Hi, had a longish drive the other day and noticed that on a fast sweeping left hand bend, I would get a rough sounding rumble from the front right wheel.  Same type of right hand bend and no noise at all.  Since then I have noticed that the steering wheel vibrates at low speed and the car pulls slightly to the right at all speeds.  In fact, the steering wheel needs to be held very slightly to the left of centre to keep a straight line.  I don't remember hitting anything hard in the last few days.

Thats about it for a description of the symptoms, so wondering what this could be due to, and how to look out for when checking before taking it into the garage?  Reading the forum it sounds like it could be a multitude of things, so what is the process of elimination to find the problem - any ideas?

 

Have you inspected the tyre for uneven wear?If you can get the wheel up in the air give it a spin ; is there vibration or noise?

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Funny you should say that, I just changed a tyre on that corner which had deformed and was making a horrible rumbling noise as a result of being deformed, like a wavy profile. Thats not it now though as there is no noise when I drive in a straight line or turning right, just when I turn sharpish left in a high speed bend.  I think its something more mechanical.

Just as an update, I found time to rotate my wheels between front and back this morning to check if this is a problem, with wheels/tyres or the more mechanical parts.  I have only driven my usual commute to work since but it does feel a lot better - no vibration in the steering wheel and no more pulling to the right.  I did notice that there were no balancing weights fixed to the rims so wonder if that is the problem so will take it back to the tyre fitter and ask.

 

I also noticed that the front brake discs had some play on both sides when the wheel is off, just a slight looseness when I shake it with my hand.  Is that normal or should I be concerned about it?

14 minutes ago, south_bound said:

I also noticed that the front brake discs had some play on both sides when the wheel is off, just a slight looseness when I shake it with my hand.  Is that normal or should I be concerned about it?

The brake discs are clamped in position by the wheel so they can be loose when the wheel is off. Manufacturers used to secure them to the hub with countersunk screws but tend not to these days to save money.

Great thanks - that is reassuring to know.

sounds like a buckled alloy wheel where it cant be balanced pot holes will do this

I would interested to know what caused the uneven tyre wear in the first place? Is there any play in the wheel bearings?