Steering Drift

[Peter.N.]

Hi folks

I did put a post on regarding this when I got the red one, the white one is doing exactly the same! On a normally cambered road it steers fairly straight but on a flat surface or when you get on the crown of the road it wanders off to the right and I can't find any reason for it. It has almost new Goodyear front tyres, my tame MOT man checked it visually for any damage/misalignment and couldn't see anything amiss - any suggestions?

Peter.N.

[lez]

only just noticed your sig, if you get a silver and a blue then i think you have the full set..........

This post has been edited by lez on December 21, 2008 03:59 pm

[DerekW]

Is the steering wheel straight when it veers Peter? Sounds like you might have to tweak the track rods slightly - one in, the other out.

Derek

[Peter.N.]

Les

That's what I'm aiming for. The first 'YBL' I had was a blue one - should have kept it.

Derek

Its straight when I am on a normal camber but under 'drift' conditions I have to turn it to the left to keep it going straight. The tracking seems fine, no uneven tyre wear. Incorrect tracking my experience only causes strange handling not 'pulling/drifting'. I will check that the steering is centered correctly though.

Peter.

[dean]

Mine was i bit wondery till i done the control arm bushes, now its fine, feels much tighter if you know what i mean?

D

[demag]

Peter,

It is very easy to track a car completely on the cock (so to speak!) And I have seen it done on a Triumph 2.5pi. Turn the steering till the wheels are off one way or t'other. Now track the steering. It can produce some interesting results, especially if the steering wheel has been repositioned. What I like to do is the jack the front up. Count the steering wheel lock to lock. Find the exact centre position. Now track! And if necessary reposition the steering wheel to the correct alignment.

[Peter.N.]

That's what I'm about to do Dave. I fitted a new rack to my last one and was very careful to make sure that from straight ahead to full lock was excatly the same distance on both locks, but the only way to get it wrong with the wheel in the correct position is as you say, the steering wheel has been fitted in the wrong position and the track rods are odd lengths - I will check tommorrow.

Dean

I have just had an MOT pre test and nothing showed up. The steering generally is very good but if you wander across to the wrong side of the road or hit an adverse camber it veers to the right quite strongly.

Peter.

[dean]

Hi Peter

My bushes didnt show up on the mot, and when i took the control arms in to get new bushes pressed in the guy said there was nothing wrong with them, even though they clunked every time i braked (front sleave and bolt worn) and the back bushes where perished and soft which must have caused the wondering as i could pull the wheel back and forth nearly a 1/4 inch.

When you are on your own side of the road and you let go of the wheel does it follow the camber of the road off to the left or carry on straight? it could just be tracking and the car is trying to pull right all the time but on your own side of the road this affect is cancelled out by the camber of the road, when you get to the other side of the road the car wants to pull right and the camber of the other lane amplifies this affect.

Hope you get it sorted anyway Peter

D

[Peter.N.]

Hi Dean

OK I will check, but there is no noise from the suspension - or anything else for that matter, its the quietest one of the lot I think it has to be something like that, putting the camber angle out. I checked the distance between the front and back wheels and it was pretty well spot on.

It steers fairly straight when you are on a normal camber but on the flat it pulls to the right and on an adverse camber, very much so. I can't get to my ramp at the moment as we are putting an engine in my sons truck, when I can, I will check.

Peter.

[dean]

By what you say it doesnt sound like the control arms then, and if its quiet and there is no clunking when you wiggle the steering then there is no wear in the steering joints so my bet is on tracking, my transit's o/s wheel had 3mm toe out when the n/s one was straight on and although there was no feathering of the shoulders it pulled to the right slightly on the flat and a lot more on an adverse camber.

D

[techmanagain]

Off the cuff, I would say that you have worn/faulty lower suspension wishbone bracket bushes.

[Jan-hendrik]

I have always marveled at my Cits ability to keep going in a straight line, even on poorly paved roads. Used to demonstrate it to my family members by letting go of the wheel - which they didn't enjoy that much. I am talking about Traction Avant, DS, CX and BX and of course XM. Oh, also Ami. I have owned and driven a lot of non-Cit cars as well, none of which had these superb tracking properties. All my Citroens though had maker specified original Michelin tires Never mind what your tire(d) man says. Go back to basics, the original specs. I'm pretty sure that will solve your problem.
Centering of the steering wheel can't be the cause of your problem, unless you have Diravi. Make sure your toe angle (toe-out) is correct, though. And, again, Goodyear tires don't belong on Citroens. Citroen steering geometry requires Michelin

[Peter.N.]

The strange thing is that two have this problem, the other two drive perfectly straight.

The CX is by far the most directionably stable car I have owned as it has centrally placed steering knuckles, the XM capitulated to market pressures and went over to Macpherson struts, not nearly as good.

Peter.N.