Skitty handling mk 2

[rowey200]

My mk 2 Rev 4 has recently become very 'skitty' at the rear, and I can't quite figure out why. I'm not talking about on the limit handling issues, i'm talking about normal road use, examples being:

Whenever a rear wheel goes over a drain cover, even in a straight line, and even with hardly any throttle applied, say at 30 mph, the back end will kick notably sideways (this even happens in the dry, but it obviously more pronounced in the wet)

On smoothish tarmac, in a straight line with moderate throttle applied, the car can not find traction and the back end will kick from side to side, as if the car is pulling itself from side to side and the diff can’t find traction.

I have also had some seriously slow and unprovoked oversteer when exiting round abouts.

Any ideas what is going on? The rear tyres (toyo proxes T1R) are past their best, but still have 3mm left all over, tyre wear totally even etc.

It's as though the handling has changed almost overnight. I'm thinking I might take a trip to Pro Tyre at the weekend and get the alignment checked, and then perhaps a new set of boots? For info, I’m running supra 16’s on the car (215/45/16 front, 245/45/16 rear), and up until recently the car has handled sweet as a nut.

Any advice would be appreciated

[HighwayStar]

Hiya fella.
If it's just started as you say overnight I'd have to say probably damage. Hit any hideous potholes recently? First get the suspension looked over and if all is good move to alignment. All that said in my experience once T1-Rs are past their prime the downhill slope is fast and steep.

R.

PS. I assume you've looked at tyre pressures and signs of leaking dampers already?

[Davezilla]

I had the same problem, turned out I had 10mm of toe in on the rear OS wheel, and 3mm toe in on the NS rear wheel.
I'd get your tracking checked by a decent garage

[rowey200]

Hiya fella.
If it's just started as you say overnight I'd have to say probably damage. Hit any hideous potholes recently? First get the suspension looked over and if all is good move to alignment. All that said in my experience once T1-Rs are past their prime the downhill slope is fast and steep.

R.

PS. I assume you've looked at tyre pressures and signs of leaking dampers already?

I've checked tyre pressures etc, and visually checked the suspension the best I can, all appears fine. Having said that, there are some fairly tasty pot holes about at the mo, and while nothing sticks in my mind, i'm bound to have hit a couple, so perhaps something has been knocked out

I have had T1R's on previous cars, and agree that they tail off quite rapidly in the latter stages of their life, perhaps this is exaggerated as they are quite wide (245/45) on this car?

I think i'll get the geometry looked at, i've used pro tyre before, and they seem pretty good, and give you a full print out etc of how the car is set up etc.....or would you go elsewhere?

Also, the choice for rear tyres in my price range is very slim in the size I require, and is basically a choice between the Toyo Proxes T1R's (which I am currently running) or Hancook RS2's. Never had RS2's but i've heard good things, again any comments welcome

http://camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m62b0s345p0

I guess it's best to get some new boots before I get the geometry looked at?

Cheers in advance

[Torero]

I had the same problem, turned out I had 10mm of toe in on the rear OS wheel, and 3mm toe in on the NS rear wheel.
I'd get your tracking checked by a decent garage

I agree, this will definitely cause the tail end to drift, so it is worth your visit to sort out the geometry even if it's for peace of mind.

Could also be rear wheel bearings, any play will cause this or worn bushes particularly on the ARBs.

[GeoffC320]

FWIW, my T1's got pretty lively once they got below about 4mm (Rev3 turbo). And that was with verified good geometry.

Agree with Highwaystar's comments above.

HTH

[HighwayStar]

Hey again.
Just a note to say to the OP that if you go for new boots don't get your geo done till the new boots have worn in. If you've had new T1-Rs before you'll know it takes them a while to wear in and you don't want that interfering with the your geo assessment.

R.

[rowey200]

Hey again.
Just a note to say to the OP that if you go for new boots don't get your geo done till the new boots have worn in. If you've had new T1-Rs before you'll know it takes them a while to wear in and you don't want that interfering with the your geo assessment.

R.

Noted, ta

[JDM-MAT]

Wheel bearings

[rowey200]

Wheel bearings

How do I check this, jack the rear up and shake the wheels and check for play?

[JDM-MAT]

Can do this but sometimes its hard to spot. My wheel bearings went on my supra back end was all over the place it was dangerous.

[pbmr2]

last time i drove a mk2 with shot ball joints it was all over the place. easy to check.

[rowey200]

...well, this morning I went out (in the rain ) and jacked up each corner of the car to check for play in the bearings. Sure enough, NSR wheel has play in it which can clearly be felt. It's not grumbling when you spin it, but there is defo play in the bearings. All of the others (thought I may as well check the fronts as well) are fine, no play at all.

Only other issue I found was a slightly sticking calliper on the OSR. Guess this might be a dodgy handbrake cable, will have to investigate.

So, I think we have found the culprite for my dodgy rear end. New NSR wheel bearing, and some new rear tyres and full tracktion should be restored.

Thanks again for your advice peeps, top stuff

[JDM-MAT]

Not a problem any time

Pmsl

[Torero]

Thanks again for your advice peeps, top stuff

You're welcome Rowey. It feels good when you know

Just to clarify, you need to replace BOTH rear wheel bearings.