My T6 is pulling to the left (RHD)

[Paynewright]

@Tourershine uses some special geo settings on his ultralow 19” / 20” shod van.

 

[JasonW]

Lots of posts regarding pulling to the left using the search function

pulling left

 

[lewy1234]

Do you know which system and what settings were used for the 4 wheel alignment..?

Are you still getting uneven tyre wear..?

What tyre pressures are you running..?

it was the hunter system and running between 40-42psi
yes even though brand new tyrres 4 weeks ago inners again starting to scrub a little mate

 

[lewy1234]

Mine's been doing the same since new. To keep the steering wheel straight I have to pull down on the rhs, as soon as I let go it pulls to the left.
VW have had it back 4 times to check the alignment, but I keep telling them the alignment is fine and there's another issue. I'm now on the 4th set of tyres at just under 30k.
It's going back in tomorrow after more complaining.

hi mate let us know what they say I had it twice at vw to the point they made it worse lol

 

[sparkywig]

hi mate let us know what they say I had it twice at vw to the point they made it worse lol

I've told them I don't want the van back unless it's fixed.

 

[lewy1234]

wish I had that option mines a 66 so no warranty, just so uncomfortable to drive im thinking next step get rid, seems to be common on VW youd think theyd look at it in more scope

 

[JasonW]

Have you taken it to a suspension specialist such as tuned UK...? or spoke to crs performance about it....?

 

[Paynewright]

Chat to @Tourershine he needed certain suspension settings to avoid uneven wear.

 

[T6DSGChris]

swap the front wheels to the rear .... tyres can be ba****s... even when same make same size same pressure..
you normally know its the tyre when it does it worse the more you accelerate...let off...and she doesnt pull as bad..
just for checking purposes.. try it...

 

[sparkywig]

Well, I've been proved right.
VW have just called to say there's an issue with the front subframe, and it needs to be replaced.
And all my previous alignment costs will be refunded.

 

[lewy1234]

Well, I've been proved right.
VW have just called to say there's an issue with the front subframe, and it needs to be replaced.
And all my previous alignment costs will be refunded.

hi mate did they tell you how this can be proven wondering if its a build fault ?

 

[lewy1234]

swap the front wheels to the rear .... tyres can be ba****s... even when same make same size same pressure..
you normally know its the tyre when it does it worse the more you accelerate...let off...and she doesnt pull as bad..
just for checking purposes.. try it...

Hi mate im running 8" on front and 10s on back but still did it on couple sets wheels of my mates that I know was ok. but yea does not accerlate clean out of corners it seems to follow every dentation on the road

 

[sparkywig]

hi mate did they tell you how this can be proven wondering if its a build fault ?

Not sure, I'll find out more when I collect it in a couple of days.

 

[Lukavell]

Not sure, I'll find out more when I collect it in a couple of days.

I read on here that it is a known fault. Something to do with bolts in the sub frame and incorrect torques. See post #96.

 

[lewy1234]

I read on here that it is a known fault. Something to do with bolts in the sub frame and incorrect torques. @JasonW linked to it here.

having mine looked at now too I heard the same about common fault

 

[sparkywig]

Well, collected the van and it's not perfect. Still drifts to the left but isn't as vicious as before, so it's going back in again at some point.
The girl on the service desk said that the technician recommended I get premium tyres fitted as the ones I've got currently aren't suitable. I asked why they weren't suitable and then said that why spend almost £700 on a set as they're only lasting just over 6k miles due to the alignment issues, and I shall be sending a claim for all tyre and alignment costs to their head office.
The current tyres are Mazzini 235/45/18 ECO605 103W XL at least half the price of the Bridgestone A005 weather controls that needed renewing.

 

[lewy1234]

Well, collected the van and it's not perfect. Still drifts to the left but isn't as vicious as before, so it's going back in again at some point.
The girl on the service desk said that the technician recommended I get premium tyres fitted as the ones I've got currently aren't suitable. I asked why they weren't suitable and then said that why spend almost £700 on a set as they're only lasting just over 6k miles due to the alignment issues, and I shall be sending a claim for all tyre and alignment costs to their head office.
The current tyres are Mazzini 235/45/18 ECO605 103W XL at least half the price of the Bridgestone A005 weather controls that needed renewing.

I've put mine up for sale and looking for a 4motion one was going to upgrade next year but these issues have sped me up, I will make sure it drives straight first

 

[.50]

One thing to consider here.

All steering systems are designed to return to the centre when you let go of the wheel.

If the steering wheel was put on the steering rack during production and the rack was somehow not in the central position, when the van is then built and the tracking set, it will be set with the steering wheel straight but the steering rack not in the central position, so when you let go of the steering wheel, what might be mistaken for it pulling in one direction, might just be the steering rack trying return to its central position.

I could be wrong as it may be castor angle that solely returns the wheels to straight.

Do you notice that, when the van pulls to the left, that the wheel keeps turning, or just turns a tiny amount and then stops turning?.

If the above is the case, you could try noting how much the steering wheel is out, and then take it to be tracked but set the wheel to the out of straight position noted during the tracking.

It seems that if my theory is correct, and the steering wheel is out, then as you drive, you are constantly ,'fighting', the steerings desire to want to drive straight.

I'm basically saying that if you had a wide enough road and drove with no hands on the steering wheel and it stayed in the same out of straight position, then if you just re-tracked the wheels to drive straight,(leaving the steering wheel in it out of straight position), then the steering shouldn't want to pull to one side.

 

[sparkywig]

In my experience, it's the castor angle that returns the front wheels to the straight ahead position.
The steering wheel is straight ahead when driving, but using a small amount of input to keep it there. When released it turns to the left as the second pic, but occasionally when braking it carries on turning left as the 3rd pic. This also happens in reverse as well.
It's also easily affected by road camber and bumps.



These pics were taken on my drive, just in case you're wondering.

 

[.50]

In my experience, it's the castor angle that returns the front wheels to the straight ahead position.
The steering wheel is straight ahead when driving, but using a small amount of input to keep it there. When released it turns to the left as the second pic, but occasionally when braking it carries on turning left as the 3rd pic. This also happens in reverse as well.
It's also easily affected by road camber and bumps.

View attachment 80934View attachment 80935View attachment 80936

These pics were taken on my drive, just in case you're wondering.

If I was experiencing your issue I would wind out the nearside track rod 5 or six turns and wind in the offside track rod the same amount and see what happens.

Technically the wheels will still be tracked correctly and the steering wheel will be off to the left slightly.

This is only what I would do as I like to try everything possible if I've got an annoying fault.

It may be even simpler.
Just check how many threads are showing on both track rod arms.

Be interesting if theres more showing in the offside than the nearside.