Hi everyone. I hit a pothole a few months back wich bent my front arm and have had bad steering problems ever since. I have had 2 front arms and ball joints fitted and have had 2 wheel alignments wich had different specs??? My car pulls to the left but if I hold the steering wheel in the middle it goes right??? I am having 2 tie rod ends replaced and another alignment on Monday. Does anybody know what the wheel alignment specs should be? (2001 fiat punto Mia) Any help would be much appreciated
Technical Wheel alignment spec
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Technical Wheel alignment spec
The camber and castor is constrained by the design of the chassis. The alignment should be parallel. That is to say 0 degrees of toe in/toe out. Misalignment can be caused by failed rubber bushes on the suspension, or a failed ball joint.
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Holding wheel straight it goes to the right
let go - it goes to the left
Never good
Anyway - ensure the Tyre pressures are equal
And that the same size tyre is on each
if you have 1 old and 1 new, it wont help much....
i'll get the info off auto-data when im next at college if i get chance
however - the 1.2 8v is same alignment as the next 1.2 8v
So my Active sport will have same as your mia
my worry really is with the Subframe possibly been knocked out of alignment
Also 2 wheel alignment is nothing, you need a proper 4 wheel alignment to see whats going on
ziggy
let go - it goes to the left
Never good
Anyway - ensure the Tyre pressures are equal
And that the same size tyre is on each
if you have 1 old and 1 new, it wont help much....
i'll get the info off auto-data when im next at college if i get chance
however - the 1.2 8v is same alignment as the next 1.2 8v
So my Active sport will have same as your mia
my worry really is with the Subframe possibly been knocked out of alignment
Also 2 wheel alignment is nothing, you need a proper 4 wheel alignment to see whats going on
ziggy
Cheers guys. What I meant was I have had 2 x 4 wheel alignment and both times they were different for some reason. Mechanic told me that ball joints and suspension bushes would have come with the front arms when they were replaced??? Is this true??? They think that replacing track ends and another alignment should sort it so fingers crossed but would be nice to know what specs should be
Caravadossi
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Q1. What alignment kit was used? (eg Hunter?)
Q2. If you've paid for a professional job - then surely the technician that did the job would know what the spec should be?
130207
Not sure what equipment was used. It was done at pro tyre. Think they have pretty good modern equipment so you would think they know what the spec should be, but like I said, I have been there 2 times now and both people that did it gave me different readings and when I went to a different place they told me that the alignment was wrong. This is why I am curious to know what they should be so I can compare them
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Unloaded the car should be aligned to these specifications according to Autodata
0°10 N to 0°10p
So that means 0 Degree's 10minutes Negative (toe out) to 0 Degree's 10minutes Positive (toe in)
So basically - the wheels should be set straight ahead in basic terms
if the car goes one way then another, it says that the rear axle or front subframe is out of alignment and however many times you align up the tracking, if the rear wheels are making you turn to the right, you hold the steering wheel straight - thats pulling to the left, then it means your crabbing down the road
Ziggy
0°10 N to 0°10p
So that means 0 Degree's 10minutes Negative (toe out) to 0 Degree's 10minutes Positive (toe in)
So basically - the wheels should be set straight ahead in basic terms
if the car goes one way then another, it says that the rear axle or front subframe is out of alignment and however many times you align up the tracking, if the rear wheels are making you turn to the right, you hold the steering wheel straight - thats pulling to the left, then it means your crabbing down the road
Ziggy
Assuming the mechanic is worth his salt, then when the lower arm was changed as per your original post he should have been checking the track rods for play. If you had a significant problem you'd feel it when cornering.
When you get your alignment done, it's aligned neutrally for a level surface, when you're on the road, the camber causes the car to veer to the left, and you usually have to steer to the right.
How come you ended up taking your car elsewhere to have the alignment checked? Call me cynical, but when a garage checks something it's man hours, it's cost, they want a job out of it.
When you get your alignment done, it's aligned neutrally for a level surface, when you're on the road, the camber causes the car to veer to the left, and you usually have to steer to the right.
How come you ended up taking your car elsewhere to have the alignment checked? Call me cynical, but when a garage checks something it's man hours, it's cost, they want a job out of it.
Got alignment after hitting pothole and still didn't feel right so I got a mechanic mate to look at it and he said the front arm was bent so he replaced it for me. Went back to get another alignment after fitting new front arms and still wasn't right. This is why I decided to go to another place to get everything checked as it seemed like nobody cared or had a clue what was wrong with it. If it still isn't right after getting new track arms then I suppose I will have to just live with it. Thanks for the help anyways people
Makes the car unsafe, though. I'd suspect that the subframe has been knocked out of alignement.
