Phaeton :: Car Pulls To The Right - Front End Wiggles
Jul 14, 2008
This problem started about 1000 miles ago, but has gotten more noticeable over the past few days (and 2 long trips). The car, when under way at all speeds, pulls to the right. If I release the wheel, the pull is immediate and direct, not like the usual "drift" that was there before. At slow speeds I can detect a "wobble" coming from the front end that I thought might have been a loose wheel. I checked the wheel as best I could, and it seems tight. As the speed of the car increases, the "wobble" feeling goes away. I am just left with having to correct the steering wheel slightly left to compensate for the pull to the right.
I seem to recall having a tire break a radial belt on another car which caused some similar issues, but it was a long time ago and I don't remember specifics. Brakes seem fine, wheel seems tight. I don't recall running over any bad potholes or anything like that. Tire pressures are equal. Whatever the problem is, it is not making any noises. No hum like a wheel bearing going or anything else identifiable. I'm thinking either a front wheel might have thrown a balance weight; I have a wheel out of round for some reason (or a tire out of round); or maybe something else.
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2003 F250 4x4 7.3L
While doing my brakes in the front, I tried to wiggle the front left, nothing. Solid. Then when I did the right, I was surprised to see it wiggle when I grabbed the tire. So I looked to see what was moving.
Not the U joint, not the ball joints, But it looks like what is a drive shaft.. (I am new to this stuff). On the right side a shaft comes out of the axle just before the U joint and the rest of the wheel assy. What is wrong?
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If I unlock the car with the fob - two clicks - all doors unlock. However the rear drivers side passenger door always needs two pulls on the handle to open it. Both passenger side doors open from the outside on first pull, as does the drivers door, but the back door on the passenger side needs two pulls.
As far as I can tell all doors behave the same inside - one pull to open, unless the car is centrally locked, in which case two pulls.
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2001 Ex 7.3 4x4 with 4" lift (6" with 37" Pro Comp tires)
All new front end steering components.
All new Shocks (bilstein)
All tires properly inflated to same PSI
All new brake rotors, calipers, caliper mounts, and pads.
When under hard acceleration the vehicle pulls to the left and I have to compensate by steering to the right. Under deceleration the vehicle pulls to the right and I have to compensate by steering to the left.
I am about to change all four brake lines to Braided Stainless Steel lines, replace all leaf spring bushings with polyurethane, and install a rear anti-sway bar. I'm going through this methodically enough or am I just building a brand new truck one part at a time?
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My 2003 F250 6.0 pulls to the right when driving at any speed. In order to keep it going straight the steering wheel must be slightly tilted to the left, not much but a little. When the brakes are applied hard it will go to the left slightly if you are not holding the wheel good. Neither of these are terrible, just a nuisance. I'm worried about uneven tire wear too. One front wheel bearing was replaced a few weeks ago. It had this problem before that and still does after. Does this sound like an alignment or maybe something more?
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So i'm lowered on BC racing coilovers. never had a problem like this before. my tires went bald so i got new tires. after that when i drive on the freeway i can start feeling like my car is wiggling side to side. i thought it was cuz of my alignment or my wheels are off balanced so i did that today. i went to firestone got an alignment. then went back to where i purchased my tires (costco) and got my wheels balanced. I still feel my car "wiggling" sometimes on the freeway. it didnt wiggle my wheel but i just feel that my car is wiggling.
plus my frame has no damage. im lowered but not that low. never scraped the frame (only bumper) and never damaged the frame.
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1999 F250 SD 4x4 7.3 PSD ... My truck has 198K miles on it. It pulls to the left as I drive it. So I took it to a shop to have the alignment checked. They told me that the front outer tie rod was bad and needed to be replaced. And of course they said they needed to put in a set of caster camber bushings to do the alignment. They quoted $400 to change the tie rod out. I said I would do that. They gave me the print out from the alignment but reading it the only thing that was out was the toe. Left tire was toe out and the right tire was toe in, which to me would cause it to pull to the left.
