406 steering Problem

My 97 406 at 230,000 km has started to kick left when accelerating and
kick right when decelerating. Somewhat disconcerting. We've checked
the track rod ends and steering components, tyres and front wheel
alignment - very slight wear on track rod ends.

Can anyone offer suggestions as to a cure, or has had this problem?

 

Purely trying logical guesses, I would look at the constant velocity joints
and the brakes. The latter seems most likely. If you have a calliper
stuck on the left side so it provides a permanent drag on the left wheel
when accelerating but does not move when the brakes are applied thus
allowing the right brakes to pull harder on the right wheel it would have
the kind of effect you describe.

 

I have had exactly this on a 306; the culprit was wear in the rubber
bushes mounting the lower wishbone to the subframe; they let the
wishbone rotate about a vertical axis when a torque is applied by the
wheel, giving a steering effect - the direction of the 'steering' is
opposite for acceleration and braking.
From your description my suspicions would lie with the right-hand wishbone.