Car pulling to the left

[Peter Roberts]

As per a previuos post i decided to stick with the 14" confort wheels as i refresh my 1971 911T after years of storage, Drove to my tyre place for new tyres as the existing ones were 18 years old.
On driving the car there is a noticable pull to the left which i thought might be tracking. However with tyres fitted and tracking reset the problem still persists.
I have to apply noticable pull on the steering wheel at all times to keep it straight which is not accepable. My thinking is that the rack is not centred when the wheels are in a straight line and its as if i am pulling against the camber angle on the wheels to keep it straight. Does this make sense? Car has never been in an accident and i cannot remember if i had this pulling when last used several years ago.
If my thinking does make sense i plan on centralising the rack then adjusting the wheels back to straight using the same number of tunrs on the track rods on each side to maintain the correct tracking.
Am i talking rubbish or has anyone else got a possible solution

[911hillclimber]

Imho, centralising the rack will not change anything unless the rack is really out.
Obviously, measure the full lock to full lock and divide by 2
Go to one extreme lock and count back to the half distance, the wheel should be level.

I think your situation needs the caster checking on the front.
The caster needs to be correct value but iimportantly the same each side.
This is adjusted by the top front strut mounts and will need a good alignment shop to complete.
You should get them to look at all the suspension alignment or those nice new tyres will get damaged over time prematurely.
Hope this helps.

[Gary71]

I’d start with making sure the tyre pressures are correct and even side to side.

Then look for a dragging brake. If you haven’t modified the geometry since you last drove it then it’s unlikely to have changed from a setup that worked.

[Gary71]

The centralisation of the rack will only affect the bump steer curve on each side. In a straight line on a smooth road it won’t make a difference

[PeterK]

I'm with Gary - check the brakes (starting with the front NS)

[deano]

Brake sticking (warped disc or sticky piston) or worn wheel bearing (lift wheel off the ground and rotate/feel/listen)..

Alternatives: you left one 15" wheel on by accident, stowaway in boot, overweight passenger (RHD only), else driver

[210bhp]

Go for a ten minute drive then stop and put your hand on each wheel in turn. Suspect the one that’s hotter than the rest.

Regards
Mike

[Peter Roberts]

Thank you all for the response. One thing i did not mention so as not to compicate matters but the brakes are pulling slightly to the right. When the tyres were off in the tyre fitters I spun all the wheels to see if brakes were dragging and they were not. I even tapped the pads back slightly to make sure they were moving and then applied the brakes whilst wheels were off the ground and there was still no dragging. Despite not needing one i am booking it in for an MOT tthis week. I do not trust insurance campanies who might argue over a claim that with no MOT how could an " unqualified" owner know the car was roarworthy. Hopefully this might uncover something especially on the brake pulling issue.

[Gary71]

Sounds like irrespective of anything else pulling all the pads out and working the pistons in and out would be worthwhile to free things off. you may have one stuck piston so it's only using an inner (or outer) pad to stop hence the pulling.

If there is any uneven (tapering) wear to the pads then replace them as it just gets worse with time.

[RobFrost]

I second binding brakes and tyre pressures. The car will pull hard towards a low front tyre. Unequal tread wear on one side compared to the other can cause the same.

An MOT test will find binding brakes.

On a car that's been stood, an Italian tuneup may fix binding brakes.

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[wildtexas]

Don't forget that flexible brake lines do degrade and swell internally. Then they don't release the pressure at the caliper when you release the pedal. Tends to be ok when cold and gets progressively worse as the car and brakes heat up. Been there.

[Sam]

Don't forget that flexible brake lines do degrade and swell internally. Then they don't release the pressure at the caliper when you release the pedal. Tends to be ok when cold and gets progressively worse as the car and brakes heat up. Been there.

My job for next weekend is to swap out the flexi hoses on the 205. Braking is always a thrill. Sometimes it pulls up lovely, other times it dives madly for the hedgerow. Often I’ll drive around town with smoke pouring off a wheel where one brake is jammed on only for it to suddenly free itself and be fine for the rest of the day.

I think it’s dodgy hoses.

[RobFrost]

Don't forget that flexible brake lines do degrade and swell internally. Then they don't release the pressure at the caliper when you release the pedal. Tends to be ok when cold and gets progressively worse as the car and brakes heat up. Been there.

My job for next weekend is to swap out the flexi hoses on the 205. Braking is always a thrill. Sometimes it pulls up lovely, other times it dives madly for the hedgerow. Often I’ll drive around town with smoke pouring off a wheel where one brake is jammed on only for it to suddenly free itself and be fine for the rest of the day.

I think it’s dodgy hoses.

Sticking pistons or debris in the line. Most likely the former. If the back's affected, check handbrake linkage.

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[Sam]

It’s the front. The caliper seems OK, I’ve had it to bits. But yeah, if the hoses don’t cure it I’ll change both callipers.

[Peter Roberts]

AS suggested after such a long layup stripped the front calipers. pads ( which are nearly new) were very difficult to remove. Checked piston movement, fettled pads so that they were a loose fit going into the calipers and hey presto brakes are fine . On its MOT today i watched the brake test and both sides were perfectly balanced during the test and no dragging.
Regarding the caster angle i still have a slight pull to the left but nowhere nearly as bad as before. Saw a brilliant article on Youtube on how to set caster and camber angles . It seems a lot of trial and error to get it all correct but the proceedure is simple. As recomended by this guy i bought a digital magnetic clinometer as the measuring gauge. Cost £13.00 and accurate to 0.2 deg.
Did a quick check on the struts by putting the cliometer on the front face of the strut. One side is just under 7 deg and the other over 7 deg so both out of spec. When i get the time i will have a go at setting them and put up a post on how i got on.
I recommend watching the video as it is very informative and interesting.