unsteady feel

[clio_luke]

the car has been like it a little while now, it seems to be finding dips in the road surface and just a bit twitchy in general. feels unsteady at faster speeds too.
the tyres have all got lots of tread, the wheels are balenced properly, tracking etc is spot on. rear shocks are fairly new.
so does anyone have a clue what it could be? i have had some ideas but im really not sure...

could it be:
- front shocks?
- top mounts?
- arb bushes?
- steering rack?

all of the above are original parts and the car is on 60k

 

[clio_luke]

another thought that seems quite common was track rod ends?

anyone able to shine some light on it before i throw lots of money at it trying to find the problem?
cheers.

 

[Sash]

I must admit my car finds even the slightest camber toward the pavement and takes you with it, I really have to fight it sometimes.
On new road surfaces its fine.

 

[clio_luke]

yeah but this is more a case of the steering going very vague at speeds of 60mph+ even very slight bends in the roads.
the light, vague feel doesn't exactly fill you with confidence. the car doesn't feel as stable as it used to.

 

[Ralphizzle]

^^^ Torque steer?

Play in the ball joints perhaps?

 

[Matt W]

Mine was like this, turned out to be both track rod ends and a snapped spring.

 

[clio_luke]

i will check for that. (ball joints)
jack the car up and wobble wheel?

 

[clio_luke]

Mine was like this, turned out to be both track rod ends and a snapped spring.

any way to tell if it is track rod ends without buying and fitting them?

 

[Faxo]

Jack the front up and wobble the wheel like you said. If theres play, get someone else to do it while you feel the TRE. If thats ok, then the play will be in the actual track arm. I replaced mine few years back, Renault only jobby

 

[clio_luke]

cheers for that faxo.
so if i wobble the wheel and there is no play, everything should be ok track rod wise. is there any life expectency for the track rods?

 

[TimR26]

Same happened when my ball joint was worn.

 

[clio_luke]

Same happened when my ball joint was worn.

so that solved the problem as soo as new ball joints were fitted?
should i replace both ball joints only or the arms aswell?
and if i wobble the wheel when jacked up, this should highlight ball joint issues if it wobbles, yes?

sorry for all of the questions.

 

[Sash]

Mine also feels rather on the "light" side when on motorway at speed...?
Theres no play in any of the joints...

 

[TimR26]

so that solved the problem as soo as new ball joints were fitted?
should i replace both ball joints only or the arms aswell?
and if i wobble the wheel when jacked up, this should highlight ball joint issues if it wobbles, yes?

sorry for all of the questions.

Garage diagnosed and replaced just the ball joint which stopped the car wanting to drift about the road.

Mine also feels rather on the "light" side when on motorway at speed...?
Theres no play in any of the joints...

Running too much toe could cause that IIRC

 

[Sash]

Ive had the tracking done, that should of ruled that out. Might get it done again, just to make sure.

 

[clio_luke]

had a good look at the car on a lift today. ball joints seem fine, track rod ends seem fine, front shocks seem fine. the only thing slightly suspect we could find was this...

anti roll bar bush (car is on a lift)

does this look ok? should i get them replaced and if so would it be worth going for powerflex ones?
the car feels like the front end slips ever so slightly when cornering, like its just slipped for a split second during a corner. its not understeer. any ideas because as i have said, everything appears to be fine. the car is on 60k.
tracking is getting checked in the next 2 days but im 99% sure its fine.

 

[clio_luke]

can anyone help me on this?

 

[Sash]

Im no mechanic but it does look a bit worn/old. Standard bushes should be ok for replacement!

 

[Tom84]

to be fair lke wouldnt have thought that the roll bar bushes would cause what u are saying.

did u check the ball joints with a bar? as the generally have lift in them and you cant really feel in by checking just the wheel. ive replaced both on mine as they were knackered.

 

[clio_luke]

the car was lifted up at jabbasport and luke checked it over with me. he wriggled the track rod ends and the ball joints etc and he didn't seem to think there was much wrong. is there a more accurate way of checking them, or a way wich makes it more obvious if they are knackered?
did yours have the same symptoms when the ball joints had gone? steering feeling light at 60+ and front end skipping around corners?

 

[Tom84]

mine felt wandered abit if you get me.

best way to check is to put a pry bar between the hub and the balljoint/arm and lever down

 

[clio_luke]

ok, thanks tom. i will do that some time soon. and i take it there should be no movement when you apply pressure.

 

[T. 12 E E D.]

the car has been like it a little while now, it seems to be finding dips in the road surface and just a bit twitchy in general. feels unsteady at faster speeds too.
the tyres have all got lots of tread, the wheels are balenced properly, tracking etc is spot on. rear shocks are fairly new.
so does anyone have a clue what it could be? i have had some ideas but im really not sure...

could it be:
- front shocks?
- top mounts?
- arb bushes?
- steering rack?

all of the above are original parts and the car is on 60k

You have described exactly what my car feel's like i would love to know what is causing this. I have had my car to 2 different garages one of my mates and they can't find the problem :S please keep this thread updated if you get it sorted mate :approve:

 

[clio_luke]

trust me i will keep it updated. i have had my mate that is a mechanic drive the car and he too can feel something wrong, he took a good look over everything and checked everything but nothing stood out!
its really fustrating knowing something is wrong but you just cant find the problem and don't want to throw pointless money at it.

