Car pulls right only under hard acceleration

[careca]

Hi there! I have detected this issue a while ago, did an alignment, tire pressures ok and even, triangle bushings ok, but as soon as the turbo kicks in and the car starts to do some stronger acceleration, the car pulls right.
Yesterday i replaced the inner steering tie rods, the old ones were ok, the issue remained. I am now looking at the back because sometimes i hear the infamous loud "knock" over bumps, caused by the rear arms bearings.
Can these cause the issue i am experiencing at front? I just dont see anything else that might be causing this.

Thanks in advance

[HansH]

Sounds like the infamous wishbone bearings.
Did you or the garage do the alignment with running motor? cause that's obligatory when aligning the wheels.

[Stickyfinger]

8 & 15....same design/problem you get with a Xantia....a good chance it is these/one of them, normally the rears go first.

Put a pry bar under the arm and lever against that and the subframe should show....a little "flex" but no "movement"

Less often the lower ball joint [6] can fail and this will also give wayward steering at various times........... You have checked your tyre pressures ?

You are getting the knock at the back.....it is NOT good to leave that as the bearing surfaces will increasingly go oval and become "uneconomical" to fix in most garages....you may have to source parts from a scrap yard these days [part No A] .....this will also make cornering dangerous, when bad the rear inside can turn in on itself causing a severe lack of traction at the rear. IMHO that is URGENT as it is a massive safety issue.

Set No 1

[careca]

Did you or the garage do the alignment with running motor?

Hi, i believe it was turned off. Given that the car goes up to the normal height, and stays there when shut down, what is the difference?
Thanks.

Put a pry bar under the arm and lever against that and the subframe should show....a little "flex" but no "movement"

You are getting the knock at the back.....it is NOT good to leave that as the bearing surfaces will increasingly go oval and become "uneconomical" to fix in most garages....you may have to source parts from a scrap yard these days [part No A] .....this will also make cornering dangerous, when bad the rear inside can turn in on itself causing a severe lack of traction at the rear. IMHO that is URGENT as it is a massive safety issue.

I will look into the flex, i did not use a pry bar yet, but the rubbers seemed ok, no cracks or anything, but i do have new ones to install, might as well change all 4 and be done with it i guess.

As for the back, it really only knocks sometimes, i assume it's in early stages, but what do you mean the bearing surfaces become oval? Does this mean the slack is between the car and the outer part of the bearings?

I had ordered these but autodoc called and said its out of stock, i will look somewhere else and order the kit asap.

Thanks fellas.

[HansH]

The difference is that the car goes in driving mode/height once de engine is turned on.
Ever noticed that the car lifts it's nose slightly when you unlock it? The pump starts running and the car searches for the drive height.

[careca]

After replacing 8+15 the issue seems to be gone, need to align again.
The 15's were mostly fine, rubber a bit cracked, but 8's were really bad, on the right side, the inner tube was totaly separated from the rubber.
Thanks for input!

[Stickyfinger]

NP......please get the rear arm bearing sorted/checked

[PaulC5]

What will a garage charge to replace the rear arm bearings ? Our C5 has a slight knock at the back and from reading above maybe it is a bearing but it passes the MOT with it at the Citroen dealer and once on noticing the knock they checked it over but could not find the cause.

[Stickyfinger]

Not a clue on the price.

We are assuming you noticed this knock when going over small humps such as sleeping policemen...it knocks normally on the bottom of the compression/return

"Looking" will not show anything, the car needs to be lifted and depressurised to ID the bearing problem.....it will not show up on a standard MoT unless it is in a VERY worn condition.
It is a common (after 100k miles and/or a caravan tow car etc) and well known problem...best address early to prevent damage to the bearing seat as the "knock" can hammer it into an oval shape.
When bad the wheels can be seen to "lean in" and/or have increased wear on the inner edge of the tyre.

Sorry to say, I have ZERO faith in Citroen garages and their ability to check anything........the fact you presented a well known C5 (mk1/2) problem, one that has been known since Xantia/times (the same design) from the 90's and they did not know what it was or "could not find anything" really says it all for me.

Anti roll bar mounts are worth a check as well.....but they should be VERY obvious if failed....if they missed them never go back

[careca]

NP......please get the rear arm bearing sorted/checked

Yea no doubt, i am gathering the will to do it, from what i could gather it can be a mess, specialy dealing with rear brakes and such.
Curiously, it's not been doing the knock now, it's been days since i heard it.

[Paul-R]

Curiously, it's not been doing the knock now, it's been days since i heard it.

Has it been raining? Water provides temporary relief from the noise with lubrication.

[careca]

Not really, dry for more than a week.