My car has been getting worse regarding pulling to the left(

put some air in yer tyre

 

Ahhhh . . . and here I was thinking they were "run-flats" . . .

Any more ideas?

 

have you knowingly hit a kerb or pothole? does anyone else drive the car and hasn't told you they hit a kerb? these missus species are lieing toerags

 

AH HAHAHAHA!!!!

She has had the thumb screws applied and has sworn she has not hit anything (I have also extensively checked the alloys and tyres for damage).

To answer your question - no nothing has had a bump. Maybe it is the bushes on the nearside?
It does get a lot worse under harsh acceleration. . .

(Please don't let your next answer be "So don't accelerate hard!")

 

Does it change under Acceleration/Cruising/Braking? You can eliminate the brakes by checking whether it changes. I would expect alignment to show up with heavy cambers. If you have it aligned to the original Alfa spec (-2mm) then I would expect a heavy camber to put a lot of weight on the near side wheel so that you had to turn the wheel away from the camber. Of course, this would be worse if there is slop in the rubbers. If it's worse under acceleration my vote would be engine mounts.

 

You probably have to align the steering. Just that and then she'll be fine again

Note: Here in Portugal we say align the steering, but I don't know how you british say that. It's when you go to a garage and they stick some things on your tires and then verify if they're all aligned (with a machine).

 

Tracking?

 

If it's worse under acceleration my vote would be engine mounts.

I've heard that on here before. How can that be?

 

All questions and no answers!
Was it OK before the alignment and new tyres?
Is the steering wheel centralised when going straight and has it changed since alignment?
Are all four tyres wearing evenly?

 

I have exactly the same problem - pulling to left, tyres not wearing evenly, left front worn visibly more than front right - help!

 

Urban - in the UK it is called "tracking" and they attach these lser emitters to the wheels and a computer sets it up.

Ramian - No it was doing it before I had the new tyres, new pads and discs and the tracking done.
The front left tyre (as you are sitting in the car) is wearing more on the outer edge (feathering) visibily more than the front right tyre (no feathering).

I am slightly concerned as I have just put them on less than 3 weeks ago

Also I am sure that the guy that did the tracking said that it was set at -1 degree and he would put it right - I am hoping it isn't at zero as someone else above mentioned that it should be -2 degrees?

I don't think it's engine mounts as I tend not to give it "beans" in first as it does have a hell of a lot of torque. The car was just over 3 years old in Feb this year.

Thanks,
Andy.

 

Two possibilities for the N/S tyre wearing on the outer edge. There is a worn joint/damage in the suspension/steering or the wheels are excessively toed in. Possible that the tracking was not correctly done. No matter how sophisticated the tracking device it is down to the mechanic to use it properly.Secondly if there is play at a joint then tracking is a waste of time.
If the problem is due to damage then you should have noticed a sudden change in behaviour. If a worn joint, it would come on gradually and you might find other problems such as a sudden change in direction on a bend ie the car apparently steering itself.
What is the position of the steering wheel on a straight road?

 

It is very slightly to the left I think - I need to check again so will do tomorrow.

I think it was a gradual thing and has got worse since the tracking and new tyres.

I did notice today that it really moved around as I overtook a car and went over the white line - never used to do that

Do we think it is a worn bush/joint?

 

I suspect the root problem is with the suspension joints/bushes.When the car is in drive any slack causes the front wheels to toe in.The tracking is set when static and may be OK, but wrong under drive.
Incidentally if the toe was -1 degree it was excessively toed out, it should be +/- 0.15 degrees or +/-1mm.
Just theorising but if it was -1 degree and it was toeing in under drive the tyre might wear reasonably evenly. When the toe was reset to 0.15 the outer edge of the N/S tyre would wear due to toeing in excessively.
Do you have the readout from the alignment?
I am not a 156 driver, perhaps someone else can help with the likely 156 suspension/steering faults.

 

Thanks for your help Ramian. I don't have the read out as the machine wnet "funny" and he had to re-start so I didn't get a printout
I think I will take it back and ask them to check, at the very least I will hopefully get a read out.

ALso the steering wheel is set straight and the car goes straight. I leave go and it nudges right by about 5 - 8 degrees and then stops there.

 

It would be worth checking the ball joint and the two inner bushes on the lower wishbone of the front suspension(both sides) before checking the tracking. It is possible that the rear tracking being badly out could be the problem, but, if so, the N/S rear tyre would wearing on the outer edge and the O/S rear tyre in its inner edge.

 

I did notice today that it really moved around as I overtook a car and went over the white line - never used to do that

Do we think it is a worn bush/joint?

My vote is tracking. I think you have too much toe in. As the car changes the weight on each wheel the car is changing direction. As you passed for the overtake the car leaned on the OS and that sent you back towards it. As you corrected the load went on to the NS at the same time as you got a wind push from him in the same direction causing an even larger movement..

