hi gents. little problem. when i go round right hand bends at speed, the car seems to pull into the corner at a certian point during steering and i have to correct it constantly. this doesnt happen when im taking it steady, just at about 80mph or so on long bends righthand bends. im thinking weights on the wheel? it doesnt happen on left hand bends at all. anyone had this problem?? your help would me much appreciated.

How are your tyre pressures. One pair will be working harder than the other on long bends so it could be that one is low.

It could be something else of course. No doubt soem other opinions will pop up soon

tyre pressures are all good. ive got 2.2bar all round, seemed to rectify the problem a bit too because before they were a bit higher.

2.2 all round is much too low though. 2.2 is fine for the rears, but the fronts should be 2.7 bar. Anything under 2.6 bar starts to become very noticable in the handling in my opinion!

thats what i thought, 2.7 for the front, but now its 2.2 it seems to handle so much better, what with the tracking sorted too. i was wondering if it was the power steering pump? but if it was then surely i would get more grab (if so to put it) all the time and at slow speeds.

what are your wishbones like, when mine were worn i had the same symptoms going round a corner.

New wishbones and the problem was sorted.

My ball joints on the wishbones had had it.

My guess would also be wishbones, also check track rod ends and drop links, I think your lower tyre pressure is masking a problem with a worn suspension component

Has your tracking been checked recently.

good call guys, thanks for your help. am away with the forces for a few weeks, but will have a look at my wishbones when im back and check the ball joints. had tracking done the other week, so thats all good.

i take it you cant see the ball joints whilst all is together with the wish bones? prob a stupid question, but if you dont ask, you dont know lol.

quite likely to be rear radius arms - the bearings wear and when the suspension moves, the arm can move sideways as well as up and down - this gives a very mild form or rear wheel steering

However, for some reason, it doesn't feel like its happening at the rear end

Many people have spent lots of time and money having the front end components replaced, only to find it made no difference. Checking the tracking will never find it, as the arms will only deflect when the suspension is moved

Well worth checking before you spend too much more time at the front end

good advice nigel, thanks. is it a big job to do? much cost on bearings and labour? would be a good idea like you said to check this first then, before shelling out money for wishbones.

Its not a huge job, although its common for the spindle to be corroded and therefore a PITA to remove

IIRC, Alternative Autos do a bearing kit

any ideas on what im looking at in labour costs? is it easy to do between myself and a friend? or best taking to a garage?

depends where you are - if you're local to one of the tame specialists, I'd have it done

However, I'm told its not terribly difficult, assuming you have a decent toolkit. A set of spanners, a mole grip and a hammer will probably not suffice

If you're local to Birmingham, why not get yourself to the Motormech open day on 3rd July - Paul will be able to diagnose the issue for free and will be able to quote a good price on fixing it

lol. i have no fischer price toolkit and im in the forces and away till july 5th. i think theres a few coupe friendly garages around portsmouth, so i'll have to get it sorted there.

thanks for all your help people. ive nothing but good things to say about this site!!

Just had this problem myself.
Joe (FCSS) did my right trailing arm bearing. Sorted.
120-150 quid depending on whether the bolt is seized solid.
A simple home test is to grab the rear tyre at the 9 and 12 o'clock positions and pull out and forward, to detect play.
The tyre/wheel may also seem further in at the top.
Tyre wear will also be greater on the inside while both fronts will get hotter (trying to combat the rear wheel stearing).

thanks rob, thats a great help, at least i know now that ive not got to shell out loads of money for new wishbones.

was yours pulling you into right hand corners then too?

Yes, on right-handers, mine was vibrating thru' the whole floorpan/chassis/ suspension/steering.
Uneccessary braking made the rear want to chase the front.
'Twas like dragging a mangled limb around.
Until I did a quick yank at the righr rear, I was adamant that it warranted new wishbones/droplinks/ARB's (scheduled for later in the year).
You can buy a bearing kit ('bout 35-40 quid a side) and DIY (there is a how-to).
However, as Nigel says, if the bolt is seized then it gets more difficult.
Without basic mechanic skills, tools and a four-poster, I'd recommend leaving to a trustworthy specialist.

mine is no way near that severe. i have no vibrations through the car when turning, all that happens is that at a certain point during the turn on long right handers at speed it just feels like it gets pulled in the corner and i have to straighten up again, then keep repeating the process, turn in, straighten up.

could be the trailing arm bearing just about to go???

The ball joints are under the hub and can be seen with the wheel off. What tends to happen is the rubber perishes and the joint loses it's grease causing it to fail. Have a look in the how to and you can see where the ball joint goes into the bottom of the hub. if they've not been replaced get them done. The handling improves with a new set of wishbones.

Can't help with the trailing arms though sorry.

Just done the trailing arm bearings on mine and it was a nightmare; a plethora of seized bolts and snapped bolts that required drilling.

In the end I took the tank and whole rear sub frame of the car and worked on it like that. Unless you are an expert DIYer and can have the car on stands for a couple of days then get someone else to do it.

For anyone else doing this job the trailing arm repair kits for the Bravos are the same as the coupe and can be found on eBay very cheap.