2004 Avensis Drifting To The Left

[AvensisKen]

Hi All,

I have a 2004 Avensis D4D, With the English road pack. For as long as I can remember, if you take your hands off the steering wheel even for a second, the car starts to drift left almost instantly. This has gotten worse lately, and now if I take the pressure off the steering wheel the car wil hit the hard shoulder line in about 2 seconds.

I have checked everything that I can think of...

Brake pads and discs: All ok, bled brakes, even wear, shiny disks

Whes and Tyres: Tracking done, No uneven wear, all tires the same size

Suspension: No excessive bounce, no leaks, wear,visible damage

Tie rods and CV joints: All tie rods and the rubber bits are perfect, no play whatsoever in them, or the wishbone ect

Im at a bit of a loss now to be honest. The only minor issue I have with the car is a very slight creak when I go over a speedbump slowly. This ONLY happens on speed bumps, comes from the left hand side somewhere.

I had a look in the service manual, and it seems fairly vague when it comes to the steering system.

I have noticed that the power steering "self centre" system seems more aggressive when it is returning from turning right. If I have turned left (the problem side) it seems very sluggish to return to dead centre, and I usually have to hold the wheel at 5 degrees right to get the car to go straight.

Is there any way to set the power steering centre point manually? If there is, i'm sure it could solve this really annoying problem!

Thanks,

Ken

[Jamesbelfast]

The desription of faults is typical of either failed strut top mounts or bearings.

You'll need to drop the front struts out for further inspection.

[AvensisKen]

Hey thanks for the reply!!

Im not sure I would be able to drop the front struts, dont think id know how!

What is the easiest way to check the bearings...is it just a matter of spinning the wheel by hand and listening for a grinding?

Thanks,

Ken