Could a bad hub bearing cause something like torque steer?

"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats) 07/17/2016 at 18:16 • Filed to: None

0

9

Google image search for “torque steer” didn’t disappoint.

I just dropped my XJ8 off at the mechanic to have the hub bearings replaced in the rear passenger wheel and I was noticing some definite pulling to the right under acceleration. Outside of a wonky control arm bushing on the front passenger, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the suspension (but, Jaaaaag, so yeah), so outside of it being related to bad bearings, which I’ve never really heard of doing that (but I could see how it might happen) I’m not sure what it could be.

S65 > Honeybunchesofgoats 07/17/2016 at 18:55

1

I would look at that control arm bushing first

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Honeybunchesofgoats 07/17/2016 at 19:10

2

Serious question: is Drew Carey immortal?

1991:

2016:

kanadanmajava1 > Honeybunchesofgoats 07/17/2016 at 19:28

1

I think that a bed wheel bearing would cause the pulling during all situations and not just during acceleration. The culprit should be in rear control arms.

A really worn out bearing might be able to do “the steering” like you described but it would be making a lot of noises and make the brakes feel weird. If the brake disc would be moving wildly it would be pushing the brake caliper pistons in which would make the pedal feel very soft.

Honeybunchesofgoats > kanadanmajava1 07/17/2016 at 20:02

0

It was definitely making some squeaking noses, but the brakes felt pretty firm and normal. I'll have to ask my mechanic to check the rear control arm as well.

Honeybunchesofgoats > S65 07/17/2016 at 20:03

0

Yeah. Sigh. I'd really like to have a well-sorted suspension at some point. It feels like I've been going from one issue to the next.

deprecated account > Honeybunchesofgoats 07/17/2016 at 23:49

0

Torque steer refers to the tendency of a powerful FWD car to try to wrestle the steering wheel away from the driver’s hands, so pretty sure it’s not torque steer you’re suffering from.

Honeybunchesofgoats > deprecated account 07/18/2016 at 05:03

0

Oh no, definitely not. What I’m saying is that it’s similar to torque steer insofar as hard acceleration makes the car pull to the right, but nothing happens when braking or holding steady. In this case, the steering wheel doesn’t play into it at all, as the car drifts with the wheel held centered.

What’s driving me crazy is that I don’t know if I’m only noticing it now because I was looking for anything unusual. It actually took me a while to even realize that I was instinctively turning the steering wheel to the left to correct it.

deprecated account > Honeybunchesofgoats 07/18/2016 at 09:37

0

Ah, gotcha.

Scott > Honeybunchesofgoats 07/19/2016 at 09:47

1

Could be possible. My RX-7 had a seized wheel bearing that ground the axel hub down. Most the time I did not notice much, but under hard acceleration the front got light and the would sometimes pull the car in it’s own direction. It was intermittent though, not something I could recreate. Most the time it just felt like worn bushings, allowing the car to wallow and drift too much.