suspension and steering

[installer]

Hi all, I have a ford focus 1.6tdci and recently I hit a kerb at speed (well the mrs did) and damaged a rim, and a few other bits, I bought a set of 2nd hand alloys with new tyres from a peugeot which are really nice, 2 new shocks, 2 2nd hand hub knuckles, 2 wishbones, 2 drop links and brake pads, After fitting I dropped the car down to my local tyre centre for alignment but the steering wheel is still a little off centre when driving straight and pulls pretty bad to the left, I thought I had replaced pretty much everything that could be causing this but apperantly not. Any one got any ideas what to do next? inner tie rods, track rod ends? maybe?
cheers..

 

[miggy]

Your tracking is out mate. When you say you had alignment did you mean balancing?. The track rods need undoing set the steering wheel dead straight and then adjust track rods to suit. They have cocked your tracking up take it back.

 

[installer]

Yeah Miggy had wheels balanced and tracking done, but its still bad, I must say that after the bang it got the steering wheel was moved off centre if you get me but I assumed a strut or hub got bent so I replaced all on both sides but it still didnt cure it, was gonna replace tie rods and track rod ends just for the sake of it, thats all suspension completely replaced then and just bring it somewhere else to get it tracked, what ya reckon m8?

 

[miggy]

Yeah Miggy had wheels balanced and tracking done, but its still bad, I must say that after the bang it got the steering wheel was moved off centre if you get me but I assumed a strut or hub got bent so I replaced all on both sides but it still didnt cure it, was gonna replace tie rods and track rod ends just for the sake of it, thats all suspension completely replaced then and just bring it somewhere else to get it tracked, what ya reckon m8?

Yes you could replace tie rods (slightly bent due to knock) What are the rubbers like on your track rod ends?, you see mate if there was a fault with your track rod ends any descent garage would not do the tracking until they were replaced first. It's false economy. My advice? Take it to a descent garage and get them to check the whole steering out and then, and only then, if all is well get it tracked up properly.

 

[installer]

the rubbers on the ball joints were sound, thats mainly why I didnt replace them straight off the bat, its only 70 euro for the lot (both sides) and I am lucky enough to have access to a 2 post lift so might just do it anyway, the nct (mot) is due on the 12 of may so need to get it sorted before then.
cheers m8

 

[miggy]

the rubbers on the ball joints were sound, thats mainly why I didnt replace them straight off the bat, its only 70 euro for the lot (both sides) and I am lucky enough to have access to a 2 post lift so might just do it anyway, the nct (mot) is due on the 12 of may so need to get it sorted before then.
cheers m8

You are welcome m8. Take it somewhere else for the tracking next time it sounds like it is run by amateurs. Don't forget to put tape on the end of those track rod threads and count how many turns it takes to get them off. Do the same amount of turns putting them back on as a temporary measure until you get the tracking done. Do it quick before you end up having to buy new tyres. Good luck and please do keep us posted on the outcome.

 

[installer]

Will do m8, I remember the first time I changed track rod ends, I forgot how many turns I had to put them on, it was driving down the road like a skiier dyin for a pi$$ lol

 

[Graham Goode Racing]

Like others have said, there is more than one thing to consider here:
1. OK, so the steering wheel isn't straight when the front wheels are, it that because the 'people' who did your tracking didn't align the steering wheel properly when the did it?
2. The car is also pulling to the left. OK, so usually on UK roads they are cambered (lean) towards the kerb for drainage reasons, and that also causes the car to want to run downhill which means it pulls to the left, but not severely.
Could it be that the back wheels (or one of them) has also taken a whack? This would cause the car to steer from the back (like a fork lift truck!). That could put the steering wheel out of alignment AND make the car pull to one side.
The best way to find the solution would be to have a proper four wheel alignment check up on the car. This should shoe the tracking (front & rear), camber (front & rear) castor angle/kingpin inclination (front only) and the relationship between all four wheels. Once you have that information you should be able to determine (or at least, a proper garage should) where the problem lies.

 

[installer]

Like others have said, there is more than one thing to consider here:
1. OK, so the steering wheel isn't straight when the front wheels are, it that because the 'people' who did your tracking didn't align the steering wheel properly when the did it?
2. The car is also pulling to the left. OK, so usually on UK roads they are cambered (lean) towards the kerb for drainage reasons, and that also causes the car to want to run downhill which means it pulls to the left, but not severely.

Excellent reply thank you.
Yes it is pulling to the left severely and no the back wheels didnt get a bang as far as I know, now the car was damaged and repaired before I bought it and was pulling slightly to the left before this bang and wearing the 2 front tires unevenly, thats probably the main reason that I changed all the suspension components after this bang. I will try to get the tie rods and track rod ends changed asap and then bring it to a different garage to perform an alignment