I got under the truck and the steering link, piece that goes from steering box to right side/tie rod, is not tight...I can move it up and down and it clunks when I roll it up. I have a clunking noise when I drive it and go over bumps also. Could this be the clunking noise? Also, if I replaced the ends of the steering link, that would tighten up but possibly push the steering back to the right some to straighten out the tires? I have read alot of threads talking about the clunking being tied to the sway bar bushings being bad but the clunking I get by rolling the steering link up and down sounds alot like the noise I am hearing.
Also, when looking at the axles where they go into the knuckle, there is a loose plastic ring on both sides. Is this part of the dust shield or an oil seal?
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I have been experiencing some odd noises/wiggles/vibrations/growling/etc.... lately. I am pretty sure it's on the left (driver's side), but I can't seem to pin it down to front or rear. I am pretty sure my front brakes are trashed, as the inner pads were paper thin a month ago, and I haven't had time to change them yet ( new pads, rotors, calipers are already in my closet waiting to go on).
I went on a 100 mile drive the other day, and on the way down, and then coming home yesterday, the truck felt and sounded real weird. It wandered and had the noises described above. I jacked up the rear to check if I had bad axle bearings or something. Here's where I start to freak out. With the trans in gear,(6spd manual) both wheels off the ground, I can still turn the rear wheels. That shouldn't happen, right? Put the trans in neutral and turning the tires will turn the driveshaft. Trans in gear, the tires will turn free. There does seem to be a bit of "slop" when switching direction of rotation.
With the wheels off the ground, I ran the truck, in 1st and 2nd gear. It seems to turn the driver side faster, with the passenger barely turning.
For the time being, the rear axle is certainly still pushing the truck forward under power. With the wheels on the ground, truck on a hill, putting the trans in gear will stop the truck from rolling. This doesn't seem right? By the way, it is an "open" rear ( no limited slip). Between work and weather, I can't really do anything with it until the weekend. I just have to hope it holds up for the rest of the week, and a few hundred miles.
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I noticed the driver side window in my car is loose. It wiggles on the track when rolled down 2-6 inches. You can also hear it in the door when the door is closed when it is rolled down all the way. It sounds like the windows on the old Trans Ams and Camros, which were always loise. It became loose between the first scheduled service and the one year service.
I mentioned it at the one year. The tech said all 4 2014 SE's had the same problem. He showed me it, too. He told me there was nothing he could do since its how Toyota made the car. And the other cars had the same problem. Since he said there was nothing he could do about it, I called Toyota to report it.
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Picture if you will...Removed tire, caliper and rotor. Removed hub, and knuckle containing the stub shaft/spindle with it's yoke for the U joint. You are now looking at the end of the axle tube, with the axle shaft in it, one end connected to the differential carrier, the other end has the yoke for the U joint on it. Just inboard of the yoke, is a seal. Apparently it's called a "dust seal" is there a bearing behind this, or is the first bearing all the way in at the differential? When I was doing my brakes, I noticed the passenger side u-joint is shot, and the axle wiggles around in the dust seal. Figured I'd replace the seal while I was doing the U joint. Also, how do I get the axle shaft out? Just pull, or do I have to remove a C clip from the inboard end? What is the right National part number for the seal? I have a 6/2000 Excursion.
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Oil leaking from or around the area of the transmission oil cooler (heat exchanger). This item is at the lower right front of the V8 and has 2 oil lines and 2 coolant lines running into it.
I've got oil in general vicinity and blowing back onto the lower control arm. I've removed the heat exchanger and cleaned everything thoroughly and reassembled to try to see where the oil is originating from. After running the vehicle it is very difficult to pin point the location. Looks to almost be sweating out of the cooler (heat exchanger).
Very likely the cooler or the lines but hard to pinpoint.
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Maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought I heard someplace that the climate system is supposed to be so advanced on the car, that the windshield and the windows shouldn't fog up. If it is true, I was able to beat the system tonight.I made the windshield and the front windows fog up.
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The car can be locked from all four doors. But the car can only be unlocked from the front doors.
My friend cleared all faults using VagCom. No change
He selected and deselected child locks. No change
Does it sound like something that is selectable via Vag Com?
Does it sound like two door handles that have one aspect that is functional and another aspect that is non-functional?