I bet it's fun on truck tram lines. As you try to steer out of them (with slight load on the NS) the OS will start climbing out of the track which will load it up and send you back down again. You'll really have to swing the steering to get out and find yourself pointing at the central barrier!

 

Here's a wild though: Measure your car's wheelbase (distance between front and back wheel centres) from both sides. Take the car to a level surface, put it in neutral, straighten the steering wheel (would help if you let it lock at the straight position) and push the car slightly forward and backward for a couple of times so that the bushes settle. Then measure the distance between front and back wheel centres with a tape measure or a plain rope. If you find a noticeable difference then one or more of the suspension arms should be bent.

I've heard of a story similar to yours, from a guy who couldn't get his car not to pull despite good tracking and having all suspension bushes checked. He finally measured the wheelbases the way i described above and found a significant difference between them. Then by measuring each wheel's arms separately he discovered that one of the lower arms of the front wheels was slightly bent backwards. He changed the arm and the pulling was gone.

 

May seem a bit unlikely but might be a dodgy steering wheel position.

If the steering wheel has been removed and replaced one spline out, the tracking will be straight in one position, but as soon as any input is added it will be out. Easy way to check this is to see if the steering wheel on full lock goes the same number of turns from centre to the left as from centre to right.

If not, I'd bet on suspension joints being shot on one side.

Andy

 

Steering wheels never been off and the B road I take to work has more potholes than the Ho Chi Min Trail!!!! (I love getting value for money on my road tax!)

Looks like I will be getting the tape measure out then.

Thanks for the help guys - keep the options coming. I really appreciate this help, you would spend a fortune to get this sort of advice in a dealer garage

 

Ok - after a month I have an update.

I have replaced my suspension and fitted Bilstein B12's along with H&R uprated springs.
I have cleaned the brakes and given them a service plus fitting EBC Green Stuff all around on new standard discs at the front.
My car has also now passed it's first MOT (failed on a leaking shocker and worn rear brake pads).
I have also had 2 new tyres fitted and the tracking checked.
And now the pulling is worse! I say "worse" but I suppose I mean "odder"!
If I am driving in a straight line the steering wheel is now off centre and to the right slightly, maybe 4 or 5 degrees. If I let go of the wheel it moves maybe 10 degrees to the left and stops moving, it just settles there. I would say that what ever this problem is it is getting worse. My front nearside tyre is wearing at a very concering rate when compared to my front off-side tyre.
I was thinking that if it was a worn bush or droplink etc, it would have shown up in the MOT. I am taking the car in today to the garage that did the tracking so they can check but I think I will more than likely take it elsewhere, just giving them a chance to try and put right something they made wrong.
Does anyone have any other ideas as to what it may be?

 

It doesn't help but you have my sympathy!
Since the N/S tyre is wearing more than the O/S I presume the wear is on the outer edge. In which case the toe in is excessive.
Presuming no worn joints, bushes or damage the problem is tracking.
Centring the steering wheel is fundamental to correct tracking. With a front wheel drive car a 4 wheel alignment is essential.Setting the rear track correctly is inherently a more difficult job as the wheels are tracked individually.
What I am saying is the garage didn't/couldn't track your car correctly. Get a 4 wheel alignment done and get a read out with the results,if you can't get that I should doubt that they could do the job.Any problems other than tracking would tend to show up in the camber/castor readings.

 

Tracking is not enough, you need a 4-wheel alignment as Ramain says. Often the people checking tracking are lazy and only adjust one side, hence the off-centre steering wheel, so get the steering wheel centered by adjusting the tracking at both ends, then get a 4 wheel alignment (or all in one go to save money).
BTW the n/s front will wear more in general anyway of you tend to boot the car a lot - its the main drive wheel.

 

Thanks guys - it is booked in for tomorrow but all I got done last time was the front wheels.
I think that tomorrow when they check the front again I will get them to track the back up as well and just offer to pay the difference between front only and 4 wheel tracking. I have a feeling that they may try to make me pay for the whole job again but if they do I will be going elsewhere. Shame really as I always use them for tyres, tracking and balancing in the past.

We shall see. . .

 

If we take it that the front tracking was correctly done on the last visit it would mean that the rear track was responsible for the steering wheel being off to the right.
In which case the N/S rear tyre would be wearing on the outer edge and/or the O/S rear tyre would be wearing on its inner edge.

 

Just to add my tuppence worth, if there is anything weird going on the suspension it is worth getting it aligned on an alignment dyno. These things are v sensitive. I know that Kwik Fit would not touch the 155, their instructions were simply "refer to specialist" and the 155 was nowhere near as complex in suspension set up as the 156.

I am lucky in that i have a very good specialist near to hand who will charge an hour's labour for a full alignment - and yes you can tell the difference from a simple laser alignment.

Find one! - as all suspension settings including ride height will be checked.