 

[T. 12 E E D.]

trust me i will keep it updated. i have had my mate that is a mechanic drive the car and he too can feel something wrong, he took a good look over everything and checked everything but nothing stood out!
its really fustrating knowing something is wrong but you just cant find the problem and don't want to throw pointless money at it.

Cheer's, me too mate it's got my head done in now. My car was fine a few month back but now it's not a pleasure to drive fast which is what driving a sport is all about imo. I'm fitting new drive shaft's next week if that sort's it out al drop drop you a pm :approve:

 

[clio_luke]

cheers. yeah let me know if its a cure! lol

 

[topp_shotta]

I'm fitting new drive shaft's next week if that sort's it out al drop drop you a pm :approve:

Dont pm, Tell the world this is happening to so meny poeple, mines in garage later to see if we can sort this out

 

[clio_luke]

right, little update...

had the tracking looked at today. passanger side is spot on, drivers side has almost 1 degree more camber. the bloke that checked it said its possibly due to a twisted/bent shock or wishbone? does this sound right? the wishbones look straight to me. is there any way of checking if the shock is bent? i dont want to be throwing money at things that are not the problem? would it definatly be the 1 degree camber difference causing the strange feel of handling?

really appreciate any help.
could it be anything to do with the top mounts?

 

[Alex_X93]

^^ Yes 1' would make car feel like had mind of its own. Roll bar bushes should tighten up wheel feeling imo did notice when changed mine especially outers, have you checked top mounts for play they sometimes need quater turn 2be tight, inner rack ends is another1 or like you said new bottom arms (bushes ball joints complete ) possible wheel bearing hard to find play in them even when gone hope this helps a little. Honestly to me sounds like one of your top mounts has possibly moved( if solid item) or is loose.

 

[clio_luke]

what would cause the camber to be 1 degree out tho? if i can find the answer to this i might sole the problem of the dodgy steering.
yeah all of those points do help cheers. i have checked most of them. top mounts are standard ones, had compbrakes but they were terrible so i went back to standard ones. top mounts seem tight but they don't sit flush on the turrets.

think this thread needs the help of fred!!!

 

[Mark51]

i have a similar problem. Im changing my top mounts on Wednesday when i get the parts from Renault. and also because the drivers side top mount rubber broke away

 

[ScarySquirrel]

I only got my car a little over a week ago and I am experience similar problems. It's the only 182 I've driven so I can't compare, but 'something' doesn't feel right. The car seems to have a mind of it's own and can sometimes steer randomly (probably following the camber or bumps in the road) and quite sharply to the left or right.

When accelerating hard I feel slightly disconnected with the road. I know that the weight is shifting to the rear of the car but I feel like I shouldn't lose as much control as I am.

The car is in today having the power steering pump replaced and I have mentioned it to them. The mechanic said he would take it for a test drive and see if there is an issue. He said he used to own a 172 Cup so hopefully will know if something is wrong.

I'll also update if he happens to find and fix the problem.

 

[clio_luke]

thanks mate. does sound like a simelar problem to what i am having. good luck with it.

 

[Mark51]

ive replaced my top mounts today and the car drives completely different, no more drifting for me. My other bushes are in good condition aswell.

 

[ScarySquirrel]

Bit of an update on mine. 2 mechanics took it for a drive and they said it feels a little twitchy, but there is nothing wrong with the car, they said this behaviour is normal.

I'm still unsure though, should the wheels follow bumps/camber in the road at all?

 

[Da]

The twitchy behaviour is quite normal due to the tyre width and other factors. It all depends to what level it's doing it.

Torque steer can be unbearable on bumpy/uneven road surfaces.

Drifting (as above) shows something is worn unevenly.

 

[ClioRT88]

I had been having this trouble for a while, it felt like a boat on water at times. I had 4 new tyres, however 2 different brands.

Had goodyear f1's on the front and uniroyal rainsport 2's on the back. Rainsport's weren't through choice, I got stranded with 2 punctures. After reading up a bit I found the rainsports are notorious for having soft sidewalls so swapped them to the front.

Since then the cars felt fine, much more planted and rarely wanders. May not be the case for you guys, but something you could try out.

 

[Da]

Check tyre pressures too, obvious I know but my fronts had dropped to less than 30 and the rears were down to 23psi!

 

[stuart1989]

Ever since i got mine its had the mind of its own thing when making progress, feels unsteady etc. Ive replaced top mounts to solid, had coilovers fitted, all new tyres and i still have the same thing. It must just be a certain part that is worn and causing it, we just need to find out what!

 

[Da]

Balljoints?

Replaced mine at the weekend as I'm approaching 53k now. Improved things up front quite a bit.