GTi pulls to the right under acceleration

[KJNGTi]

Hi All

After 7 years of BMW’s I’m back in a mk5 Gti 2005.

Cruising along in usually 4th, 5th or 6th gear the car will pull right when I push the accelerator and then back to where it was if I let off. If I repeat this process the car will pull forward but it will be byass to pulling right.

Took it to VW and had new front control arm or wishbone fitted, part of sub frame replaced and then four wheel alignment and it stills does the above albeit a little less than before.

Any ideas?

Tyres are good, it’s running on 17’s and Dunlop’s all round

[Stupots]

I was going to say wishbone bushes straight away before reading the 2nd paragraph... did they not replace both sides?

Mine did this and it was NS front wishbone bush. Good luck.

Stu

[bobby_fodge]

Could try swapping the front tyres/wheels with the rears. That would rule them.out if it still pulls right after the swap.

[pudding]

As per Stupots, everything on the front axle should be replaced in pairs to avoid any steering funnies.

Quite a lot of other things to check:

Tyres at the same pressure?  Camber/caster angles the same on both front wheels?  Engine mounts in good shape?  Binding brake caliper?  Dampers in good shape?  Is the road flat? etc etc

[Cody Armstrong]

Is this not just torque steer? I thought it was a common thing in high-ish hp fwd cars and was to be expected. my car does this as well and I thought it was strange at first but have got used to it after reading about it.

[KJNGTi]

It’s back at VW after stopping by at ATS on the way home they kindly said I could put it up on the ramp to have a poke around.

Two subframe bolts fell out of the holes... they weren’t even tight. This was found after Vw replaced the subframe and control arm

Will wait and see what VW say but as you can probably understand I’m not very happy!!!!

With regards to other points raised.

Tyres are Dunlop, in good order and have same pressure all round
Went on a 70mile journey yesterday and the road made no difference
Apparently it has just had a four wheel alignment as part of the work last week... I have no print out but trust it was done. However the bolts found last night hanging out of subframe suggest it was a good job.
No idea about engine mounts...

Other than this and even after I tightened up the loose bolts it still pulls right. This only happens when I accelerate. Cruising the car travels straight and true.

[Alex Booth]

So have you paid VW to sort the issue? I would have taken it straight back because you have paid them to sort the issue and it's still there?

[pudding]

Hmmmm, well loose subframe bolts isn't going to help matters.  Well done VW!

Pulling to one side only under power is usually movement in one wishbone as mentioned already, or severely worn engine/gearbox mount(s).  I would let VW put it right seeing as they did half a job last time.

Is this not just torque steer? I thought it was a common thing in high-ish hp fwd cars and was to be expected. my car does this as well and I thought it was strange at first but have got used to it after reading about it.

Not in the gears the OP mentioned.  MK5s don't really torque steer much.  What you're feeling could be tramlining under power, which is different to TS.  On a completely flat road, mine doesn't TS at all.  But if I accelerate hard in 2nd or 3rd on a lorry rutted road, it pulls all over the place.

[KJNGTi]

Thanks for the replies, I’m pretty sure it is not torque steer as I have experienced that in other cars such as an old RS turbo and then severe tramlining in a 330i e46.

This is something different altogether... now the above mention of engine mounts is interesting. My Gti has two other issues. The first is that at idle you can feel a pulsing, jerking sensation in the drivers seat, I did read this was common so have ignored this to date. The second is relating to cruising along in gear and then as above when I accelerate the clutch pedal will dip maybe 1cm and the come back up when I take my foot of the accelerator.

Could all of this point to worn engine mounts...

[pudding]

It's certainly worth checking.  It's some kind of torque reaction / gyroscopic physics I don't fully understand.

Check the dogbone mount and also the one under the battery tray.  Badly worn mounts can be seen as excessive movement of the gearbox when rocking the engine back and forth.  Or if you really want to see some big movements, have an assistant pop the handbrake on and abruptly bite on the clutch in 1st and reverse (engine running).  If the engine looks like it wants leave the engine bay, replace the mounts.

As a side note, I would expect similar veering under braking if it was wishbone related.

[KJNGTi]

Had a call today and they are replacing all kinds of bushes that they believe to be well worn. I mentioned the engine mounts but they checked out ok. They continue to investigate but will get it four wheel aligned again once they are happy with everything.

[pudding]

Sounds like some major surgery going on!  Keep us posted on the results 

[KJNGTi]

Apparently it’s fixed and awaiting a four wheel alignment. Whilst they focused on one side the other side didn’t appear balanced to the condition of the bushes on the other side so these have been replaced. Proof is the pudding when I pick it up tomorrow... fingers crossed it’s sorted

[muff1991]

fingers crossed for you mate 

[KJNGTi]

All being well I look forward to sorting out a few things such as white worm on the rear boot badge, replacing the head unit, replacing the logos on the key fobs and generally anything else I can find. Might even paint the calipers back to red as someone painted them black :(