St170 Issues

[Jordan M]

Hi,

I'm a newbie here and thought it would be a good place to ask a few questions :-)

I bought a ST170 about 6-7 months ago and a month or so back a BMW driver pulled out on me and ran me of the road - forcing me into a central reserve/island - Nice :-(

Anyway, I hit the curb/kerb head on pretty much and tore my front left tyre. I took it to ford and they replaced the tyre and sorted out the tracking. They said they also had a check and that the wheel wasn't buckled and everything is fine.

Then, a few weeks ago I noticed the steering vibrates at around 70-80mph+ and also there's a strange whirring noise from the back right-wheel.

I have also noticed something really strange - sometimes it feels like it is slipping sideways and the steering pulls (on straights and corners and at any speed).

Any advice or suggestions what this might be? I am taking it back to Ford on Thursday but it would be good to get an idea of what it might be before then :-)

Thanks

[artscot79]

Hi,

I'm a newbie here and thought it would be a good place to ask a few questions :-)

I bought a ST170 about 6-7 months ago and a month or so back a BMW driver pulled out on me and ran me of the road - forcing me into a central reserve/island - Nice :-(

Anyway, I hit the curb/kerb head on pretty much and tore my front left tyre. I took it to ford and they replaced the tyre and sorted out the tracking. They said they also had a check and that the wheel wasn't buckled and everything is fine.

Then, a few weeks ago I noticed the steering vibrates at around 70-80mph+ and also there's a strange whirring noise from the back right-wheel.

I have also noticed something really strange - sometimes it feels like it is slipping sideways and the steering pulls (on straights and corners and at any speed).

Any advice or suggestions what this might be? I am taking it back to Ford on Thursday but it would be good to get an idea of what it might be before then :-)

Thanks

the wheels are out of balance and the alloy is almost definately got a buckle in it getting it balanced can even it out depending on how bad it is the fact its the fact it tore the tyre up suggests it needs replaced pulling can be down to the wheel being bauckled and out of balance as it isnt making contact with the road properly its also possible you bent something it needs fully checked take it back and tell them you were told its okay but its not and explain what you said to them

[Jordan M]

the wheels are out of balance and the alloy is almost definately got a buckle in it getting it balanced can even it out depending on how bad it is the fact its the fact it tore the tyre up suggests it needs replaced pulling can be down to the wheel being bauckled and out of balance as it isnt making contact with the road properly its also possible you bent something it needs fully checked take it back and tell them you were told its okay but its not and explain what you said to them

thanks for the advice :-) i'm hoping its not going to be overly expensive :-/

i'll post again once I know the outcome :-)

[Slugsy]

as artscot said definately sounds like the wheels are out of balance. However, from previous experience I have found wheel balancing wobble goes after about 60mph. So to me i'd say buckled wheel. If you drive at about 5-10mph on a straight flat road feel and watch the steering wheel....if it moves ever so slightly on each revolution of the wheel then that would poss indicate a buckled wheel too.

If you hit it that hard it tore the tyre up i'd say its done some other damage. I'd def agree with a poss buckled wheel, maybe bent wishbone or something along those lines...or even a drive shaft.

Sometimes the 'drifting' over the road can be caused by poor camber setup and tracking....but if this has been done properly then that should really be eliminated.

As for the whirring noise, probably wheel bearing. Common as horse muck on the ST170's. About £14 for a bearing kit and will prob need to be fitted at a garage as they are pressed in i think. Although i have known people to just smack the hell out of bearings with a hammer to get the old one out then smack the new one back in. But this wouldn't do the bearing any good

[Jordan M]

as artscot said definately sounds like the wheels are out of balance. However, from previous experience I have found wheel balancing wobble goes after about 60mph. So to me i'd say buckled wheel. If you drive at about 5-10mph on a straight flat road feel and watch the steering wheel....if it moves ever so slightly on each revolution of the wheel then that would poss indicate a buckled wheel too.

If you hit it that hard it tore the tyre up i'd say its done some other damage. I'd def agree with a poss buckled wheel, maybe bent wishbone or something along those lines...or even a drive shaft.

Sometimes the 'drifting' over the road can be caused by poor camber setup and tracking....but if this has been done properly then that should really be eliminated.

As for the whirring noise, probably wheel bearing. Common as horse muck on the ST170's. About £14 for a bearing kit and will prob need to be fitted at a garage as they are pressed in i think. Although i have known people to just smack the hell out of bearings with a hammer to get the old one out then smack the new one back in. But this wouldn't do the bearing any good

Thanks for the info! Kinda hoping for a buckled wheel as I imagine it's cheaper than a driveshaft or wishbone!

Also going to give a quick review of the garage so i'll either be singing some praise or naming and shaming them!

[Jordan M]

Just dropped her off at Ford... they said they need to do a road test :( hopefully it will be a good mechanic and not some little hoodlum raggin' me car around!!

[Jordan M]

Just got a call from Ford... haven't finished checking the car yet but noticed an small oil leak on the crankshaft... said they can repair it but will have to order in the parts. it'll be around £160 to fix so I think I'll leave it until the end of the month :-/

Still waiting to here back about the rest :-/

[Jordan M]

Just got my car back and the tracking and balancing was severely out despite being done at a previous ford dealership. The bloke didn't realise it was another ford garage in the same group and said it didn't look like it had been balanced and that the other garages' tracking machine must have been broke :-/ Once I explained it was another ford garage in their group he was very apologetic and didn't charge for the tracking and balancing which was nice so overall a good experience from this specific branch and I'll definitely be going back :-)

[Slugsy]

Just got my car back and the tracking and balancing was severely out despite being done at a previous ford dealership. The bloke didn't realise it was another ford garage in the same group and said it didn't look like it had been balanced and that the other garages' tracking machine must have been broke :-/ Once I explained it was another ford garage in their group he was very apologetic and didn't charge for the tracking and balancing which was nice so overall a good experience from this specific branch and I'll definitely be going back :-)

Blidning result. Not often that you'll get a dealer foot the bill for another dealer! Just goes to show how much of a robbing bunch that the stealers are! And how un honest they can be! I have known a mechanic at ford to do a "service" and that involved changing the oil, cleaning plugs with wire brush and blowing air filter out with an air gun! Hence why i dont go to the garages anymore

[deshallz06]

Blidning result. Not often that you'll get a dealer foot the bill for another dealer! Just goes to show how much of a robbing bunch that the stealers are! And how un honest they can be! I have known a mechanic at ford to do a "service" and that involved changing the oil, cleaning plugs with wire brush and blowing air filter out with an air gun! Hence why i dont go to the garages anymore

Am thinking about buying a Focus ST170, in your opinion would it be a very good buy.