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edgar i strongly suspect you have a bent steering arm
this would cause your problems
this is the arm from the rack to the track rod end
get an independent garage to visually assess and possibly change it for you
these are available individually for about £20 or less
then have a basic tracking done to parrallel
4 wheel tracking is pointless on this car
i have yet to see a bent subframe on a mk2 caused by striking a kerb/pothole and not causing other major monocoque damage rendering the vehicle unroadworthy to the extreme they are strong subframes and even stronger bolted pickup points,the mk2 is a good strong rigid shell
this would cause your problems
this is the arm from the rack to the track rod end
get an independent garage to visually assess and possibly change it for you
these are available individually for about £20 or less
then have a basic tracking done to parrallel
4 wheel tracking is pointless on this car
i have yet to see a bent subframe on a mk2 caused by striking a kerb/pothole and not causing other major monocoque damage rendering the vehicle unroadworthy to the extreme they are strong subframes and even stronger bolted pickup points,the mk2 is a good strong rigid shell
You need to clarify which parts you've had changed.
You have a ball joint built into your lower suspension arm, as well as two rubber bushes which are moulded in. I'd doubt the lower suspension arm could bend before ripping the suspension off the car, it's a large chunk of steel.
You also have a ball joint built into your outer track rod. Track rods come in two parts, they're are a lot thinner and could fairly easily bend on an impact, but it's more likely the inner part would bend, which doesn't have a ball joint.
If you feel you have a problem, my advice is get your mechanic to diagnose the failure instead of playing guessing games.
You have a ball joint built into your lower suspension arm, as well as two rubber bushes which are moulded in. I'd doubt the lower suspension arm could bend before ripping the suspension off the car, it's a large chunk of steel.
You also have a ball joint built into your outer track rod. Track rods come in two parts, they're are a lot thinner and could fairly easily bend on an impact, but it's more likely the inner part would bend, which doesn't have a ball joint.
If you feel you have a problem, my advice is get your mechanic to diagnose the failure instead of playing guessing games.
You need to bare with me here, I don't have a clue about cars. I have had 4 places look at it and everyone's answer was get an alignment except 1 who told me that front arm is bent. Front arm was all he called it and I'm pretty sure that is the steering arm. Its all good saying take it to a mechanic to diagnose the problem instead of playing guessing games but as I have said, I have tried and nobody seems to care, hence why I'm here asking for your guys advice
Jack your wheel up, horizontally hold the sides of the wheel and try to rock it back and forth, you need to shock it. If you feel a knocking your track rod ball joint has probably failed. You'll probably get a little bit of knocking from the rack and pinion, you judge this from experience, compare both sides and if you get a bigger knock on one side then you know you have a problem.
Shift your grip to hold the sides of the wheel vertically if you feel a knock it could be your lower suspension arm ball joint or your wheel bearing. Have someone sit in the car and depress the brake, if the knock is still there it's the lower suspension arm ball joint, if it's gone, it's your bearing.
Do it on both sides to compare.
To check your alignment, park on a level surface, put your steering straight, get a bit of string and run it from your rear wheel, run it to the front of the car and pull it taught so it runs centrally across the face of your rear wheel to your front wheel, introduce the string to the face of the front wheel until its just touching the face, as you introduce it, it should touch the front and back of the wheel equally at the same time, if it touches the one side of the front wheel's face before the other you're out of alignment. Compare this on both sides of the car, if the gap is equal on both sides the wheels are probably aligned, but the steering wheel wasn't centred when the tech did the alignment. It's not anymore complicated than this, you don't need lasers to get it true.
For better explanation of the above, google wheel alignment with string, there's probably videos on youtube. Same advice for the ball joints.
Shift your grip to hold the sides of the wheel vertically if you feel a knock it could be your lower suspension arm ball joint or your wheel bearing. Have someone sit in the car and depress the brake, if the knock is still there it's the lower suspension arm ball joint, if it's gone, it's your bearing.
Do it on both sides to compare.
To check your alignment, park on a level surface, put your steering straight, get a bit of string and run it from your rear wheel, run it to the front of the car and pull it taught so it runs centrally across the face of your rear wheel to your front wheel, introduce the string to the face of the front wheel until its just touching the face, as you introduce it, it should touch the front and back of the wheel equally at the same time, if it touches the one side of the front wheel's face before the other you're out of alignment. Compare this on both sides of the car, if the gap is equal on both sides the wheels are probably aligned, but the steering wheel wasn't centred when the tech did the alignment. It's not anymore complicated than this, you don't need lasers to get it true.
For better explanation of the above, google wheel alignment with string, there's probably videos on youtube. Same advice for the ball joints.
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