Weird steering and braking problem

Zoll · Post by **Zoll** » 12 Feb 2009, 16:45

Hi all, I looked all over the internet for a similar problem but couldn't find one.

Here is my problem, my steering wheel is off center, it sits at about 1 o'clock. The car tracks down the road straight with the wheel at 1 o'clock (hands on or off the steering wheel, it's not pulling), here is the weird part, when I brake and keep the steering wheel at 1 o'clock the car wants to turn to the right. If I let go of the steering wheel while braking, the steering wheel will straighten itself out at 12 o'clock and the car will stop in a straight line without my hands and the wheel. It's been getting a bit scary at highway speed on wet or icy roads. I eliminated a caliper problem since the car stops straight (sorta). Has anyone ever experienced this problem?

Craigd2599 · Post by **Craigd2599** » 12 Feb 2009, 17:14

I think you have a caliper hanging up

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 12 Feb 2009, 17:20

Sounds like you have something loose in either the balls joints or the inner or outer tie rod ends. You need to jack the car up, remove the wheel, and check for slop in any of those joints. Those joints should have no slop whatsoever as you move the steering knuckle up and down or side to side. So as to not trick yourself put a lug bolt back into the rotor so that you can actually feel for movement in the joints rather than the rotor flopping around.

...Lee

Zoll · Post by **Zoll** » 12 Feb 2009, 17:28

Thanks, I'll try this

Craigd2599 · Post by **Craigd2599** » 13 Feb 2009, 06:28

Have you had brakes done recently? I had a similar symptom. I had let the brakes get very thin and replaced both front rotors. The left caliper had extended out so far that the seal boot was crumpled. I pressed it back in place with a c clamp. Turns out once the piston pushes out past it's stop it won't work properly ever again. It just grabs when I hit the brakes and pulls the car to the left. The first place you feel it is in the steering wheel. You might want to check there.

Zoll · Post by **Zoll** » 13 Feb 2009, 15:32

I stopped to see my mechanic and he looked at my car today, it turns out to be a bad control arm busing on the driver side and a tie rod end on the passenger side. He said that a subframe bushing is shot and priced a new control arm for 300 CAN$ . I find this expensive, should I look for a replacement bushing on the internet (his supplier only sells complete control arms for Volvo) or should I go ahead with a completely new control arm? Also, anyone knows of a good internet web site for parts in Canada?

By the way, the car is a 1998 V70 AWD with 250 000 km

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 13 Feb 2009, 16:49

The control arm is sold as one piece, but the price is absurd. Buy OEM and avoid Scantech (listed on some sites as simply "after market"). Good places to shop for these are: www.fcpgroton.com and eeuroparts.com Even with Canadian import tax, I think you'll come out ahead.

Zoll · Post by **Zoll** » 13 Feb 2009, 17:32

Would this work? the full kit http://www.autopartsway.ca/autoparts2/i ... 0L5~241505

as long as my control arms wouldn't be damaged of course...

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 13 Feb 2009, 18:07

You really don't tell us which car you have. On a '98 you really can't just replace the bushings from what I understand...maybe on '99's and above, but I doubt it until you have a '01 model and if that's so, you're in the wrong section of the forum. Anyway, replacing bushings won't fix a ball joint if that's the part that is bad on the control arm...just best to replace the whole things anyway, even if there was a choice. Also on 850's and up through x70's from '98 there are two different control arms...ones with 4 bolts and those with 2- you'll have to look under your car and see how they are attached (with 2 or 4 bolts each). Sorry this probably wasn't an answer you were wanting to hear.

Craigd2599 · Post by **Craigd2599** » 14 Feb 2009, 07:43

almost every auto manufacturer has pressed in bushings now. The fix is a total replacement. Not like the old days