I’ve got a 1990 Ford Festiva with 274,000 miles on it. I’ve had it for 16 years. I mainly drive it to work, 25 miles one way. About 1 1/2 years ago, 15 miles into my trip, the steering wheel jerked to the left when slowing down and coming to a stop. It did this the rest of the way to work. Coming home it didn’t do it until almost home. I replaced the control arm/ball joints. Problem solved.
Six months later it did the same thing. Drove home with no jerking. Replaced both the inner and outer tie rods.
About a month ago it did the same thing. Replaced front tires, calipers, brake master cylinder, 2 of the 3 motor mounts (the 3rd one was defective from manufacturer).
It did it again the other day.
About 75,000 miles ago, I replaced the front bearings, bushings and axles.
The front left cv joint does make noise when turning a hard right, rarely when turning left and never going straight.
The twitch seems to happen on very cold mornings and the car does pull to the left. Again more so on cold mornings than when its warmer. I live in Atlanta. I do check the tire pressure and had it aligned after the tie rods.
When the twitch happens, it seems to occur when there isn’t torque on the drive train: slowing down to stop, shifting, etc.
Any ideas as to what may be causing the twitch??
Thanks for your help
Wow!!! Maybe the left front brakehose? I don’t really think it is the brake hose, but that’s about the only thing you haven’t replaced. Sometimes old brake hoses come apart internally. The disintegrating inner lining can act like a check valve locking the brake on for a while.
I think I may have fixed the problem by replacing the driver’s side axle and wheel bearings. It hasn’t done it in a couple of weeks, knock on wood.
Thanks
bump