I have a stock 2k A4 ... when running down the highway in OD if I accelerate hard enough to drop to third gear the car pulls to the left. Otherwise, it tracks straight. Do Vette's have torque steer?!? (I thought this was basically limited to front wheel drives?) Any ideas what may be going on?

Thanks ya'll,
Chris ...

 

Torque steer is indeed limited to front wheel drive. Only thing that comes to mind is a broken motor mount.

 

Or a bad RR shock........ I had a Bilstein give up and under power car wanted to launch to the left.

 

I had this problem and replaced the left and right tie rod rear tie rod ends. Easy to check jack the car and look for any left to right slack.

Side note: I found it strange that at 80k miles the rear end tie rod were bad and the front ones ok. Might be due to too many drift fun at track......

 

Are you speaking of the sway bar end links? Or other??

Thanks for all the replys so far -- at least I've got something to look for (especially since I'm planning the first stage of my significant HP increases!).

 

First thing to do is check the easy (free) stuff. Air pressures equal in the tires, especially from side to side vs front to rear.
Next, does it do it on all roads or just certain roads, you may not have a problem. It may just be the roads and unequal traction.
Do the rear tires have equal or nearly equal wear and wear patterns.

OK, enough of the free stuff, the rest cost money.
Rear alignment? It may just be a simple alignment problem.
Check all the rubber bushing in the rear suspension. Worn or soft bushings in the IRS can cause numerous tracking problems.

 

I've seen IRS twice tonight poking around The Forum ... what is IRS???

 

I'm referring to the tie rod end circle in blue on the picture below.

 

IRS = Independent Rear Suspension

 

I am also experiencing the same or similar symptoms...
When I'm in 5th gear and light on the gas...as I press the gas on and off..I can move the rear end of the car.feels like the rear diff. Is lose and moving or changing angles. At first I though a camber/ caster adjuster was lose..had an alignment done today..its better. But something is worn out like a transmission mount or something.

 

I agree,, the free stuff is easy and needs to be checked.

Your cars ALIGNMENT is critical for the car to drive straight down the road and drive straight without fighting the steering wheel. If the alignment is incorrect handling will never be worth salt!

That being said,, look very carefully at post# 8 ANYTHING in the suspension that is connected with a rubber bushing, ball joint or connects to the cradle and controls the position of the rear wheels, needs to be checked for deterioration, loose, lost motion or excessive deflection.

Until ALL of that is carefully checked and proven NOT to be part of the issue, don’t even think of an alignment. Once all that is check and proven GOOD,, ALIGNMENT needs to be checked and corrected if it is out of spec!

Jack up the rear of the car... Grab the rear tire at the 12:00/6:00 position and push /pull the tire and see if you have ANY movement. Do the same at the 03:00 / 09:00 position. Your checking for rear bearing wear and TRUST me,, if the bearing is worn and has free play, it will cause handling issues. A good bearing will have little or NO perceived lost motion or wheel movement:





If you can easily feel wheel movement,, that bearing is BAD!


While you have the rear of the car in the air,, put the trans mission in Neutral, release the parking brake. Have someone HOLD one tire to prevent it from moving. Attempt to rotate the opposite tire. IF, the rear end clutches are GOOD, it will be difficult to rotate the tire that your trying to spin. A new rear will require around 100 FT/lbs of rotational force to turn. As the clutches in the rear wear, it will require a lot less force. If you can easily turn the tire while the other one id held stationary, you have issues in the rear end limited slip clutches or the Belleville Spring that applies pressure /clamping force on the clutches is broken:



Let us know what you figure out!!

Bill

 

Another thing to do is change the fluid in the differential and make sure you have the right about of additive in it so the limited slip works correctly.

 

Had an alignment done...was out a little.
Problem still exist..noticeable on the freeway in 6th gear..as apply the throttle feels like the front moves to the right and back to the left as I let off the gas..

 

Something must be bad if it's doing it in 6th gear. Post the alignment specs. Did you give it a good look over for bad components?

 

does it feel like it's rear steering or turning from the front? You've definitely got a significant load dependent alignment issue, the suspension components and drivetrain mounts need a detailed inspection.

 

With the car on a flat surface, have soneone move the steering wheel slightly LEFT and Slightly RIGHT while you inspect the front steering components. Look for component movement.

Look at the steering rack mounting bracket and bushing and make sure its not moving!

bc

 

6th gear is a pretty low torque situation. Something is loose/worn.