172 handling Help..... all over the shop

[R3OBC]

Okay, need some advice guys. I drove Vickys 172 up one of my favourite roads tonight, and i was so so shocked it is beyond belief. Vickys been saying the steerin feels funny lately, so i had a go. Now, ive been punting my clio up this road lately, and know it so well. My 1.2 makes her 172 feel dangerous! (as in teh 172 doesnt feel planted to the road) This aint right.........

Straight line, the wheel is sitting to the right. The car pulls slightly to the left. If you hit un-even surfaces / bumps, the car goes all over. The steering feels so wooly and totally detached from the Road. (All of this isnt giving me a good impression of the 172 - so something is obviously wrong with it). There is no sharpness to the steering at all. If you brake on a slight camber / bend, the front end seems to 'slop' all over and the back end feels like is it going to step out.

The best way i can describe it is like there is no anti roll bar on the front end. It needs a geometry check doing. All the tyres are brand new on. It has recently had a top mount done on the passenger side. Why the hell is the car so loose and crap to drive? it scared me, my van handles better than That does!!!

Whats likely to be needing replaced folks? Cheers

....P.S. anyone want to give me a shot of a 172 which is right? cause this has left a nasty taste in my mouth lol.

 

[tommyboy]

Thats a bummer, has she forgot to tighten up the wheels nice after taking them off or something lol

Get it checked out and soon

 

[edde]

Get a geometry checkup done, also the shocks and springs can fail so check them for any signs of leaks basicalyl take each whel off and look for problems.

 

[blaze]

Sound like you may want to calm down a bit. You can't compare a 1.2 with that. Going too hard???

If it is true it sounds like a bad repair. At 30 mph a van will feel OK, yet in that car you will be doing a hell of a lot more. Car control???

If the car has been badly repaired then fair enough

 

[R3OBC]

Blaze...........your whole post doesnt make one bit of sense to me? What car repair? I wasnt even going THAT hard as it wasnt my 172, and i know anyone on here with a decent clio would say the same about the way this 172 is driving at the moment.

If you care to go into more detail as to what you mean about a bad repair on what then please do........... :s

Cheers Edde, the front end felt really SOFT.

 

[Peperami]

Sound like you may want to calm down a bit. You can't compare a 1.2 with that. Going too hard???

If it is true it sounds like a bad repair. At 30 mph a van will feel OK, yet in that car you will be doing a hell of a lot more. Car control???

If the car has been badly repaired then fair enough

Ha ha, keyboard warrior.

If anything the 172 should handle better at speed mate. has she hit any kerbs recently?

My cup handled like this when i bent a link in the steering from hitting a kerb to avoid someone. that or tracking/ geometrys out?

Get it checked out mate.

 

[R3OBC]

Well she has just had all 4 wheels refurbd! lol, she 'likes' the kerbs i would say! plus with the steering being off-centre there is obviously something amiss! I would say the geometry is definately out, as hit a bump and each wheel seems to have its own idea of where it wants to go.

 

[Peperami]

The off centre steering wheel means the trackings out for starters m8.

 

[edde]

Well she has just had all 4 wheels refurbd! lol, she 'likes' the kerbs i would say! plus with the steering being off-centre there is obviously something amiss! I would say the geometry is definately out, as hit a bump and each wheel seems to have its own idea of where it wants to go.

If she likes the curbs it could easily be the bottom wishbone or ball joint being loose there not that strong to suvive abuse I've killed one in 36k and I don't hit any curbs.

 

[R3OBC]

agree with that one! it was the softness of the front end that shocked me the most..... A good checkup at a garage should help resolve some things. So Rex, can i have a go in your cup to see how they should be? lol lol. I'm thinkin about upgrading mine to a 172, this wee drive tonight was a bit of a shocker lol - its definately not right tho, its obvious

 

[R3OBC]

aye but you do drive like a loon Edde?!

 

[Waitey]

The off centre steering wheel means the trackings out for starters m8.

Not so. My valvers was way out but the tracking was spot on.

Sounds like its done what my 172 did. My front right sping had moved from its seat on the shock absorber. Very 'Interesting' handling indeed lol

 

[R3OBC]

Interesting point Waitey, as she has only just had the top mount done.........thats a spring out job aint it?

 

[Djw John]

Yeah it is. Get all the front end checked and tightened, 4 wheel alignment done at a decent place and the pressures checked.

 

[cli0 172]

maybe you've fucked the suspension when you've been up those country lanes m8

 

[Day]

How did the car handle before the new tyres? Perhaps the pressures/balancing are all wrong.
I had a buckled wheel replaced recently, made all the difference in handling once replaced.

