[Steering & Suspension] Lurching to right on long right hand bends

[Spardo]

My 2004 multispace has started to lurch to the right on long right hand bends under acceleration.

This was first noticed one day after all four wheels were tracked at tyre place. I got the tracking done because I had solved steering vibration by fitting 2 new tyres and, although all was perfect afterwards, decided that it would be best to avoid uneven wear again in case that was the cause.

Since then I have had the rear suspension renewed, new drop arms at the front and 4 new tyres fitted. The original 2 new fronts were illegal after 7,000 kms.

I also took it back to the same tyre place that tracked it, where it was tracked again. No better.

I have just been to a different place (on recommendation) where, although they can't check it for 15 days, the person seemed to recognise the problem straight away by asking 'is it a Berlingo?'

She explained too rapidly for me to keep up (I am in France) but I did hear her mention the word 'direction', which means steering in English. To make sure. I asked if the problem was with the front or the rear. The reply was 'the front' and, then 'if it was a Mercedes for example, it would be the rear'.

This suggests to me  a connection to the drive, but, if so, why was everything perfect until the first tracking was done?

[Civvic]

My 2004 multispace has started to lurch to the right on long right hand bends under acceleration.

This was first noticed one day after all four wheels were tracked at tyre place. I got the tracking done because I had solved steering vibration by fitting 2 new tyres and, although all was perfect afterwards, decided that it would be best to avoid uneven wear again in case that was the cause.

Since then I have had the rear suspension renewed, new drop arms at the front and 4 new tyres fitted. The original 2 new fronts were illegal after 7,000 kms.

I also took it back to the same tyre place that tracked it, where it was tracked again. No better.

I have just been to a different place (on recommendation) where, although they can't check it for 15 days, the person seemed to recognise the problem straight away by asking 'is it a Berlingo?'

She explained too rapidly for me to keep up (I am in France) but I did hear her mention the word 'direction', which means steering in English. To make sure. I asked if the problem was with the front or the rear. The reply was 'the front' and, then 'if it was a Mercedes for example, it would be the rear'.

This suggests to me  a connection to the drive, but, if so, why was everything perfect until the first tracking was done?

Could you be possibly be meaning "wheel alignment" of "wheel balancing" when you say "tracking"?

[Spardo]

I mean alignment, the wheels are automatically balanced when tyres are changed.

I am beginning to think though that the first alignment was not the cause of the problem, but revealed it.

After hearing an opinion that it might be the steering rack, I went back to the original tyre place and this time explained the precise problem. He, like the other garage I went to, immediately recognised it and, after a thorough examination, showed me the play in the steering and suspension ball joints on the left hand side.

He has given me a quote, which I have accepted and the work will be done next Thursday. Only then will I know if he is right or not.

[Civvic]

I mean alignment, the wheels are automatically balanced when tyres are changed.

I am beginning to think though that the first alignment was not the cause of the problem, but revealed it.

After hearing an opinion that it might be the steering rack, I went back to the original tyre place and this time explained the precise problem. He, like the other garage I went to, immediately recognised it and, after a thorough examination, showed me the play in the steering and suspension ball joints on the left hand side.

He has given me a quote, which I have accepted and the work will be done next Thursday. Only then will I know if he is right or not.

If you said its started immediately after the first alignment, then you possibly have to look into why it could have behaved that way. Knowing that the Berlingo/Partner versions were made with several different suspension setups and hence different alignment values for each version, could it be that the wrong alignment parameters for your van were used?

I ask this coz in my experience, alignment used to be a quite a challenge with positive results not being guaranteed till I found out the correct one for my van and since then has always been presto, (until recently when I found out that the left strut was bent ).