Pulls to the right accel, opposite decel

rpm-inc

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2017
Location
illinois
TDI
2000 beetle, 2015 golf s
2000 beetle. While doing brake pads and rotors, I noticed the front lca rearmost bushings were destroyed. Pulled them out, and one of the front bushings was in really bad shape. Replaced both control arms with new bushings. The sway bar bushings were bad as well.



Now the car pulls slightly to the right accelerating, and slightly to the left on decel. I am guessing that the rear axle beam bushings are bad as well. Could that be what is causing the pull? The rest of the suspension/steering is all new (10-12k miles) with the exception of the inner tie rods.
 

WildChild80

Veteran Member
Joined
May 30, 2016
Location
Nashville, AR
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI 2000 Jetta TDI 2000 New Beetle TDI ALL 5 speeds
Did you have an alignment done after the bushings?

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Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
95% chance somethings still worn out in the front end... *the* most common cause of steering-by-torque. :)

Ball joints? Inner tie rods? Upper strut bearings and/or bushings?
 

super1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2010
Location
NY
TDI
none
Was it doing it before you change bushings?
You sure all LCA nuts & bolts are tight?
Happen to me


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Last edited:

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
Ball joints were my cause of pulling while accelerating.


Could also be wheel bearings or tie rod ends? Get the front end up on jack stands and spend some time forcing stuff around to find out where the looseness starts.
 

burn_your_money

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
Location
Missouri
TDI
99 Beetle, 96 B4V, 05 Passat wagon
I was working on a car with the exact same symptoms. I diagnoses a worn strut. The chrome rod rocked back and forth in the strut body. I've never seen that before. I haven't changed it yet so I don't know for sure if that is the issue or not.
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
I've seen not only bad ball joints cause this, but also ball joints where the 3 bolts that secure it to the control arm were not torqued appropriately.
 

rpm-inc

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2017
Location
illinois
TDI
2000 beetle, 2015 golf s
Metalnerd lift was installed about 15k ago with new struts and bearings, outer tie rods, and ball joints. It was aligned then, with the ball joints pulled all the way outward. That is where I retightened them.


Before changing the arms, it drove fine, with an occasional pop that I thought was the napa cv axle, but that is gone now. It drives straight and brakes fine, just a slight pull either way. So it has to be inner tie rods, or the now tight front end is making something in the back noticeable.
 

rpm-inc

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2017
Location
illinois
TDI
2000 beetle, 2015 golf s
I guess I should have jacked the front end up and wiggled some stuff before I posted. The 10 month old febi driver side outer tie rod end from idparts has a lot of slop. I can move the wheel back and forth and feel the clunk in the rod end. Passenger side seems tight still. The ends were $20 when I bought them, now they are 10 lol.



This rod end is all that idparts sells. Recommendations?
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
I guess I should have jacked the front end up and wiggled some stuff before I posted. The 10 month old febi driver side outer tie rod end from idparts has a lot of slop. I can move the wheel back and forth and feel the clunk in the rod end. Passenger side seems tight still. The ends were $20 when I bought them, now they are 10 lol.



This rod end is all that idparts sells. Recommendations?
TRW is the original supplier of the tie rods on these. If you can find a set of those, that's what I would use.

Lower or lifting a car does change the angles of the tie rods in particular, and they may no longer be angled where they resist wear the best. Sometimes it's just a fact of such a change in suspension geometry that certain parts wear more frequently.

But, my experience has been than OE (or aftermarket Lemforder and TRW) tie rods tend to last longer than Febi or any cheaper aftermarket ones.
 

sk1pp3r

Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2017
Location
houston
TDI
2000 jetta
I have the exact same issue on my 2000 Jetta MK4 TDI. All steering parts are brand new even bearings are new and it wasnt doing it before parts. Replaced all parts because lower aframe had a blown bushing (probably should have just done the one aframe).

I need to put car back on jacks and do some pulling but thought i would look here and note that i have same issue.
 

ItAintRodKnock

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2008
Location
Fraggle Rock, CO
TDI
01GolfTDi
Tranny mounts or motor mounts.

Years ago, my '03 was doing this. I made a joke that I could "change lanes simply by smashing the throttle." The mounts was where i was directed. After you check your front end parts, go ahead and check your motor and tranny mounts.

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BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
If you don't find anything loose, you might want to have it aligned. If nothing else, they should be able to tell you why it's wandering.
 
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