 

[R3OBC]

Sorry, Day, the car was fine when Vicky first took ownership.......it is just recently got like this and it hasnt been in any accidents under her ownership It was the same before the new tyres too.

 

[Day]

Standard springs?

Standard shocks and lowering springs will kill them sooner or later.

I'd get the alignment checked out first before any trips to a main dealer etc.

Could be anything to be fair lol

 

[Waitey]

Interesting point Waitey, as she has only just had the top mount done.........thats a spring out job aint it?

Not really a spring out job. Just jack it up and twist it into place. Best to get someone who knows what they are doing to do it though.

 

[R3OBC]

Yea all stock parts on the car in question. It just feels like something has worn out to me. it bloody scared me when i hit the brakes........i wasnt even going that fast, it just couldnt cope with the un-even road surface. Geometry is the 1st thing on the list for her i think.

 

[Day]

Check wear on the brake pads too, uneven wear could highlight sticking callipers - this happened to me last week!

Made the car VERY squirmy under hard braking.

 

[R3OBC]

good point, her brakes are due for replacing. Actually thinking about it.........she had to get her fluid toppped up the other week as there was hardly any in it. her brake pedal feels like it travels very far to me also.

I had a cv boot go on mine the other month, on the motorway, 150 miles without braking and oil going onto my disk..........its fair to say i shat myself when i was coming down the slip road and hit the brakes!!

 

[edde]

aye but you do drive like a loon Edde?!

Yep, but the abuse on the ball joints caused by hammering the tyres on the bendsis like hitting the curbs caused one of them to fail. It was done under warently so if the cars under warently it will be done.
I'd get the tracking checked first try and get the dimentions they get as well written down it might be right on the edge of the tolerances.
After I crashed mine it fent wrong for ages I was to laxy to fit it all it needed was the toe in adjusting at high speed it felt all soft and floaty

 

[R3OBC]

I'm gonna sound a bit dumb here...........the ball joint is on the hub-end of the bottom arm aint it??

 

[cliovicky]

I have no idea whats wrong with it. Its never been in any accidents as the old owner is my boss ! and i have certainly not been in any accidents in it. The steering is just very loose ! thats the easy way to describe it. Its awful to drive on country lanes when you wanna just push it a bit

It is being looked at tonight though it will be sorted and back to its normal self soon i hope as i am really going off driving it and to be honest it can be pretty scarry !

 

[R3OBC]

not impressed that my van handles better are ya lol......SLAP

 

[cliovicky]

Lol the way i am feeling about the 172 at the moment i would give it away lol
It needs loads doing to it , plus it needs a certain Roberto to give it a good polish

 

[R3OBC]

until last night i would have swapped you for my clio but..........nah, im rite ta! lol

 

[cliovicky]

Lol !! dont you worry it will be back to normal soon ! something has worn on it and needs replacing its not the end of the world . Need the guy you know to track it and sort it all out when my dads had a look at it later

 

[MATT BLACK]

Balljoints at the end of the wishbone - guarantee it

 

[MATT BLACK]

Also check for play on the track rod ends and check the bushes on the anti roll bar - also check that none of Vicky's "electrical toys" havent got wedged in the steering column

 

[R3OBC]

lol you know i thought you were onto something there mate..............until i read the last diagnosis, then i KNEW you had cracked it

 

[Big Iain]

Not so. My valvers was way out but the tracking was spot on.

Sounds like its done what my 172 did. My front right sping had moved from its seat on the shock absorber. Very 'Interesting' handling indeed lol

that happened to my old 172 in the first month,

 

[Gaz_]

but i needed a new steering rack on my cup which at the time had 40k on it, that was scary to drive, felt well out of shape on the road, especially hitting grids/small bumps etc

not good

hope it aint this!!!

 

[stevo172-RWD]

my cars bin doing this ever since i had new polybushes/fk suspention! plus i have hit a few curbs in the two yhrs iv had her.thanks for the ideas guys! it allways does it when you dont expect it to!!!!!! it s***s me up when it happens on the road!

 

[cliovicky]

I have never hit a kerb hard ! all i have done is rubbed up against kerbs when i am parking. Lol @ Rob and Matt !

All i want is someone to look at my car and sort it out

 

[edde]

I'm gonna sound a bit dumb here...........the ball joint is on the hub-end of the bottom arm aint it??

Yep its the bit which attaches the hub to the suspension arm.

 

[cliovicky]

Been out in the car tonight ( my dad is a mechanic owns his own garage) he is gonna take it in for further investigation. So i will see when i get it back