Does it sound like a Kessy issue, even though 4 doors can be locked and 2 doors can unlock?
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Today when I went to start the car I noticed front suspension (Shocks) were low but when I started the car it went up by itself. Then I got the warning message while I was driving the car. I am posting 2 pictures that were displayed in the console. After that every time I switch off the car, the front suspension (shocks) goes down by itself and goes up when I start up the car. I am not sure about this behavior. Could this be the famous Air shocks failure or just simple fix.
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Last night just before parking my Phaeton in my garage I've took a look and saw a small amount of oil on the floor. It was light and judging by the oil location and color it could be from the front differential. I had this on my A8 , it wasn't difficult to fix, my mechanic changed the main seal. As far as I know the A8 quattro system is the same on the Phaeton, so, should I assume that it can also easily be fixed.
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As owner of the Phaeton diesel v6, 3.0D... I need to remove the bumper in order to have full access to the headlight unit.
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Right front strut is leaking. Guess it had to happen at some point. Dealer was unaware of history of support from VW due to changing system. Sent them to check in with VWNA about their paying for all but 1 strut. Fingers crossed. If this does not work, could spell the end of Phaeton ownership. Have owned 2004 V8 since new. Who has tried rebuilt struts?
Check engine light came on. Told is a thermostat (not a big deal, I guess) and cooling fan 2 is shot. Would some of labor be same required to replace timing belt? Need to do that soon and maybe can make more sense to do both. If not, may be time to take to someone other than dealer?
Had leak (passenger rear) up high. Was repaired, saying there was a broken part. With heavy rain, returned. They are checking further. I told them to be certain there is no clog. Any other thoughts?
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Sadly not a metaphor for being really good, my Phaeton really did seem to catch fire yesterday. I noticed the smell in the morning slightly but it passed, but then came back with a vengeance later in the day. As it became unbearable, I noticed smoke coming from the front nearside (UK) just below the window, through the plastic mesh revealed when the bonnet it opened.
Took it straight to my friendly dealer who, today, seemed unwilling to accept that this had happened! After a relatively robust conversation he agreed to do some road testing, rather than leaving it running for an hour in the workshop and concluding that the lack of smoke meant I was wrong. He even tried to suggest it was the smell of the auxiliary heater! I hadn't realised then that in some models, the auxiliary heater is an open fire!
It's a worry though that a VW approved vehicle, after 2 months of ownership and not that many miles needs a new tyre, new boot struts, a new glove box, and new wheel bearings (all of them) and whatever to stop it catching fire again.
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I have a humming noise coming from the front end of my 2004 W12. I only notice the noise at highway speeds and it appears to only be audible when I turn the wheel to the right. For example, when traveling on the highway and the road bends slightly to the right or when I move into the right lane, I hear a faint hum coming from the wheel(s).
I started hearing the hum a few days ago but dismissed it as a symptom of my Phaeton Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (POCD). While driving to and from DC last night on a night out with my wife, she commented on the presence of the hum as well.
I just had the LF wheel bearing replaced 2 weeks ago. Here are some possibilities I'v thought of:
RF wheel bearing
Low Power Steering Fuild
Other Steering Problems (leaking rack)
On a related note, where do you check the power steering fluid level? I can't seem to find the reservoir.
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I have an occasional thump in the front suspension that seems related to road irregularities and I presumed there might be a bushing or tie rod end or ball joint causing it. It's not metal to metal and is not a cornering thing, just going straight down the road it can happen.
My mechanic looked over the front end and nothing was obviously bad, and he concluded that it was the shock mount at the top of one of the shocks and that sounded right to me. So we looked into it and were surprised to find that there was no shock mount. The air shock seems to be an all-in-one design that just bolts to the top of the wheel well.
So, this thunk, if it is coming from the shock can only be fixed by the replacement of the shock, is that the case? Better yet, could it be something else?
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Not sure what they are called, but my front/right side/orange colored /non-blinker/US configured light is not illuminating. This is the fairly dim light that comes on along with the headlights.
It doesn't look easy to access in terms of bulb replacement, so how to get at it...or perhaps it's as simple as a fuse change.
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