[Mk2] [Turbo] steering wobble 80mph+

[nickg07]

Hi i was getting a bit of 'feedback' shallwe say at 80ish in a straight line so i went to qwik fit for balancing and that has dialed.most out of it so now straight driving there is virtually no vibration at all.

however if th e road is a sweeping right per se'and im turning the wheel by a dew degrees st 80mph then i slightly get vibrations coming through again. tracking is fine i had that double checked.

Front tyres reasonable condition- but qwik fit s. the fronts id they are feathered on the inside (at least the front passenger is). rears are not good showing signs of over+under inflation etc and are about to.be replaced if that helps.

Updated summary;

Nearside brake disc HOT after driving, much hotter than the other 3
car raised and nr side wheel does not rotate freely
Thinking its a stuck caliper or mis adjustaed handbrake...
makes a slight squeeling noise in a straight line and while turning.

[nickg07]

Update, after spending an hour stuck in traffic coming home, i have narroed it down to something on the left of the car:

it makes a slight and deepish tone, 'whoop' 'whoop' sound when say the steering is 45 degrees to the right on particularly uneven ground and the car is moving forwards. and sometimes even when just rolling forward downhill with no steering degree at all from centre.

I stopped in a garage for petrol and the guy in front was an AA motorbike so i asked him to check the wheel to see if the caliper was sticking or something and whether the noise was just friction with lubrication from the rain. He used his torch tool thing and said it didnt look like that, and the rim itself isnt any warmer than the others (all 4 rims cool - but that was in 5mph traffic for a long time not highway speeds).

Im thinking that this issue is manifesting itself and helping to create the problem.

It could be a wheel bearing i guess but it didnt sound like the growl that my mates focus had when that had a wheel bearing that needed replacement...

[djpkins]

I think you need to get some new boots on it first matey...and get it 4 wheel aligned.

mine was this...


after 30 mins of fettling...


These cars aren't a cheap date and I get through 1...1 1/2 sets of tyres per year... it never ceases to amaze me how bad the handling gets when the tyres go off or it has ditchfinders on it.
If your wheel bearing is shot, you will be able to feel it wobble if you jack it up and give it some movement.

[nickg07]

Thanks mrt. im sure the alignment is right and i have a new set of rims that have supposed good tyres on to test coming next week to try.

Interestingly just got to work and i did some heavy braking coming off the sliproad.

left the car for 2 minutes checkered all discs and the passenger front is absurdly hot compared to the other 3. Is that the sign of a caliber sticking? Yesterday when in traffic the sound did sound more metallic than say just bad rubber from my experience.

Called my friendly garage about it he said its likely the lower piston - he says its common on the front left for this to.occur.

[djpkins]

The sliders sieze up...a ball ache to free...if it's not had the correct type of grease on it...can jam solid mate...I could never fit 2 new pads into my front calipers and had to use 1 new and 1 part worn untill I managed to unsieze them...but they're both siezed again now and will go on the scrap pile soon.

[nickg07]

Yea im looking at recon caliper on fleabay at the moment 60£ ish for the caliper or £30 for a refurbished kit. im tempted to just call on a reconcile one and forget stripping the existing one down...

[djpkins]

I have to say...I would be tempted to buy a refurbed one matey...I do all my own mechanics etc but that job is a lot of hassle.
I'm fitting some zx300 callipers to the front of mine...it's been done before and really is a cheap version of the Wilwood kit...4 pot callipers, 300mm brembo discs and the brackets which I'm having made up for £80.
In all fairness, it was gazrev1tubby that inspired me to do it...he has done the same but using a 200sx callipers and Mazda RX8 discs...still leaves the prob of the sticky rears though...I think if copper grease has been used then your not going to get all of the residue out and it will sieze again...gotta be lithium... I think.

[nickg07]

yep fair point. i have seen the big brakes upgrades but if im honest with you i bought the car but 4 weeks ago and having had a new slutch, coolant, trubo elbow, new tyres, im just wanting to get it running right for as little as possible now and maybe i can look at things like big brake next year when i am happy that everything else is OK.

I know its likely brakes as well because there is a lot of fine dust on that wheel, whereas the others are pretty clean.

I doubt its the bearing overheating causing the discs to heatup/expand/wobble... im hoping it is just the caliper and in turn that the heat hasnt desecrated the bearing too!

[djpkins]

From what I can remember...it's a total ball ache to get the calliper back on the car with the handbrake attached...I used a clamp to help me mate up the 2 faces nice and flat, then the calliper bolts will wind in...don't forget to match the "v" in the piston up with the bibble on the pad and you'll prob have to wind the piston in (clockwise)...you can buy a tool to do this...I just use a pair of long nosed pliers and gloves

[nickg07]

I wont be replacing the caliper myself ill take it to a garage to do that as i dont know about bleeding the brakes etc,

I went to a shop today and they jacked the car up to spin the wheel and that nearside is definitely not spinning freely, whereas when they tested the drivers side that spun round okay. They said id be better getting new brake line too incase its contaminated?

