Worn out, misaligned or just factory defect?

[FGT]

Hey guys,

Just want to share this and see if any of you guys have the same problem. I used to have a corolla LE which is accident free (from thorough checking). The front left wheel sits a little wide compared to the right wheel. I replaced the ball joints, bearings and absorbers but still it's there. And yes, I went to skodeng other LEs also. I can say 8 out of 10 virgin/standard LEs have this problem. These are the effects of this:

1. Steering pull to the left when accelerating and going on bumps
2. Quicker tyre-wear on the left wheel

Then, I went on to skodeng some standard SEGs also. Found two that have this problem but less obvious than the LEs.

Now I'm starting to wonder if this is a factory defect as the gearbox is located on the left side and using the shorter drive shaft (Shorter = logically stiffer and better power transfer) compared to the right which uses the longer shaft.

It is confusing because the wheel hub is fixed to the lower arm. How can the lower arm lari if the car has never been in an accident? Even more, what are the chances of a misaligned chassis on an accident free vehicle? Logically if the ball joints and absorbers are worn out, it will only affect the camber and not the offset.

I'm no engineer and hope you guys can shed some light on this. Thank you!!! :)

Cheers!

 

[muzhaffar]

how about lower arm bushing?

 

[FGT]

Changed as well bro. The only thing i didnt change is the lower arm itself..hehe..

 

[renxun]

erm... what im going to share might be and might be NOT related. i owned a 1980 tt132 corona and i had tis issue too,.. but my left wheel sits a little more INSIDE compare to the right wheel. even if i add a thin spacer it will still abit INSIDE compare to the right. tire wear on left is more. maybe because turn a lot right hand side on roundabout..

so tis is what i done. bring to bodywork workshop and had a check.. 1st they find out that the mudguard have around 1/4" wider on left side. hence the wheel looked abit inside. .2nd is the chassis does goes in a little bit liao. their logic is this. the car is old. and went thru alot of miles on the road. which includes small pot holes , gravels and some minor pits which is often at the shoulder of the road. over the time left suspension is the first that damage and when workshop change, sometiems they just jack from the front or jack at the chassis below the firewall..since its all and if its jacked at the wrong place it will twist and misaligned.

so do get your cars to check the chassis alignment to double confirm. regarding the FF cars pull on 1 side on acceleration, i noticed most FF cars without lsd will pull towards gearbox side. yes its due to long short shaft

 

[netmatrix]

Its logical. You couls say it is design problem rather than defects. But then nothing can beat law of physics.

Shorter drive rod means more power can be transmitted to the wheel. In this case the shorter rod gets the most torque. So hence any hard acceleration would put the wheel assembly mountings to be mis-aligned. There is nothing you can do about it. In my mind an LSD might be the solution. But because the short rod and long rod have different torque levels being sent to them. I think its the same, even though the LSD supposed to distribute engine power to both wheels.

 

[linkeong]

Where to check for chassis alignment?

 

[FGT]

erm... what im going to share might be and might be NOT related. i owned a 1980 tt132 corona and i had tis issue too,.. but my left wheel sits a little more INSIDE compare to the right wheel. even if i add a thin spacer it will still abit INSIDE compare to the right. tire wear on left is more. maybe because turn a lot right hand side on roundabout..

so tis is what i done. bring to bodywork workshop and had a check.. 1st they find out that the mudguard have around 1/4" wider on left side. hence the wheel looked abit inside. .2nd is the chassis does goes in a little bit liao. their logic is this. the car is old. and went thru alot of miles on the road. which includes small pot holes , gravels and some minor pits which is often at the shoulder of the road. over the time left suspension is the first that damage and when workshop change, sometiems they just jack from the front or jack at the chassis below the firewall..since its all and if its jacked at the wrong place it will twist and misaligned.

so do get your cars to check the chassis alignment to double confirm. regarding the FF cars pull on 1 side on acceleration, i noticed most FF cars without lsd will pull towards gearbox side. yes its due to long short shaft

It's totally related bro..Thanks for sharing! :) Yup, only FWD cars have this prob coz the wheels is doing 2 jobs - thrusting and turning.

Its logical. You couls say it is design problem rather than defects. But then nothing can beat law of physics.

Shorter drive rod means more power can be transmitted to the wheel. In this case the shorter rod gets the most torque. So hence any hard acceleration would put the wheel assembly mountings to be mis-aligned. There is nothing you can do about it. In my mind an LSD might be the solution. But because the short rod and long rod have different torque levels being sent to them. I think its the same, even though the LSD supposed to distribute engine power to both wheels.

You're right. Even though with LSD, one shaft is still longer than the other.

Chassis strengthening bars helps with torque steering especially high-powered cars. Do you think them would help to prevent or at least stop it from becoming worse?

Where to check for chassis alignment?

Those body shops that repairs damaged cars might be able to check especially those with hydraulic pumps which they use to pull the frames back in place after an accident.

 

[pcmoddingmy]

I'm having same problem with the front-left wheel sticking out more than the front-right wheel. Changed bushing still same, sticking out.

However, I did not experience any steering pull effect when accelerating whatsoever. FYI, my gearbox has no LSD and chassis EE80.

FGT, yours' AE or EE?

 

[FGT]

I'm having same problem with the front-left wheel sticking out more than the front-right wheel. Changed bushing still same, sticking out.

However, I did not experience any steering pull effect when accelerating whatsoever. FYI, my gearbox has no LSD and chassis EE80.

FGT, yours' AE or EE?

EE80 bro..

You've changed your engine with power steering right? Correct me if i'm wrong coz. :P If you have power steering, you wont feel the pull. Mine was all stock with new steering rack assy so the handling was very sensitive, I could really feel where the wheels are going.

But yeah, want to know if rigidity bars could help prevent or damage-control this.

 

[mfauzi_s]

my ae111 bt engine same problem. used complete superstrut 4age ae111. Change to normal mcperson also same. 3 years with this problem. Now lantak dia la.

 

[pcmoddingmy]

EE80 bro..

You've changed your engine with power steering right? Correct me if i'm wrong coz. :P If you have power steering, you wont feel the pull. Mine was all stock with new steering rack assy so the handling was very sensitive, I could really feel where the wheels are going.

But yeah, want to know if rigidity bars could help prevent or damage-control this.

Yup, definitely got power steering... 15" wheels without pwr steering is nightmare to drive.
Maybe u can install pwr steering too... hehehe
I doubt bars would do much, but do you have front anti-roll bar installed? How about upgrading to PU bushings?
Also, is your car lowered?

 

[FGT]

Yup, definitely got power steering... 15" wheels without pwr steering is nightmare to drive.
Maybe u can install pwr steering too... hehehe
I doubt bars would do much, but do you have front anti-roll bar installed? How about upgrading to PU bushings?
Also, is your car lowered?

Yup. I had the ARBs installed with sports springs. Tyres were 14 inchers...