vw 1998 jetta mk3 front Suspension problem

[ginger]

new front right wheel bearing
Put in two new front strut. Had front end alignment
now car pull to the right on acceleration and come back when you let off.
change the front tires around with no different
look under the car and all thing seem tight, can not find anything loose under the car.
ball joint tie rod are all tight.
car has about 430000 miles on it.. what else can i look for?

thanks
Bruce

 

[Steve Addy]

If the pull is that strong I would start checking to make sure that brake caliper on that side isn't binding.

Have you considered taking it back to the alignment shop? Did the alignment shop test drive the vehicle after they did the work?

Most shops test drive the vehicle before releasing it to the owner just to make sure that everything is fine, it sounds like this shop did not.

Steve

 

[ginger]

Talk to shop, will take back tomorrow and have look at it again. as for as test drive i guest they did not.
person at shop talk about a Power Torque to were the car was raised back up with new strut car will pull to the right?
would motor mounts have anything to do with it.
Bruce

 

[oilhammer]

That sounds like the control arm bushings are wiped out, or the upper strut mount is not installed properly. Anything that causes a change in caster while under load will cause a hard major torque steer pull.

 

[ToddA1]

How do you align a car with bad control arm bushings?

-Todd

 

[oilhammer]

Good question. How do you align one with bad tie rods? How do you put new rear pads and rotors on a car that CLEARLY has bad brake cables? How do you change the oil with a hole in the side of the block from a piston/rod that when rogue? How do you put a new timing belt on a car with a leaking water pump (and leave said leaking pump alone?). How do you put new ignition coils and spark plugs in an engine with the intake manifold falling off?

No idea, but I have seen all of that and more happen. Lots and lots of idiots in this world with tools.

 

[Steve Addy]

Some shops will do almost anything and not say a word if they run into a problem or see other things that need to be replaced. Why complicate the work flow if they don't have to. Calling a customer because they can't do the alignment because of bad bushings...well that interrupts workflow.

They can do the alignment, it just won't be right or reliable...it's called half-arsing something.

OH is right, a bad rear control arm bushing or improperly installed strut mount will cause the hard pull under torque like that.

I'm not sure what miles your car has on it, but at the age of these cars the suspension bushings should all be changed out for new by now, this stuff doesn't last forever and the parts are available to do the work. I never take a car in for alignment unless I've inspected and replaced everything that can impact the alignment. Around here there isn't a place that will touch an alignment for less than $100 so be sure you can get it done when you take it in is my motto.

Please post back with what you find, I'm curious about how this will end up.

Steve

 

[ginger]

I talk to shop, they look it over and did a power torque on the engine. they said the motor was rockin toward the front
and back. said the hydraulic engine mount or motor mount was bad and one of them was leaking and need to be replace.
So mow i will get some new motor mount and put them in and see what happen.. The car has about 430000 miles on it, so there
is a lots that might be bad. May be it is time to sell it.
This may take me a while to get the mount in. Is there any good web page to go to to see how it is done.
Bruce

 

[My_name_is_Rob]

I had a ball joint that was doing this to me on my mk3. They both felt tight, but the one was definitely sloppy. I don't recall which side it was, and which way it would pull, while on the throttle, but it made corners a little sketchy.

 

[Steve Addy]

I talk to shop, they look it over and did a power torque on the engine. they said the motor was rockin toward the front
and back. said the hydraulic engine mount or motor mount was bad and one of them was leaking and need to be replace.
So mow i will get some new motor mount and put them in and see what happen.. The car has about 430000 miles on it, so there
is a lots that might be bad. May be it is time to sell it.
This may take me a while to get the mount in. Is there any good web page to go to to see how it is done.
Bruce

Glad that you figured out there was a problem.

Mounts aren't difficult to do but if yours are broken that's a bad sign. Get some new mounts, and be sure and get hydraulic for the two nearest the cabin, the front is just a swiss cheesed rubber cylinder affair.

You will need to suspend the engine from above and lift enough to remove the old ones. The trans mount is more difficult because it sits in a cup, you just lift the trans quite a bit to remove it, and I've found that you have to pull the bracket from the differential housing to get the old out and the new one in, at least it's easier that way.

Steve

 

[Mozambiquer]

A lot of people miss when the rear control arm bushings are bad, especially if they are lifting it with a lift or jack that puts pressure on the control arms.
And as oil hammer said, people do some ignorant stupid things... My brother in law had the exact same thing where he took his car to be aligned and they did an alignment without noticing that the control arm bushings were shot. He had the same problem your describe and I jacked it up and found it right away. The rubber was gone! He took it back to the place two days after they aligned it and they claimed that they had checked it and it wasn't bad then... Yeah right! They did a realignment for free, thankfully. But he never went back to that place.
I think they're probably shooting at the wind when they say that the engine mount is causing that... That's rubbish. That will cause other problems, but pulling like that? No.
Looks like you're over in oilhammer's neck of the woods. Might see if he could check it out.