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kirk knighton
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2005
Posts: 282
Location: Seattle
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 Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2018 1:22 pm Post subject: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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When coasting or in gear ( but not when braking ) the car shoots to the right when I let go of the wheel.
Alignment issue? The front tires don't show uneven wear. Can an ordinary tire shop that does alignments do it on a 1985 Cabriolet?
Also, when I press on the gas I feel the car pull slightly to the left. Is this normal? I'm guessing the right wheel is the drive wheel? |
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TDCTDI
Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013
Posts: 12860
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2018 1:40 pm Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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STOP DRIVING THE CAR until you can get the car on a lift & check for fatigue in the frame rail that holds the control arm in place. This is a common failure & it causes the same sort of on/off throttle torque steer.
Once you have eliminated that as a possibility, check the control arm bushings.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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kirk knighton
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2005
Posts: 282
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2018 3:24 pm Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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Dang, I was just driving back from the shop where they replaced the clutch cable when I noticed this.
Is this "fatigue in the frame rail" something easily fixed? You say it is a common failure so if I call the shop they will know what to look for?
Thanks for the warning - I have the car in my garage and will keep it there until I can take it back into the shop in a couple of weeks. |
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Butcher
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2015
Posts: 1285
Location: Right Here
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 7:40 am Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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I've heard of this frame cracking but I thought that was mostly Sciroccos.
Something is loose and should be obvious when looking with a trained eye. Is it progressively getting worst or an overnight thing? |
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TDCTDI
Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013
Posts: 12860
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 9:15 am Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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| Butcher wrote: |
I've heard of this frame cracking but I thought that was mostly Sciroccos.
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It's an issue with all MK1 chassis cars, the Sciroccos just tended to be driven a bit more aggressively, that's why VW started installing the K-frame lower suspension bar on the later 16V models.
Lots of the aftermarket companies used to sell them but most of them have discontinued them long ago, I made one using square tube & angle iron from the local hardware store.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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volksworld
Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2011
Posts: 2529
Location: formerly NY currently NC
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:31 pm Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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| hope thats not the problem....its a fairly miserable job iirc...probably 15-20 years since ive done one....half the battle is getting it all back to its original position and squared up before you start welding or the caster and camber will be way off on that side and it'll never go down the road straight....and put a lower support bar on when you're done....need a shop with welding and fab skills.....hopefully its something simple like ball joints or tie rods...good luck |
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kirk knighton
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2005
Posts: 282
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:53 pm Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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I got the car 8 months ago with only 65,000 miles on it. Actually driven and owned by " a little old lady " and treated with TLC all its life. It actually looks brand-new, and other than replacing the clutch cable and the backup light switch and the muffler - oh, and the timing belt - the car has needed nothing. I didn't notice the pulling to the right thing until just yesterday.
I crawled under the front and looked all around the parts in question and saw nothing out of the norm. No cracks, nothing loose. Pushed up and down on the front end and it looks/feels/sounds smooth and quiet.
Wondering if I took it to a regular kind of shop that does wheel alignment if they would laugh in my face or would be able to do the job on a 33 year old car. |
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TDCTDI
Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013
Posts: 12860
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 3:13 pm Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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Look around just to the inside of the rear mounting point of the front control arm for clean spots/cracked sheet metal. A car with mileage that low shouldn't have issues with ANY of the suspension components.
Perhaps the shop that it was at might have loosened something? If they did CV joint boots they might have removed the balljoint from the control arm instead of the hub assembly thus throwing off the toe?
A car that steers one way under acceleration & then another under braking is indicative of a control arm moving forward to back pretty aggressively.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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kamzcab86
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 26, 2008
Posts: 7925
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 4:10 pm Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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| kirk knighton wrote: |
| I got the car 8 months ago with only 65,000 miles on it. Actually driven and owned by " a little old lady " and treated with TLC all its life. It actually looks brand-new, and other than replacing the clutch cable and the backup light switch and the muffler - oh, and the timing belt - the car has needed nothing. I didn't notice the pulling to the right thing until just yesterday. |
That averages out to about 2,000 miles a year. Low miles can be just as bad as high miles, as age and lack of use can also contribute to degradation of components.
Aside from a low tire air pressure issue, this can also be caused by faulty steering/suspension components (tie rods, ball joints, wheel bearings, bushings, etc.), as well as poor alignment and faulty brakes. I'd check the air pressure first; if tires check out, take it to a respected alignment shop and see what the results are.
The wheel bearings were shot in my 133,000-mile '86 Cabriolet (didn't pull, but made a nice drone sound). I took the opportunity, while everything was apart, to simply refurb the whole front-end (new bearings & hubs, control arms, bushings, etc.). Of course, now I need to take some of it back apart to replace a trans seal... one thing always leads to another with these things.  
_________________
~Kamz 
1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
 1990 Vanagon Westfalia: Old Blue's Blog
2016 Golf GTI S
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - 孔子 |
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kirk knighton
Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2005
Posts: 282
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 2:47 pm Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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Okay, I took my Cabi to the great shop that has fixed other issues. Turns out it was the tie rods. Totally shot.
So new tie rods installed and then alignment and new tires all around and the car drives like a dream. Straight down the road, smooth and tight.
Thanks for all the good advice everybody! |
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TDCTDI
Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013
Posts: 12860
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 3:54 pm Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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Very nice! I'm glad it was something simple. The roads up there must suck, I can't imagine a car needing tie rods at 65k, no matter how old it was.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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oprn
Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016
Posts: 12741
Location: Western Canada
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| Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:04 pm Post subject: Re: Cabriolet shoots to the right |
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Glad it was an easy fix, not all issues like that are.
Many years ago when I was still in the auto repair industry the local VW dealer bought a Rabbit GIT at an auction with the intent to put it on the used car lot for sale. It did not drive right at speed they told me and asked for my opinion as it appeared to have had been repaired and repainted.
I did take it for a drive and it was downright dangerous at highway speed! Totally unstable and pulled to the right badly. A quick check with a tape measure revealed the wheel base on the right side was 1.5" shorter than the other side and yet the body panels all fit. A look around underneath the front did not show anything much so I suspect the unrepaired damage was in the firewall/floor pan area. Or possibly the right subframe welded on too far back.
I suggested it was a good parts car but I have no idea what became of it. |
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