Suspension/steering speciallists in the s/w

[Allyc85]

For ages now my V reg Focus has pulled to the right after left handers and generally felt in-precise at speed and no garage has found the problem so far. Its had new shocks, springs and drop links with 4 wheel laser tracking but it hasnt cured it.

Soo can anybody recommend a garage where they really know their stuff, but arent going to charge £70 an hour labour? lol.

Cheers.

[ol' dirty]

Allyc85 said:

For ages now my V reg Focus has pulled to the right after left handers and generally felt in-precise at speed and no garage has found the problem so far. Its had new shocks, springs and drop links with 4 wheel laser tracking but it hasnt cured it.

Soo can anybody recommend a garage where they really know their stuff, but arent going to charge £70 an hour labour? lol.

Cheers.

Weird for it to pull to the right only after left handers, do you have the tyres at the correct pressures & are they the same make & size? But then you'd probably notice it all the time.

Trackrod ends/Wishbone bushes/Ball Joints/Top Mounts/Play in the rack/brake binding on- all of which have been checked too?

If mostly all mechanicals have been checked over, would it be worth taking it to a bodyshop to see if its been in a shunt?


Also, it maybe helpful if you told us where you are, may make it easier to recommend someone local

Edited by ol' dirty on Tuesday 24th February 21:15

[Allyc85]

ol' dirty said:

Weird for it to pull to the right only after left handers, do you have the tyres at the correct pressures & are they the same make & size? But then you'd probably notice it all the time.

Trackrod ends/Wishbone bushes/Ball Joints/Top Mounts/Play in the rack/brake binding on- all of which have been checked too?

If mostly all mechanicals have been checked over, would it be worth taking it to a bodyshop to see if its been in a shunt?


Also, it maybe helpful if you told us where you are, may make it easier to recommend someone local

Edited by ol' dirty on Tuesday 24th February 21:15

Yea sorry should have said, I live in Beer in East Devon.

The tyre pressures are checked weekly and are all the same make size and age. The brakes were changed on all four corners last week and there was no binding. Also there is no free play in the steering anywhere, everything is solid and the bushes are in good condition. One thing I have noticed is that the steering can be a bit heavy for the first 10 seconds when the engine is cold and there can be a single knocking sound when I mount a kerb on near full right hand lock.

Its been pulling to the right for the last 3 months now and is pretty much the only thing I need to sort out on the car now before I can start adding more power etc.

[ol' dirty]

Hove you checked the PS Fluid level?

[Allyc85]

Yep that's spot on. It did lose a little bit a while ago but there's no leaks and it hasn't lost any since.

Edited by Allyc85 on Tuesday 24th February 22:19

[ol' dirty]

If you've had all the basics looked at, I'd get a bodyshop to check your car.

But I doubt it would be that as you would probably notice it all the time.

I'd put 5 internet pounds on it being the PS Rack being at fault- not directing the fluid properly.

[Allyc85]

Yea ive thought rack or something in the PAS system but garages dont seem to take much notice and obviously hate being told what could be up.

[Allyc85]

Anybody got recommendations for a garage?

[Allyc85]

Anyone?

[Allyc85]

lol Still no where? I know its no TVR or ferrari but there must be somewhere you guys would recommend to take my Focus?!

[mep12345]

Allyc85 said:

For ages now my V reg Focus has pulled to the right after left handers and generally felt in-precise at speed and no garage has found the problem so far. Its had new shocks, springs and drop links with 4 wheel laser tracking but it hasnt cured it.

Soo can anybody recommend a garage where they really know their stuff, but arent going to charge £70 an hour labour? lol.

Cheers.

My father's Rover 75 had similar sounding issues to this and it was finally sorted by a geometry setup. Not 4 wheel laser alignment, but a full geometry setup that checks toe front and rear, camber and caster. Protyre, who are a national company, do this and their initial check is free, you only pay for adjustments if needed. Search online to find your local one.

BTW I haven't yet used the company but will be shortly for my S3 following major suspension overhaul as I believe that they are the only company in Plymouth with the facilties to do this sort of check.

HTH

Mark

[TVRobin]

Did they check the castor, camber and KPI on the laser check. If not AMS in Paignton can do this. They also check for free.

[Allyc85]

My local Protyre is Exeter. While you normally get a first class service they can be really awkward if youve had other work recently done either by yourself or another garage. Il give them a try on saturday as you get a print out of the results which is reasuring. If they refuse to touch it il take it down to AMS.

Cheers for the suugestions

[Allyc85]

Took the Focus to Protyre in Exeter today and they found that 3 wheels were pointing in totally the wrong direction, its surprising that the tyres didn't get scrubbed out! Anyway they adjusted it up and after a quick blast up to Dartmoor I found the car handling so much better than ever and most importantly in a straight line

Cheers for the suggestion, can enjoy driving the car again now.

Alastair.

[mep12345]

Glad its sorted, my TVR S3 is also now far better having had the same set up done yesterday. Steering lighter and positive and sticks to road like a train on tracks.

[Sssline]

Allyc85 said:

Took the Focus to Protyre in Exeter today and they found that 3 wheels were pointing in totally the wrong direction, its surprising that the tyres didn't get scrubbed out! Anyway they adjusted it up and after a quick blast up to Dartmoor I found the car handling so much better than ever and most importantly in a straight line

Cheers for the suggestion, can enjoy driving the car again now.

Alastair.

If you don't mind me asking what sort of money are we talking about for this?

Thanks
Tony.R

[Allyc85]

Was £60 including VAT and that was for adjusting the front and back. Seems steep but it was worth it in the end. Was up Exmoor today and the car felt great around the twisty stuff, just need more power now lol