SO im looking at either a set from HEL for 35 quid for just the fronts in stainless or a Do-Luck 4 peiece set for £65.

http://www.brake-lines.co.uk/toyota-mr2 ... lines.html

or

http://www.sumopower.com/product/view/2192

and when the rears go get the backones from the kit put on

[djpkins]

Yeah...new brake line sounds a bit over the top...they work or they're split...if it's got anything in the pipe/fluid, it will come out when bled...and could start a whole new problem off if the brake line is siezed in place and the nut is rounded off...or something...have you checked that the handbrake cable can move in/out freely on that side?

[nickg07]

Hi, i thought a bit OTT but that garage couldnt sell me the hoses so i dont think they were trying to just jack p the price or anything.

No have not checked the handbrake cable, how would i do this, btw if you havent noticed im pretty new to diy mechanic business!)

[djpkins]

You really need a mate to operate the hand brake while you inspect the caliper...my rear left used to bind and the disc has more grooves than sashas record bag...lol...you'll see and feel if there is any sticking going on, get your hands around the handbrake mechanism.
The rear caliper can be removed from the brake cradle by undoing the 2 12mm bolts that hold it onto the sliders...it will still be attached by the brake line and can be tie wrapped up out of the way.
A pound to a penny says that it's the bottom slider that's siezed...spray copious amounts of releasing oil down the rubber gator and leave it stand for 10 mins...then you'll need to try and work the slider loose by twisting it back and forth with a long spanner or socket and breaker bar...it will eventually unsieze and may loosen up quite a bit...but I tried for hours to actually remove mine to no avail....brake fluid is also another good releasing agent.
It's a good job to get stuck into if you want to be more hands on with your motor...you learn a lot more by doing and seeing...and for a few hours work, you could save yourself a few bob.

[nickg07]

Hi yes i have just read about jacking the car up, undoing 2 trays in the middle, then theres 2 handbrake bolts forard and back to adjust it with? Im trying to find a mate with axel stands or similar so that i can do it peoperly tomorrow as i dont want to just use the spare tyre jack to do this!

Mines just the front left caliper i think. I just want to get this brake sorted, i spent 2-3 hours ear;ier on the intake and doings bits and pieces all week i just want to go and drive but i cannot until this is done:(

WHen you say releasing oil, what are we talking about here, wd 40? or some silicon lubricant type of thing from halfords?

thanks for your help btw sadnly not many of my mates are very car aware and i have no one locally to just bounce these ideas off or to help that easily!

[djpkins]

wd-40, plusgas yeah , that sort of thing...more than likely it's a mixture of copper grease and the rubber o-ring thats siezed the slider up...so you gotta try and dissolve it and get enough liquid down there to make a bit of an oily, solventy cutting paste...believe me , it can be very hard to get the initial start on releasing it...if poss use a long bar and leverage, this can be difficult as your hampered by the wheel arch...firm but constant clonking with a hammer and spanner works for me but...I can't recomend it really...hitting anything with a hammer is extreme and the cradle is cast iron I think....the higher the car, the more clearance you'll have to get a socket arm on it, but as you say...wait for axle stands as you'll prob be rocking the car a wee too much if you do it on a jack alone...matey, if you were in essex, I'd pop round and give you a hand.

[nickg07]

The really annoying thing is one of my mates has a huge garage with a proper pit in it, but the garage is filled with his sisters furtniutre while she swans around australia - how inconsiderate i wanted to keep the '2 in there over winter as well lol:(:(

Ill wait till tomorrow to see if i can get any axel stands and then have ago as you described in the last post.

After that just need to figure out why my door sensors arent working haha!

[nickg07]

Update : cars been in a local garage today. the guy took the caliper off its not siezed or stuck but the pad was binding somehow on the disc.

he said there was no handbrake to the front wheels.

He says the wheel spins freely now! He checked the track ends and bearings no issues there...

[nickg07]

Update 2, got to the garage, guy said car seemed fine and a nice one, great condition underneath etc which made me happy.

Then i drove off, came to a junction, brake pedal went very floppy for a second or two and then i stopped to get petrol 5 mins up the road. and the brake disc is mega hot again:(

Could it be like, the brake hose or air trapped in the system? The guy seemed sure there was no handbrake to the front, and that the pistons were going in and out quite freely. Agh i just want to be able to drive my car!!

[djpkins]

It's not the pistons...it's the sliders...and deffo no handbrake at the front...it's a monumental ache of the balearics to unsieze those feckin sliders....release the caliper from the cradle and set to them with plusgas and breakerbar/socket.......the lower sliders, don't use copper grease, use.....someone will be along to tell you I'm sure matey.

[nickg07]

Red Rubber Grease from a how to thread from a mr2 website!

http://www.mr2roc.org/phpBB3/viewtopic. ... 5&p=366812

So you dont think i need new brake hoses - was the foot to the floor brake moment just a bit of air coming out of the system, or something?