Pulling to the left and steering wobble....

[carbonman]

I know the steering wobbles be covered in detail, and I have had a look through the previous posts....

The trouble with mine has come on pretty instantly..
The steeing wheel is wobbling at all speeds - the wobble is faster the faster you go.
The truck is also pulling a reasonable amount to the left, also pulls to the left when you brake, although not sure if its the same pull or not.
It "seems" like there is more brake dust on the passenger front wheel than the driver front wheel too....

I know what it could be, but my suspision is a siezed caliper??
I just dont want to waste time etc.. getting tracking / balancing done if its unlikely that its that.

What do you lot think...
I'm thinking if its come on suddenly its unlikely to be the idler arm / steering setup / bushes etc.. does that follow logic?

Cheers
CM

[NiftyNev]

Do the brakes first.I rebuilt my calipers after wearing out inner left pad.The inner pistons were sticking.Seal kits are available.In my opinion any vehicle of this age should have the calipers stripped cleaned and rekitted.

Neville

[ship]

had a similair problem on our Rover recently, ie: wheel wobble at all speeds, changed the front tyres, (they were well sh*gged) and all was well again, try swapping the front and back wheels and tryes over and see what happens, a lot of imports are stood around for quiet a while and the tyres can go out of shape and/or crack,

ship

[carbonman]

The tires I put on there a while ago....BFG A/T's but its not been standing for a long time...
i think its unlikely that its the tires if its started suddenly???

had a similair problem on our Rover recently, ie: wheel wobble at all speeds, changed the front tyres, (they were well sh*gged) and all was well again, try swapping the front and back wheels and tryes over and see what happens, a lot of imports are stood around for quiet a while and the tyres can go out of shape and/or crack,

ship

[AndyLala]

same here, loose bearings.... fixed that (TonyN did). drivers wheel started sticking...

seized caliper... fixed that...

andyL

[ship]

The tires I put on there a while ago....BFG A/T's but its not been standing for a long time...
i think its unlikely that its the tires if its started suddenly???

yea unlikely if you have put new boots on it,

[carbonman]

I just had look with a friend and it looks suspiciously like the front wheels are pointing outwards, i.e in a Y manner...
If this is the case...
a) would this cause the wobble and steering pulling..
b) is this adjustable via the track rods?

Cheers once again guyz

yea unlikely if you have put new boots on it,

[Damian]

Wow, that's amazing, mines just started doing similar at 40mph, and I've just noticed the 'Y' wheels! I was gonna take it in to have the tracking tested 2moz.

[carbonman]

Just took the truck to a local place that does tracking.. the guy there said it was miles out...

However, he couldnt adjust it as the adjusters were siezed solid, he even tried heating it but to no avail....

Does anyone one have any tricks for unsizing them or is it new track rods?

WD40??

Cheers
CM

I just had look with a friend and it looks suspiciously like the front wheels are pointing outwards, i.e in a Y manner...
If this is the case...
a) would this cause the wobble and steering pulling..
b) is this adjustable via the track rods?

Cheers once again guyz

[carbonman]

Am i likely to do some damage if I just get the mole grips on the track adjuster and a rather long pole for leverage???

Just took the truck to a local place that does tracking.. the guy there said it was miles out...

However, he couldnt adjust it as the adjusters were siezed solid, he even tried heating it but to no avail....

Does anyone one have any tricks for unsizing them or is it new track rods?

WD40??

Cheers
CM

[Tallyman]

Mine were the same when I tried to get them adjusted. The local tyre place wouldn't touch it. Had to take it back to the supplying dealer who fixed and tracked it for me. Not sure what they did, but it's apparently par for the course on a Surf. I think the only way is to use plenty of heat but keep it far enough away from the track rod ends so as not to damage the rubber boots on them, otherwise new t/rod ends will be a must. I doubt they will move just with Mole Grips, even with a long pole. More likely to bend something like that.

[Morr]

If this problem came on suddenly and you have not previously had such symptoms, or very uneven tyre wear etc, I would wonder what caused it to suddenly occur?
As your track rod ends are seized they clearly have not been moved so its possible something else has, it may be worthwhile to have a closer look at the rest of your suspension/steering to see if its partial failure, wear or damage to another component which threw your steering geometry out of whack.

[JimL]

I think the only way is to use plenty of heat but keep it far enough away from the track rod ends so as not to damage the rubber boots on them

.....unless of course they are Milners ones in which case after a year they wont have boots worth mentioning

[Rob]

Am i likely to do some damage if I just get the mole grips on the track adjuster and a rather long pole for leverage???

I'd try a wire brush and several days of WD-40 applications if it were me. Might help, if it does = less damage. If not, well, you're buggered.
I think tony has a special tool for this - can't remember what it's called...angle grinder possibly?

[carbonman]

Turns out one of my BFG's has a massive bulge in the track face.
You can actually feel the bulge in the tyre with your hands, and visibly you can see a circular area where the tread has worn more than the rest of the tyre.

So.... I'm gonna have to replace the tyre to sort the problem, which as always is annoying as i'm selling the truck.
Does anyone know anywhere good online that they would recommend for tyres...?

Cheers
CM

I'd try a wire brush and several days of WD-40 applications if it were me. Might help, if it does = less damage. If not, well, you're buggered.
I think tony has a special tool for this - can't remember what it's called...angle grinder possibly?