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[irratic]

my mate has a 2.5 estate. always run fine. a couple of weeks ago when you brake the car pulled to the left then the right then back to the left and so on.. as if you were on ice.its reached a stage where it is seriously dangerous to drive.. the problem is i cant find the cause. wishbones were fitted less than 12 months ago. can't find any play or movement in them.. so fitted new front discs and pads, callipers are free enough..that has made no difference at all.checked track rod ends, replace the steering idle arm (v,slight wear) has made no difference.thought it could be ABS problem. pulled the fuse has made no difference..does pulling the fuse stop the ABS working completely??? could this be a faulty ABS ecu and valve block??? i will try anything, i am completely out of ideas now... any suggestions are welcome. ( and yes a gallon of petrol and a match has crossed our minds) thanks

[Kevin Wood]

Might be worth checking the rear suspension for any play, etc. Sounds to me like something's giving a little under braking load.

I assume the geometry was setup correctly after the replacement of the suspension components and that tryes are OK and at the correct pressure?

I doubt ABS is involved as it only affects braking once the brakes have started to lock. Might be worth taking it to an MOT station and asking them to check the brake balance left/right on the follers, front and rear. You could also try temporarily removing the ABS fuse (19 IIRC) but I doubt it'll make any difference. My money is on some play somewhere.

Kevin

[JamesV6CDX]

Might be worth checking the rear suspension for any play, etc. Sounds to me like something's giving a little under braking load.

I assume the geometry was setup correctly after the replacement of the suspension components and that tryes are OK and at the correct pressure?

I doubt ABS is involved as it only affects braking once the brakes have started to lock. Might be worth taking it to an MOT station and asking them to check the brake balance left/right on the follers, front and rear. You could also try temporarily removing the ABS fuse (19 IIRC) but I doubt it'll make any difference. My money is on some play somewhere.

Kevin

Jack up each corner at a time, and rock the wheels, feeling for play

[motmann]

did you check front springs, drop links,anti roll bar? has the car been kerbed and your mate not mentioned it?? directional tyres? tracking on omegas can be quite critical, i have always had mine set more or less 0toe in/toe out if not they knock the front tyres out pretty quick!!  have another look maybe?

[irratic]

jacked everything up and shook the wheels. had a bar on the wishbones, no play anywhere that i can find. thats why i thought it could be abs valve problem.......its definately a front end problem,

[Darth Loo-knee]

my mate has a 2.5 estate. always run fine. a couple of weeks ago when you brake the car pulled to the left then the right then back to the left and so on.. as if you were on ice.its reached a stage where it is seriously dangerous to drive.. the problem is i cant find the cause. wishbones were fitted less than 12 months ago. can't find any play or movement in them.. so fitted new front discs and pads, callipers are free enough..that has made no difference at all.checked track rod ends, replace the steering idle arm (v,slight wear) has made no difference.thought it could be ABS problem. pulled the fuse has made no difference..does pulling the fuse stop the ABS working completely??? could this be a faulty ABS ecu and valve block??? i will try anything, i am completely out of ideas now... any suggestions are welcome. ( and yes a gallon of petrol and a match has crossed our minds) thanks

I had the exact same problem a few weeks back, it did turn out to be the wishbones.. I couldn't see myself until i got it over a pit, I waggled the steering wheel my mate underneath watching, the whole wishbone on the passenger side was moving backwards and forwards. While I was waiting for the wishbones to arrive i carried on driving the car which I would never do again.... I think it must have made the drivers side worse and i felt like the car was skating all over the road scared me being honest.

[JamesV6CDX]

when the wishbones were fitted, were they torqued up with the car on the ground?

