Peugeot 306 (1993 - 2001) - 98 1.9 TD Wandering to left

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Fri 6 Feb 2009 12:45
98 1.9 TD Wandering to left - northy44
My 306 has a tendency to slowly wander to left when I take my hands off the wheel. It's not violent but means I have to keep some pressure on wheel to stop it. It's had a new O/S ball joint and a new O/S droplink. It also klunks a bit when turning at low speeds - parking etc. Any ideas what this could be and how to correct it?

One more thing - I think I have a glow plug out as it's a bit lumpy when started from cold and after a bit of revs it's fine. Will it do a lot of damage to run it like this until I can change them

Cheers
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Fri 6 Feb 2009 13:32
98 1.9 TD Wandering to left - Peter.N.
The first thing to consider is if any damage has been done to the suspension at any time which could have put the alignment out. Failing that I would think that the most likely problem is that something has upset the camber angle. Try parking the car on a perfectly level surface and putting a spirit level across each front wheel vertically, check that both wheels are leaning at the same angle, if not, it could be that the suspension bushes are worn on one side. I have this problem with two of my XMs, they pull to the offside, I havn't yet been able to check the camber. This problem could also be caused by uneven tyre wear.

The clunking at low speed is probably a CV joint failing.

The lumpy start up probably is one or more defective glow plugs.
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Sun 8 Feb 2009 15:38
98 1.9 TD Wandering to left - northy44
Cheers for that - would just getting it tracked at a garage sort it? Also the clunking is when the wheels are stationary - have done the CV check (full lock etc) and it sounds fine. Could it be the front strut/shocker? This knocks a bit over bumps. Garage that did drop link said everything solid under front. I'm sure it's not serious - just a bit annoying

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Sun 8 Feb 2009 18:48
98 1.9 TD Wandering to left - Peter.N.
Tracking won't normally help, it just causes the tyres to wear unevenly, its not the tow in/out that's the problem its the vertical angle of the wheel, called the 'camber angle' it causes the bottom of the wheel to lean toward or away from the middle of the car, its not normally adjustable but it can be caused by worn suspension bushes.
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