car pulling left

[bhukhari]

i have vw sharan 1.9 2006. i replaced driveside drive shaft 6 months ago. After that car started pulling left and i had to hold steering slightly right to drive car straight. then after a while car started viberating while driving above 50 along with pulling left. i replaced front tyres and vibration issue redused quite a bit but car was still pulling left. i went for wheel alignement .after alignement car was same pulling left. i went back to alignement shop ,they did alignement again but issue didnit resolve.i replaced wish bone bushes,ball joints,top strut mounts with bearings,anti roll bar bushes front and rear, serviced front and rear brakes with new pads and disks and serviced calipers with new pistons and accessories. unfortunately the car still pulls left and i have to hold steering slightly right to dirve straight. Any suggestions welcome

[insanitybeard]

So you had no problems with it pulling to the left before the driveshaft was replaced? Just to confirm, was it the outer driver's side shaft that was replaced? (because the centre shaft which runs along the back of the engine is also an issue with these vehicles because the splines wear out where the centre shaft plugs into the stub shaft in the gearbox) Which make of replacement shaft did you fit? These vehicles can be quite sensitive to the quality of the replacement shafts fitted and I've heard numerous tales of people reporting vibration after replacing the shafts with cheap aftermarket items, though not necessarily issues with pulling to one side. Sounds almost like there could be some issue with torque steer due to an imbalance somewhere.

[bhukhari]

Thanks for your quick response.yes problem started after changing the drive shaft. Before i never noticed this problem in my car,it used drive very smooth. it was inner shaft which plugs into the gear box came off and whole shaft was replaced by a mechanic and it was a good quality drive shaft from Parker's. please could explain about the torqu steer issue as i am not very good with mechanical terms. regards

[Chrispb]

Torque steer is usually found on hard acceleration mostly pulls to the right. I wouldn't think this is your problem as it would have been there before.
As you say it wasn't pulling before the driveshaft I would look at the lower wishbone rear bushes as these are stressed when the vehicle is raised off the ground and these rear bushes may have become de bonded allowing movement which could cause the steering geometry to be altered.
It may not be this but worth a look.
A  n/s/f tyre worn on the outside edge will steer the car towards the left, under inflated tyres can cause excess tyre wear especially on front wheel drive.

What pressures are you putting in the tyres should be at least 40psi in the fronts depending on tyre size.

[brianh]

A simple test with the tyres would be to swap them around to see if the issue swaps sides. As Chris says above, the pressures vary depending on the size fitted, but you should find the pressures shown on a chart inside the fuel filler door.

Is a good quality driveshaft bearing the J&R brand? I would read your reply above to mean its the longer two part shaft you've swapped, probabbly both parts of it by the reply? There aren't many I know of producing the replacement short stub shaft, but several folk have had problems with their shafts in the past (me included, exactly the sort of issue you report for me).

Equally the tyres can cause similar issues, the Galaxy really does need the xl rated tyres due to its weight, lower rated tyres do not last as they flex too easily, and wear out quicker as a result. I've had problems with cheap tyres bearing the required load rating as well, particually at speed and under braking. But swapping the rear tyres to the front should be enough of a test for that to be ruled out.

It would also be advisable to double check for any play in the rack itself, the track rods at either end of it can provide a bit of play thats difficult to detect, though a geometry check should have picked that up as well. If you get the front end raised up and get someone to hold one side and then check for play at the other side.

I'd think given the issue appeared after you swapped the driveshaft, that only really suggests the likely cause to be either the driveshaft itself, or something thats been disturbed in the process of replacing it though.

[bhukhari]

sorry for late input. i was busy at work. yes i swapped tyres and and still no improvement and tyres are still in good condition because i replaced few months back.i have also  checked tie rod both sides and there is no play in tie rod on either side, i a have also changed wish bone bushes few weeks age and good quality bushes (lemforder). the only thing i have not changed in suspension is the shock absorber .most of the other parts have changed or serviced recently.