Please advise: Something like torque steer

[ragerunner]

Hi guys, I really, desperately need your help here.

I'm driving a Toyota Corona, been running around in 195/50/15 tires manufactured in 2001, and bearing with all the issues that come with barren, old and hardened tires.

Today, I changed all 4 of my tires to 185/55/15 Michelin PS3 tires, manufactured in 2010. I had expected all the handling issues to be solved with the change in tires, but some problems still persisted.

1. On the old tires, when I go through uneven road surfaces (say, a stony road) at low speeds, I can hear some "guk guk" sounds, and somewhat feel my steering wheel shaking in my hand. A friend, who is a foreman, sat in my car and if I'm not mistaken, said that the ball joint needed to be changed. Today, after changing the tires, while the car was jacked up I tried to shake the front left wheel: the front left wheel could be shaken (I guess that is what is called free play?); the front right wheel was firm even when I tried to shake it. May I ask, is this the ball joint giving problems?

2. More seriously, on a long, straight road where I tested, when I am cruising at medium speed without pressing on the accelerator, I move straight with my steering also pointed straight. However, when I step on the gas pedal and accelerate, my car moves to the right even though my steering is still pointed straight! Based on my understanding, when torque steer occurs, the steering wheel is steered "automatically" sideways when the gas pedal is stepped on, right? In my case, my car moves right when I step on the accelerator, but my steering wheel is still pointed straight! As a result, I have to point my steering wheel to the left when accelerating, and while shifting gears my car tends to swerve to the left as I am taking my foot off the gas pedal. May I ask, whether this is also a problem presented by the front left ball joint, and if otherwise, what is the cause of this problem and how do I fix it?

Many thanks in advance! I'd really appreciate any help from you guys! Thank you!

 

[Dhaya]

" my car moves right when I step on the accelerator, but my steering wheel is still pointed straight! As a result, I have to point my steering wheel to the left when accelerating, and while shifting gears my car tends to swerve to the left as I am taking my foot off the gas pedal."
bro, my car is having the same prob too. even after doing alignment, it still is the same...

 

[0501024]

i had the same problem.
items i checked were
i) ball joint
ii) rims (see dented anot)
iii) Steering bush

i changed the ball joint n steering bush. problem is not that obvious anymore, but very very very rare will still happen slightly. cheers

 

[Dayline668]

1) Check steering tie rod.

2) Hav u check the camber..? maybe also bcos tie rod.

 

[ragerunner]

Thanks for input guys , will ask foreman to check the aforementioned parts ie. ball joint, steering bush, steering tie rod & camber asap tmr.

Funny thing was, before I changed to new tires, the problem was there but it wasn't so noticeable and perhaps I should say, amplified. Maybe the other handling problems were so bad that it masked this issue.

 

[FGT]

Thanks for input guys , will ask foreman to check the aforementioned parts ie. ball joint, steering bush, steering tie rod & camber asap tmr.

Funny thing was, before I changed to new tires, the problem was there but it wasn't so noticeable and perhaps I should say, amplified. Maybe the other handling problems were so bad that it masked this issue.

Amplified is the right word coz the old tyres have less grip so steering feedback was poor and you did not feel the pull. Now with new tyres, it has become more sensitive. But hey, on the bright side, you got new tyres and you are now able to troubleshoot the handling problem. You wouldnt know the extent of the problem if u didnt change your tyres...heheh

From my experience, ball joints and lower arm bushes are the main suspects. These can be easily checked with the car jacked up..

good luck bro..

 

[me2kimi]

Hi there, I've experienced this problem some time ago. My car not moving at right direction but both. Hehe. Problem solved after steering rack change.
FYI, this problem occurred after change tie rod end.

 

[xtremeleo]

sounds like an issue from down undercarriage, have u check if there are any worn bushes / ball joints sir?

 

[glanza]

i go for lower arm bush hehe..ask your foreman to check it. but tie rod end also can be a cause.

 

[pi_zayo]

check the steering rack & steering tie rod end.
check if any of the four tyre rim has imbalance & not straight when do tyre rotating, this can only be identified by very experienced good mechanic. some youngsters & only know sweet talk mechanics don know what they are doing, just say "your rim not straight, boss, want buy new one?", "boss, if still shake/vibrate/turn slight right or left, we also cannot help", "boss, change to sport rim lah", or they keep quiet & just use the computer alignment to align presume job done, case close. after driving some mileage, one will notice the tyre not wearing properly.

good one will identify carefully which area of rim not straight, he will knock the rim if it is steel metal rim. he will rotate the tyre until he find the "comfort straight of rim". then he will manual do alignment after computer alignment. will test drive few times, manual align until get the "right" feel.

 

[xMika]

Hey my corona ST171 also got the same problem ! Damn scary when try to overtake other cars .. my car will steer to the right side !

 

[arturo]

sometimes, the bush isnt so worn out that shaking the wheel will reflect movement...u'll need to grab a steel pipe or something like that n physically try to move the arm. that way u can feel the bush condition. the thing to look out for is as long as the bush still contacts both inner n outer mouting points and movement is very slight - then its ok. if the bush already shows cracks(like old hardened tyres) then its best to change too.

anyway, yr problem sounds like either the lower arm or upper control arm is gone. i had this problem too and after jacked up and some wheel shaking revealed no movement, my mech removed the front tyres n physically tried to move the individual arms n bushes n found the upper control arm having too much free play. after changing that...all ok!

 

[ragerunner]

Hi guys, thank you so much for all input and suggestions, your help is very very much appreciated

FYI, I went to the workshop today requesting for change of ball joint and tie rod end, as told to me by the tire shop. My foreman checked the assembly and told me that my ball joint was good, only the tie rod end needed replacement.

After changing the tie rod end, the "torque steer"problem was gone!

Brought the car back to the tire shop and they could do proper alignment now that the tie rod end had been fixed. When I told the guy who did the alignment for my car about this problem I had faced, he said that he could also feel it when he test drove the car after doing computer alignment, but the curious thing is that he said the car pulled to the left while accelerating.:hmmmm: Anyway, after alignment was done, I drove my car and hardly felt that problem there anymore, if any. The car is much nicer (and safer) to drive now.

I still feel that something's loose in my car, and that the steering wheel still shakes/moves slightly when I travel over uneven road surfaces. Will bring the car back to my foreman for further troubleshooting, if any.

Based on all your feedback, it seems that there are a few probable causes for this "torque steer" problem. Mine was solved by replacing the tie rod end. As for other bros who are facing the same problem, maybe troubleshooting can be started from the parts mentioned and suggested above ie. ball joint, tie rod end, bushes etc. Good luck and hope you'll solve your problem too.

Once again, thank you so much for all the input and help from all of you guys. I really, really appreciate it!

 

[Dhaya]

Thank u everyone for ur input's. i'll be checking it out in a day or two. will update here soon what was the prob in my car.

 

[Dayline668]

U r welcome.. Always share our toyota experience.. :proud: