Clio 182 Steering problems

[Valiant]

I've just had a new set of tyres fitted, and the tracking done, but my car is pulling to the right when the steering wheel is lined up straight.

Tracking has been doubled checked, but still the same issue. I have previously been told that my ball joints are worn, and my CV boots need replaced, could this be the problem? Any other issues which could cause this? Aswell as this the steering feels very jumped on bumpy roads/when accelerating?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[dann2707]

So you know the ball joints are worn and are now wondering why there is play in the steering? :tongueout:

I'd get them replaced asap mate, really easy job to do on the driveway!

Jack the car up and give the wheels a wiggle at quarter to 3 and half 12 with your hand and this will confirm any play.

 

[STEVE.M]

Tracking has been doubled checked, but still the same issue. I have previously been told that my ball joints are worn, and my CV boots need replace.

Stop using Quickfits(generic).They will tell you anything they think you are likely to believe.
Are you saying the car requires continuous input to run in a straight line(pulling) or if you take your hands off the steering wheel,it runs in a straight line,but the steering wheel is not central?

 

[STEVE.M]

Jack the car up and give the wheels a wiggle at quarter to 3 and half 12 with your hand and this will confirm any play.

Is this operation time critical,and can he use both hands?Please clarify in terms of 0-360 degrees,with 0 at the top!

 

[Valiant]

Stop using Quickfits(generic).They will tell you anything they think you are likely to believe.
Are you saying the car requires continuous input to run in a straight line(pulling) or if you take your hands off the steering wheel,it runs in a straight line,but the steering wheel is not central?

What do you mean by Quickfits? The car is with a renault specialist in Edinburgh (rentec) and they are very reliable from past experience.
On a flat road the car goes straight with my steering wheel slightly off (lower on the left hand side) without and input from myself. If i align me steering wheel up straight the car drifts to the right.
When the car goes over a bump or something the steering pulls aswell, when on my old clio that wasn't the case :/ sometimes it does this on acceleraton/breaking
It's hard to test around edinburgh as finding a flat road is hard lol

So you know the ball joints are worn and are now wondering why there is play in the steering? :tongueout:

I'd get them replaced asap mate, really easy job to do on the driveway!

Jack the car up and give the wheels a wiggle at quarter to 3 and half 12 with your hand and this will confirm any play.

Yeah, the problem only started after i had my alignment done though, but my front right tyre was really badly worn and the camber was quite a bit out.

Overall it feels quite dangerous to drive at times, so its kinda urgent I find the problem hence why I put it in the garage this morning.

 

[Valiant]

Update, garage have check everything over and they have confirmed the play is 100% the ball joints so getting them done tomorrow aswell as my steering angle sensor and tracking

 

[STEVE.M]

What do you mean by Quickfits? The car is with a renault specialist in Edinburgh (rentec) and they are very reliable from past experience.
On a flat road the car goes straight with my steering wheel slightly off (lower on the left hand side) without and input from myself. If i align me steering wheel up straight the car drifts to the right.
When the car goes over a bump or something the steering pulls aswell, when on my old clio that wasn't the case :/ sometimes it does this on acceleraton/breaking
It's hard to test around edinburgh as finding a flat road is hard lol



Yeah, the problem only started after i had my alignment done though, but my front right tyre was really badly worn and the camber was quite a bit out.

Overall it feels quite dangerous to drive at times, so its kinda urgent I find the problem hence why I put it in the garage this morning.

Who supplied your tyres and checked your alignment?
There are 5 Quik-fit branches in Edinburgh,plus branches of other national chains,ATS,Hi Q and National Tyres.
And who told you the camber was out,surely not the same outfit that did the tracking without centralising the steering wheel?

 

[STEVE.M]

Update, garage have check everything over and they have confirmed the play is 100% the ball joints so getting them done tomorrow aswell as my steering angle sensor and tracking

Why not get the drive shaft gaiters you mentioned earlier done at the same time,silly to pay twice for the same work?
If the camber is out because of the worn ball joints ,fair enough.but if you have camber bolts,or shocks with camber adjustment(K-TEC) or slotted top holes,(Spax or GAZ,maybe others) think about a full geo check.
Any adjustment to camber will require retracking.

 

[Valiant]

Who supplied your tyres and checked your alignment?
There are 5 Quik-fit branches in Edinburgh,plus branches of other national chains,ATS,Hi Q and National Tyres.
And who told you the camber was out,surely not the same outfit that did the tracking without centralising the steering wheel?

I bought my tyres online from Camskill. A place called CLCM which was recommended by the guys at Rentec to fit the tyres and do the tracking - wish i had never gone there now. They seem to do alot of high end cars which I seen when I was there but they marked my alloys pretty badly so I had to get them to fork out the money for me to get them repaired - this along with the camber being out and the steering wheel being out of line made for a bad day.

I'm tight on funds at the moment otherwise I would have. I'm getting the brakes sorted in a few weeks so will probably get the gaiters done then. The guys at Rentec are going to correct the tracking for me aswell as it's still pulling to the right still.

 

[Valiant]

Hopefully tomorrow brings better results, as the car was handling terribly.

 

[Valiant]

Update; I've had the ball joints replaced. Improved the handling alot.
Downsides, I can now hear a chain like rattling sound every so often, from down near my footwell as my Clio is currently missing the rubber seal around the steering column.
Anybody know if this is a normal noise, or what it could be?

Also, the steering angle sensor I had to get fitted won't program - but my current one started to program but failed, any info on this?

 

[Valiant]

Just an update for anybody wondering, got the steering angle sensor coded so everything is fine now. Rattle noise was investigated and apparently it was just was a loose clip causing some vibration.

All fixed now