[irratic]

my mate has a 2.5 estate. always run fine. a couple of weeks ago when you brake the car pulled to the left then the right then back to the left and so on.. as if you were on ice.its reached a stage where it is seriously dangerous to drive.. the problem is i cant find the cause. wishbones were fitted less than 12 months ago. can't find any play or movement in them.. so fitted new front discs and pads, callipers are free enough..that has made no difference at all.checked track rod ends, replace the steering idle arm (v,slight wear) has made no difference.thought it could be ABS problem. pulled the fuse has made no difference..does pulling the fuse stop the ABS working completely??? could this be a faulty ABS ecu and valve block??? i will try anything, i am completely out of ideas now... any suggestions are welcome. ( and yes a gallon of petrol and a match has crossed our minds) thanks

I had the exact same problem a few weeks back, it did turn out to be the wishbones.. I couldn't see myself until i got it over a pit, I waggled the steering wheel my mate underneath watching, the whole wishbone on the passenger side was moving backwards and forwards. While I was waiting for the wishbones to arrive i carried on driving the car which I would never do again.... I think it must have made the drivers side worse and i felt like the car was skating all over the road scared me being honest.

did the car feel you like you were on black ice when you braked? i'm prepared to change the wishbones again if that would be the problem. and yes i replaced the wishbones last time so they were torqued up wile the car was level.

[motmann]

mite be difficult to answer this one but when the wishbones were replaced were thay genuine vauxhall ones or bandit?? the cheaper ones dont seem to last as long....

[irratic]

mite be difficult to answer this one but when the wishbones were replaced were thay genuine vauxhall ones or bandit?? the cheaper ones dont seem to last as long....

they were ones from the local motor factor, so they were copies i assume.

[davlad22]

Steering rack? Track rod ends? Nobody really knows without seeing it. Hope you manage to get it sorted  

[irratic]

steering box seems fine, it drives straight as a die, but its horific when you brake..but can't find anything loose or worn.. i'll try get it on a rolling road and see if that shows anything up.. thanks all for your suggestions

[Marks DTM Calib]

Last time I saw such a problem it was due to a loose bolt on the wishbones so re-check them.......

[Darth Loo-knee]

my mate has a 2.5 estate. always run fine. a couple of weeks ago when you brake the car pulled to the left then the right then back to the left and so on.. as if you were on ice.its reached a stage where it is seriously dangerous to drive.. the problem is i cant find the cause. wishbones were fitted less than 12 months ago. can't find any play or movement in them.. so fitted new front discs and pads, callipers are free enough..that has made no difference at all.checked track rod ends, replace the steering idle arm (v,slight wear) has made no difference.thought it could be ABS problem. pulled the fuse has made no difference..does pulling the fuse stop the ABS working completely??? could this be a faulty ABS ecu and valve block??? i will try anything, i am completely out of ideas now... any suggestions are welcome. ( and yes a gallon of petrol and a match has crossed our minds) thanks

I had the exact same problem a few weeks back, it did turn out to be the wishbones.. I couldn't see myself until i got it over a pit, I waggled the steering wheel my mate underneath watching, the whole wishbone on the passenger side was moving backwards and forwards. While I was waiting for the wishbones to arrive i carried on driving the car which I would never do again.... I think it must have made the drivers side worse and i felt like the car was skating all over the road scared me being honest.

did the car feel you like you were on black ice when you braked? i'm prepared to change the wishbones again if that would be the problem. and yes i replaced the wishbones last time so they were torqued up wile the car was level.

Yes it was asthough the car was skating all over the place... did it when going slow terrible, also when braking it would go left then right..
Check first like already been suggested mate..
From Greenhous in Hanley they want about £200 a side so think I will be having Patented once at £40 odd for a pair

[irratic]

ok, i'm back for more ideas.. had the car up on ramps.. checked all the bolts, rechecked the brakes/calipers... checked for play in track rod ends , bottom ball joints and had a crow bar in the bushes on the wishbones.. checked for wear on the steering box... there is no wear /play or anything loose i can find, well me or 3 other mechanics (one of which is also mot tester)...its the strangest thing...
 question.. if it was an ABS valve block problem. would pulling the ABS fuse completely stop the valve block from working??? or if there were an internal mechanical fault within the abs block could it still cause uneven response??? although the car has also been on the rolling road and thats shown nothing up either... i'm grasping straws now...short of start replacing each suspension and brake part one at a time to try and find the problem.. any more ideas lads??