Hi, my mk1 focus has developed a fault whereby, when i go over a bump or down a pothole the steering wheel is pulled from my hand(not badly just alittle to one side) but also a slow speeds the wheel tends to jerk about a little, with a slight pull to one side. I've checked the wheel nuts and also changed the wheels around with no succsess. When i removed the wheels i noticed one wishbone was a lot newer than the other and the tyres had heavy wear to the inside. Any help please. Thanks

Anyone got any idea's. Cars going to scrap yard otherwise

possably the wrong wishbone has been fitted.. or has a broken spring

when did you get the car?

And/or alignment out

as stated above, wishbone, tracking, snapped springs, everything that related to the suspension/steering area of that side of the car

What condition is the rest of the car in?

When is the MOT due?

Are the tyres Legal and Safe?

that s a bit harsh for a bit of bump steer usually it needs a 4 wheel alignment but as above the suspension needs checked please remember we try to answer when we can but we arent all sitting here all day waiting on new posts mate

It does sound like a wheel geometry problem.

Kwik-fit use Winalign which is very accurate (not that I recommend Kwik-fit normally) other than that, most garages can check alignment quite easily.

I reckon that when the wishbone was changed the track rods weren't adjusted properly.

Thanks, i'll get it up on stands tomoz, look at the suspension/wishbone bushes(springs did look fine tho), but car is coming to end of it's life 107000miles with only 1month Tax and Test,and also needs a new gearbox speed sensor.Any expensive repairs and it won't be worth it, it does seem a shame but got another car,and i just can't be botherd with this one. Just one question on the track rods, would they want the same number threads exposed at their ends on each side of the car, or could they be diffrent(to have the correct alignment)

They would be different to allow for camber.

Yep, ok just thought it might be a cheaper way to solve the problem

You need someone with a 3d imager alignment system like hunter pro align so you can see what ur angles are, the problem could be anything from the strut, bearing carrier, ball joint, lower arm, drop links.

Looking at you location I do believe there is a garage in the Yorkshire area using the pro align elite td system but I'm not sure of there name.

Go to www.alignmycar.co.uk to do a search

Does it pull to the side the new wishbone was fitted to? If so, check that a proper pinch bolt has been used in the bottom ball joint.

If the old one snapped when it was removed ive seen normal bolts used which lets the ball joint move about in the hub, they need proper pinch bolts to prevent this happening.