Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done

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Fri 2 Apr 2010 12:11
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - tony.7

hi

i have aproblem with my c5, it pulls to the left when driving.

i have had the tracking and wheel balancing done. last week and it still pulls to the left.

any ideas would be much appreciated

also the engine cover of my 2.0hdi 2003 reg is missing anyone got one they dont need or know of a supplier?

thanks

tony

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Fri 2 Apr 2010 12:53
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - Peter.N.

Niether tracking nor balancing will have any effect with this problem, there is probably something out of alignment with the suspension, most likely the camber angle of the front wheels. If you park the car on a perfectly flat surface and put a spirit level vertically on both front wheels, they should lean in at the bottom the same ammount both sides, if they dont the problem could be worn bushes or damage to the suspension, damage to the rear suspension could also cause it. Does the ammount it pulls vary whether accelerating or braking? if so that would indicate bush wear.

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Fri 2 Apr 2010 16:09
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - tony.7

thanks for the advice peter.

yes it seems to be a little worse when braking.

which bushes would it be and can it be done diy?

thanks

tony

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Fri 2 Apr 2010 16:23
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - bathtub tom

Try swapping the front wheels with each other, or front to back if the tyres are directional.

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Fri 2 Apr 2010 16:31
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - tony.7

thanks but already swapped the tyres round.

no difference.

tony

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Fri 2 Apr 2010 22:08
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - Peter.N.

It would the front wishbone bushes I would think, any rubber bushes in the front suspension could do it. I have this problem with two Citroen XMs, except they pull to the o/s, have not been able to find the cause but its not wearing the tyres unduly so I am living with it, they have done 250,000 and 155,000 miles respectivly though.

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Sun 4 Apr 2010 08:01
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - Ben79

Are you using the same brand of tyres on the left and right?

Has your car had the modification to the rear suspension? The 2001 to 2003 cars had most of the rear suspension replaced if you complained about uneven (rapid) tyre wear. This was done in around 2003/4.

Are your rear wheels straight,or do they angle in at the top and look like /\ ?

Did you have 4 wheel alignment done or just a simple check? (Only the front toe in/out is adjustable but some places can adjust and compensate for other angles being slightly out. HJ recommends http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/ and their place in Huddersfield did a great job on my 2006 C5.

Ben

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Sun 4 Apr 2010 22:20
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - tony.7

do you think odd makes of tyres could be a problem?

all 4 of mine are odd.

do you think maybe i should address this first?

im not sure if the rear suspension was done only bought the car 2 months ago.

i had a full alignment done and was shown the results on the car, took it back once to get them to re-check it.

going to check the rear wheels in the morning.

thanks for the advice.

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Wed 7 Apr 2010 11:34
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - tony.7

i just checked out all the suspension on both sides of the citroen and found the boot on the nearside link rod is split, quite badly as well, looks like it went a while ago.

could this be the problem?

any advice much appreciated

thanks

tony

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Thu 8 Apr 2010 22:32
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - Ben79

What do you mean by the link rod? Can you put a link to a picture?

If it is the droplinks, they are an easy DIY change and won't cost more than £100 at a garage.

Lots of people report the C5 is sensitive towards tyres. Some say you should use the same front and back, but matching pairs accross the axle is a must in my opinion.

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Fri 9 Apr 2010 23:22
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - tony.7

yes i believe they are also called drop links

the passenger side ones boot is split and very worn.

could this be the reason for pulling to the left?

see link below for picture

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=180215451953

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Sun 11 Apr 2010 15:19
Citroen C5 - pulling to the left tracking and balancing done - Ben79

They are an easy change. Some people report that dealer parts last longer than cheap ones.

Just undo the nut and use a 5mm Allan key to stop the thread rotating.

You also need to jack up both sides of the car equally.

First time I did it I took under an hour for one side. Not got round to doing the other side yet!

Ben

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