Pulling to one side on acceleration

My 306 is pulling quite badly to the left on acceleration
and snaps back straight when easing off. I had this on an
old Renault 5 and it turned out to be a track-rod end,
which both feel fine on the 306. I've also got a knocking
when going over bumps somewhere in the front off-side
suspension. Could these two be linked? Anyone got any other ideas?

Many thanks.

 

I had similar problem with bumps. It was the balljoints on the front axle
on my car.

What is a track rod? The bar connecting both front-wheels for the steering
(I'm german...)?

Tobi

 

Could be the ball joint in one of the lower suspension arms (probably
the off-side if that's making the noise), which if its anything like a 205
means a replacement of the whole arm. Another possibitly (based on 205 GTi
assumptions) is a drop link which connects between the end of the anti-roll
bar and the suspension strut. I would favour the first possibility most though,
and its not too difficult a job to sort out.

 

Tobi, yeah, the track rod is the steering component that you suspected.

In addition, Ive just noticed that I can induce the knocking by rolling backwards and stabbing the brake on. This means that the brake pads act like a pivot, essentially trying to extend the suspension.

If this principal of extending the suspension is true, the suspension is in compression under forward braking. So why dont manufacturers put calipers on the back side of the disk to reduce nose-diving on hard braking. Just a thought.

Phil

 

My 306 is pulling quite badly to the left on acceleration

On the 306 the ball joint is seperate from the bottom arm, held in place by
3 bolts, which is a far more sensible system than that used on the 205.
Drop links are a suspect, but again are an easy and relatively cheap fix.
If you try replacing them and it doesn't cure your problem, at least you
can rest easy in the knowledge that they would have gone at some point

Another possibility is the anti-roll bar bushes. These are cheap to buy,
and I'd actually suggest getting them from Peugeot, to make sure you get
the correct ones. They should cost a couple of pounds, but they are an
absolute arse to fit, or at least the ones I did were.

Good luck,
Andy

 

The wheels rotate around the axel, and the brake only stops this rotating
action. So if it feels like the wheel is rotating around the brake calipers
then, maybe you have a problem with your wheels bearing?

Tobi

 

Many thanks eveyone, looks like Ive got a bit of fiddling
around to do. Should be a bit easier when I get a new
socket set over Xmas.

Cheers, Phil

 

I would suggest swapping front wheels round- I had a 406 do that, and it
turned out to be one of the alloys slightly mismatching- one had been
replaced after a potholing incident. Once it was known what the problem was,
putting both fronts on the back sorted it out. Worth a check- also tyres
being still largely handmade causes variability- I once had a tyre which was
bigger on the inside than outside wall. It wore unevenly and the wheel would
fall over if stood up. Than can cause a pull also.

Merry Christmas