wheel alignment problems

[marco2002]

Hi everyone I have a preface lift k11 1.0 1997. Recently replaced the front suspension arms as one of the the ball joints was on its way out. Also did the n/s/f wheel bearing got the local garage to press it for me and I refitted the hub. All went very well. The tracking didn't feel too bad afterwards usually it goes out of alignment when I've done the front wheel bearing. Anyway to cut a long story short I took it to the tyre place I've been using for the last 10 years to get the tracking checked and it was out by a fair bit apparently. Had it back for a day or two and it felt a bit better On the the 3rd day it started to feel weird it felt like it was wandering and when you go round a corner when take the lock off after going round the corner it feels weird. On the straight it does feel like I'm having to correct it a bit. Took the car back to the tyre place they took it for a drive and the bloke said that the alignment is spot on and they stand by what they have done they have a state of the art alignment setup uses cameras and lasers. He said it could be where I've been used to it the way it was when it was out of alignment that now it's spot on it will feel different for a while. I did point out that when I actually drove it to them after doing all the work on it it felt fine. To be honest the car felt better before. The only other thing he did say was maybe changing the back tyres as one of them is about 8 yrs old. So I might think about putting a new set on. I've had a look at the roll bar bushes on the back and they were perished so I've replaced those I'm going to fit a new pair of stabiliser links on the back today as there was a bit of slop in the ball joints. Also found both Flexi hoses are a bit perished so another job for wkend. Does anyone have any ideas what else to look at the only other thing I could think of is the upper and lower arms on the back? I've had 4 of these k11's now never had this problem before though. Despite Mr wheel aligner saying they stand by their job it don't feel right lol....Any help or pointers in the right direction would help. (I do have the print of the before and after if anyone's expert on this sort of thing)
Thanks
Marco

 

[fuzzy-hair-man]

I've had the pillow bearings I think they're called go on the top of the struts on another car I owned, it would feel like it stepped sideways as I loaded up the outside wheel going round a corner.

 

[marco2002]

I know what you mean I replaced the top strut mounts and the bearings last year when I did a suspension refurb. Outside just now nearly finished the roll bar links on the back of the car.The n/s link below had a fair amount of play in it the other wasn't as bad. These parts now only seem to last about 2yrs. Even though I only do about 6k mileage now I suspect living in the middle of nowhere with a pot holed road doesn't help much either. The wheel alignment is probably out of whack already lol. Thanks for getting back to me. I had a French car about 10 yrs ago and the front spring snapped took out the Flexi hose CV boot. Happens a lot and the bearing on the top mount fell apart too.....

 

[marco2002]

Just had a bit more of a look at the rear suspension today as there's a random creaking noise on the back end sounds like it's coming from the near side checked the spring just a bit of surface rust can't see any cracks. Also had a look at the upper and lower arms there does seem to be a bit of movement if you use a bar but by hand not much . At a bit of a dead loss trying to work out what's making the noise I do think it could be linked in with the wheel alignment problem. I was thinking about spraying a little bit of silicone lube on the the bushes on the upper arm to see if the noise goes away then the same on the lower arm and just doing it one by one to try and eliminate what it is. Luckily I have got a spare Micra here for spares which I can cannibalise if need be. The Micra does feel a bit better now the arb bushes and links are done but the creak is very random my son sits in the back and he can't tell me exactly where it's coming from! Anyone had this this problem before? Thanks marco