GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Topic started by: Strev on 15 February 2007, 17:09
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Does anyone know what might be causing excessive play in the steering of my 8v GTi? Has the effect of torque-steer when accelerating from standstill in 1st (feel I have to fight with the steering wheel) and when over-taking at pace seems to follow the camber of the road in a scary way! Any ideas? Have had the tracking checked and its fine.
Any ideas?
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Check your tyre pressures first. This would give you very vague steering if excessively low.
What size tyres do you have? The wider the tyres, the more they follow cambers and lines in the road. I had 235's on the front of my Cobra and that nearly caught me out a couple of times.
Also, you say you have checked the alignment, but also check the camber. Your car may have the adjustable uprights and not the fixed ones. So this may cause torque steer and also bump steer.
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Thought about it some more. You could also have lazy shock absorbers. Check for fluid leaks if they are OE.
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i've the same freakin problem i'm gonna do a crossmember replacement in the next couple of weeks , i'm gonna do new shocks ,wishbone rubbers, rollbar bushes and hopefully that will sort it , its a real pisser you just cant trust it , mine tracks over any road imperfection , i know ive got a little steering fluid leak but its not causing this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :sick:
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Just had new rollbar bushes and shocks are only a couple of years old so don't think its that. Have owned car fo 8 years, so know its not right. It ruins the driving experience so have to get it sorted! Tyre pressures ok too. Could it be steering linkage or worn ball joints - car has done C. 185K so any wear is likely!
Cheers.
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Might not be the cause but worth checking that the camber is right from your hubs to macpherson struts, if the 2 bolts on either side have been taken off and put back on randomly it will play all hell with the steering. Only say this cos I had a very similar prob with my Mk3 when I had it and thats what it turned out to be
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Thanks MkII George. Is there room for adjustment with these? Is this something I could do myself or would it need to be looked at by a pro? If something I can do, how do i know the correct position?
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Yeah there is loads of room for adjustment in them thats why they need to be right. Initially if you know that the camber is correct on your car you can just score around the bolts onto the bottom of the strut before you take them out. This way you can simply line them up when you put the hub back on, but if you arent sure that the camber is correct before you take the bolts out then id probably say take it to somewhere that has the right equipment to set it up. Not sure if the correct settings are available on this site or even if there is a way of manually setting them up. Have you had those bolts removed recently for any work to be done on the car?
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Had new shocks about a year and a half ago and always thought the camber looked wrong, but handling was fine until I had the anti-roll bar bushes done. When the shocks were done, I used gas ones from GSF and the mechanic told me that there was no room for adjusting the camber. Where on earth would I get it looked at - I take it Kwik Fit wouldn't have the equiptment to do it?
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Cant say for sure. Im certain that the local VW Dealership have got all of the kit to do it but who knows how much they might charge! :tongue:
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Just had a word with my VW specialist. He doesn't have all the expensive/fancy setup, but swears by this method:
With the car on a level surface use a short spirit level, place vertically on the face of the wheel. If the camber is correct the bubble should be touching the outside line, ie top should be in compared to the bottom of the wheel but only enough to send the bubble to the edge of the sight line.
Just checked mine :cry: wow way out. Wheres the jack?
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A word about the camber adjustment, and someone correct me if I am wrong.
It depends on the set up you have. Some cars are adjustable, as in you slacken off the bolts on the uprights, set to desired angle, and then do up bolts to TAF. Others are fixed and can only be adjusted by fixed angles of 1 or 2 degrees, (if that) by changing the upright bolts for those specific for the purpose. You can´t just fit any old smaller diameter bolt. Now I can´t remember if its the uprights that have the adjustment capability or if it is the shocks themselves, but if you have had your shocks changed lately and the garage have then said that your camber is fixed, then more than likely, the adjustment capability lies with the shocks. So get the camber checked by someone who knows the cars and knows what he is doing, rather than places like the one you have mentioned. (Had nothing but trouble from those guys in the past. They did a job so shoddily on my old Audi in the past, that the exhaust system fell off whilst on holiday in Spain driving through a very busy little seaside town on market day! They only re-imbursed me with 50 quid.)
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Thanks guys - surely MK2s are all the same - ie either they can be adjusted or not. The camber on mine I'm sure is wrong - top is slightly out/ bottom slightly in. Thing is, this has been the case since I had new shocks (about 2 years ago) and surprisingly the handling was ok till recently. I was thinking about it this morning - the steering feels so light it almost feels disconnected. Feels ok in a straight line, but if you pull out to overtake it feels like its going to dart hard over to the right, and you have to compensate. Not good.
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If your steering feels light, then it is almost definately alignment. It feels light because both wheels are skidding at the same time. Same sensation as aquaplaning or driving on an icy surface. :undecided:
As for the camber adjustment, my old Golf II was adjustable by slackening bolts, setting camber and re tighteneng. My present one is only adjustable by changing the bolts. Look in the Haynes. I´m sure its there. :smiley: