My fiesta's a bit wibbly wobbly

[Deranged Granny]

I have a 1996 MK4 Fiesta. If I leave the steering wheel in the dead-ahead position, it will noticeably turn to the left, meaning that to go in a straight line, I need to steer to the right by a not-inconsiderable 5 degrees. Also, at 25-40 mph, the steering wheel does a little jig - it moves from left to right quite energetically. Now, this may add character, but it is starting to get a little tiring, and rather unsafe. I had to brake quite heavily on the motorway and had to make a pretty large correction to keep in my lane.

Now, I want to go to the mechanics and seem like I know what I'm doing, so they won't rip me off too much. What's the difference between tracking and wheel alignment? And which is most likely to be causing the problem? As far as I can see, the tyres are wearing evenly on each side.

Thank you for listening, mucho gracias

[V88Dicky]

Its probably neither of the things you've said, sound more like suspension/steering bushes with too much play in them. Need to be changed quite frequently on MK 4 Fiestas iirc.

[Deranged Granny]

Thanks for your reply. That would make sense - the MOT last month flagged up that the suspension bushes had some play in them - I never thought that they would make such a difference. How much would it cost to replace them, inc. labour?

[V88Dicky]

The bushes themselves are often very cheap, ie a few pounds.

The labour, on the other hand should be no more than 1-1.5 hrs. But that's still £60+ at a cheap garage.

Worth getting someone you know who's handy with a spanner to do it.

[Deranged Granny]

Ok, thanks for your help!

[Zad]

It is worth putting uprated polybushes on. They last forever and sharpen up the handling without turning it into a racer. Polybushes are also a lot easier to fit.