e86 steering pulls to the left constantly

E

e86joel

Member
Hello everyone! Been lurking for a year or so, this is my first post in the forum. It would have been nice if it didn't have to be about a frustrating subject like this though! My car is an e86 3.0si.

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Up until 6-7 weeks ago my e86's steering was spot on - no tramlining, even with 19" csl's, steering wheel would happily sit straight at 70 with minimal intervention. In late September I fitted h&r lowering springs, and I then drove the car to get aligned, due to having taken apart and changed suspension parts. I remember on the way noticing how I could still take both hands off the wheel and it would drive straight. After the alignment however, it was immediately obvious something was wrong - to drive the car in a straight line, texas steering wheel had to be held around 15- 20 degrees clockwise to normal. (I.e. the Base of the steering wheel was pointing at 7oclock, instead of 6oclock.) When holding the steering wheel straight the car will steer consistently left, to quite an alarming degree. I took the car back the next day, and the next, and so on... 5 alignments later I still have the problem. I wondered (although it wouldn't explain the steering wheel position) if the left brake caliper was sticking. I'm out of my depths with brakes, so after a quick inspection at hone I took into a garage who happily charged me £100 to strip the brakes down, put them back together again and tell me there was nothing wrong with it. Surprise surprise the pull is very much still there.

To top this all off I encountered a pretty big coolant leak while on the m25 today which sent the car into limp mode, leaving me on the hard shoulder and having to wait an incredible 9 hours for recovery. It's amazing how much a fairly minor niggling issue like this steering problem can seriously ruin driving and owning the car, so this extra bit on the side didnt help!

Essentially I'd be eternally grateful if anyone has encountered anything like this and has any idea how I could fix the problem.
(obligatory pictures of car)
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Welcome, nice looking Z.
If the car was fine before the alignment, then they have done something to upset the steering alignment. Was it a recognised garage who did the work?
 
Hi, sorry to hear about these issues, and 9hr wait for recovery is ridiculous.

Car looks sweet btw.

Regarding the pull to the left this is almost certainly a badly completed wheel alignment. I strongly recommend you find some one who knows how to set up a Z4 properly. The Z4 has many options for wheel alignment.

I have heard good things about these guys;

http://www.hpmotorcompany.co.uk/about-us/

Hope you get it fixed soon.
 
Steering angle sensor might need resetting? If you have a code reader, I think you should be able to see whether it's out of spec or not. The reset procedure is on here somewhere, but it's pretty simple I think and involves cycling the steering from lock to lock.
 
Needs a good alignment by someone who knows what they are doing by the sounds of it.

Where are you based OP?
 
thanks to the quick reply from all,

the garage who did the alignment use a hunter hawkeye alignment system. they seem pretty professional and competent however have replicated the problem every time - and yeah, it wasn't there before. Very happy to explore other places if it will sort the problem! I paid £130 for the alignment from them, so I'd gleefully retrieve that money from them if it transpires they weren't doing the job properly.

I'm based in suffolk, East anglia.

good shout on the steering position sensor, I'll look into that.
 
update - talked to a local indie who told me they offer alignment and wouldn't have recommended an optical alignment for a z4 anyway. They also charge £70, which is a sight better than the £130 I paid already. I did call the previous company and tell them I would be going elsewhere, and if that fixed the problem I'd be looking to recover my £130... at which point they were very interested in getting the car back into look at it. I think I know what I'll do now though. hopefully a proper alignment will sort it.

In other news it's the coolant expansion bottle that's cracked on the car, getting fixed today. hoping it won't sting too much!
 
I had my 2.0i Z4 hunter aligned with no issues in the past.
Can't see why they wouldn't recommend a hunter system, aren't they meant to be the best in the business atm?
 
Disca, I did have my mx5 hunter aligned last year with great results. I am wondering if there is a degree of variation in the competency of operating the system, however...
 
Yeah I have always held the hunter system in high regard.
Have poked a friend of mine who owns a tyre shop to ask if he has a guess what they may have screwed up.
If you are still on the look out for a decent alignment place I would be trawling somewhere like the pistonheads forums as the question has no doubt been asked before!
 
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=121&t=1470241

http://www.matsmithsportscars.com/contact/ seems to be well reviewed on that small thread.
 
Appears to be a TVR specialist... and they fall apart alot more than the Z4.
I'm sure you will be in good hands :)



Don't hold me liable though!
 
Tyre shop friend was a bit doubtful if it has been re-aligned five times with the issue persisting as the hunter kit is rather precise.
Suggested it could have been a bush issue / worn steering rack that wasn't noticed prior?
Either way a second opinion is probably useful here.
 
sorry for the long delay on replying, I eventually took the car back to the same place, and they got it straight. unfortunately (but really fortunately) it was operator error, the vat now steers perfectly. additionally, I checked the tyre pressures and they were all at 40psi after the shop "checked them". now down to 30 front, 32 rear the car is back to its old self. now wondering if I have grounds for a refund on the £130 I paid for the alignment.
 
when you have an alignment done 5 times, and the mechanic doesn't notice something on the car is worn (bush/steering rack/whatever) it's always a good idea to go somewhere else... someone who understand his job would have it aligned in the first place, but telling you to change your worn pieces first..!
 
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