no problems.

If they should have been I'll take the car in for a full geometry check as suggested by Danny

Cheers,

Rob.
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: markey mark on 09 January 2008, 16:22:28
not deffo bud if was only slight play would have let it go !! ;)
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Markjay on 09 January 2008, 16:55:25
If the front tyres are not directional, try swapping them across. This cured the problem on my car (Tony's @ WIM  suggestion).

Otherwise, just live with it... on my previous Omega I had it for 3 years, problem was never resolved in spite of full geometry, new tyres, etc...


Said, that, you should obviously check the suspension for worn bushes, dampers, etc.


Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: TheBoy on 09 January 2008, 20:51:19
check for play, then get full geo done
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Olympia5776 on 09 January 2008, 22:37:32
I had the exact same  syptoms for nearly 4 years on mine and went through the same checks as you (annually ) . Found the n/s wishbone worn .Changed both and had 4 wheel alignment and camber set up . Drives straight and true now with no pull or wander.
Don
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Rob James on 23 January 2008, 13:49:35
Had a full geometry check done and that seems to have fixed the problem. The car seems very sensitive to the road camber though - is this normal?
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Mr Hagon on 23 January 2008, 14:00:52
I've had the same problem for the whole time I've had my Omega.  When I have the car serviced I get the Vx stealer to do a four wheel alignment and swap the tyres round if they're wearing unevenly.

However it's never been cured properly.  I think the suspension bushes have worn and been replaced over time.

Given that the Service Manager likes it when bits fall off, I would expect that they would notice if there was a problem with a wishbone or a droplink.

So, given that I expect I will need new tyres, which the MOT and service on Friday will confirm, should I wait until I have new tyres and then look at a full geometry check (and wheel alignment) at somewhere like WIM?

Mr Hagon
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Jimbob on 23 January 2008, 14:32:05
Mine had an ever so slight (really slight) pull.
Just had new droplinks and wishbones - had a clunk.
Just had geometry done, and even less pullthan before.
Think it is the road surface that takes it to the left.

I had horrific tramlining where the car HAD to follow the road, that was on mixed, ready for replacing tyres.  When I went to 4 new Continetal Sport Contacts, the tramlining disappeared.
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Mr Hagon on 23 January 2008, 14:35:11
My pull to the left is quite severe.  If I let go of the steering wheel the care dives for the kerb quite quickly.  This also happens under braking to a degree.

I'm thinkg that a nice new set of Continentals or Michelins, along with a four wheel alignment and geometry setup should fix this, based on all that I've read so far, so long as nothing suspension related is about to fall off.

Mr Hagon
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Kevin Wood on 23 January 2008, 14:36:57
I had a little tramlining on the worn tyres it used to have. New tyres cured it, then the camber killed them and the new ones I've now got give me tramlining again.  ::)

Waiting for my 2k miles to be up so WIM can check the wear and then these'll be going on the back I think.

Kevin
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Jimbob on 23 January 2008, 14:39:26
Should also have said the wife's cdx is the opposite, quite a stron pull.
Had wheel balanced several times
tracking
discoverd this place
also had new conti's
full geometry
and much less severe than before.
It has just been discovered that it needs a new steering idler and a wheel bearing.
Will have the geometry done again, think this one would really benefit from Tony at WIM's  magic touch, but a long way  :-/
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Kevin Wood on 23 January 2008, 14:50:47
Quote
Will have the geometry done again, think this one would really benefit from Tony at WIM's  magic touch, but a long way

Yep. Subtle things like this take an understanding of what's going wrong. Most geometry places can only be bothered to adjust everything into the green and then it's "Dunno, mate".

Kevin
Title: Re: Car pulls to the left
Post by: Jukeboxnut on 23 January 2008, 15:14:19
I had a problem with my old Omega always pulling to the left.  After doing all the usual alignment adjustments with no improvement my father (an ex car mechanic) suggested checking the distance between the wheel centres on each side.  We found that the nearside was nearly 8mm shorter that the off side.  I jacked the front of the car up and loosened the subframe bolts and pulled the frame over slightly to compensate and retightened the bolts.  This worked perfectly and the car never pulled to the left again.  (Take care to mark the position before you make any adjustments).