Thread: Roaming P38

Originally Posted by 96 4.6

Hi all, need some advice on where to look for causes to a wandering 96 P38. On decent road surfaces it is fine, however on the goat tracks vicroads tries to pass of as highways out here in the country, my P38 is not a pleasant vehicle to drive..
I bought the car a few months ago, and what once was an occasional interesting quirk is now becoming annoying..
I will be driving along and the car suddenly (and subtly so far) changes direction. What it is doing is tracking like when you drive onto tram tracks in the city. It can go left or right, it can also just give a little wriggle which is umm, interesting.
It is not wheels out of balance because that would vibrate the car. It is not wheel bearings, have checked and there is no play. Have adjusted the tire pressures, and that made it a little better but did not cure it. Had thought about bushes, but the radius arms and the panhard rods seem fine.
Can anyone please help........... I'm stumped...

Wheel alignment problem?

Maybe someone has changed the front suspension and not the rear.

I had a series 2A that was lower in the bum compared with the front and it did the same.

Worn tyres, worn suspension bushes (front or rear), incorrect toe out, etc.

Do you have 16" or 18" wheels ?

I know tram tracking is more noticeable on the DiscoII when they have the 18" wheels fitted. My P38a is also a lot worse now that it has 18"s.

I'm hoping a wheel alignment will make mine better, otherwise the 16"s will go back on for city driving.

The wheels I have are the stock alloy 16's. I will look into a wheel alignment, but wouldn't that usually cause vibrations/continuous problems? Similar to out of balance tyres. This thing is strange because it will be fine for a while till it builds up the nerve and then starts directing itself. It's not heat related as it does it hot and cold.

had same problem with my 93 range rover on bituem apply brake a little twitch to the left when took it on beach the thing decided it wasa crab and spent the entire day with **** trying to overtake the front of the vehicle

was a suspension issue all the rubber bushes needed replacing since then no problems behaves itself perfectly

Originally Posted by 96 4.6

The wheels I have are the stock alloy 16's. I will look into a wheel alignment, but wouldn't that usually cause vibrations/continuous problems? Similar to out of balance tyres. This thing is strange because it will be fine for a while till it builds up the nerve and then starts directing itself. It's not heat related as it does it hot and cold.

Wheel alignment out of spec will cause pulling and tyre wear, not vibration.

Originally Posted by Scouse

Do you have 16" or 18" wheels ?

I know tram tracking is more noticeable on the DiscoII when they have the 18" wheels fitted. My P38a is also a lot worse now that it has 18"s.

I'm hoping a wheel alignment will make mine better, otherwise the 16"s will go back on for city driving.

I have 18's on a series 2 disco and they don't track at all. I also have a set of 16's for long trips and they are fine also.

I always get an alignment done after changing. Maybe that is the difference.

Could it be the swivel pin preload?
I had some wandering probs with the disco that were fixed by getting the above fixed.