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alignment, still pulls left - am I missing something?

DR1665

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
4,642
Location
Iowa City, IA
I feel like I'm missing something. Before I bring the snark...

- [464] was pulling to the left (not torque steer, alignment issue)
- Took it in for an alignment, told outer tie rod was bad, quoted $100+ for replacement
- Spent $50 and replaced both outer tie rod ends myself
- Took it back for an alignment, the drive there was "interesting" to say the least.
- Got the car back, still pulling to the left.

I know they did something alignment-wise, as the toe was all kinds of whack after I did the tie rod ends. Twitchy 'bitchy. That is gone.
The steering feels very balanced and neutral (read: heavy as usual). But she's still clearly pulling to the left, even against the grade.

Am I missing something? They didn't do their usual, "Here's a dozen things wrong with your old car that you should let us make awesome margins fixing for you" spiel, so I'm guessing they didn't have any trouble aligning the car, and didn't find anything that looked wonky. They gave me the print-out showing the numbers before and after, too (don't have it on me ATM), so I dunno.

I'm thinking an alignment means the car should track straight. I know they did something, but it still pulls left just as much as always.

Should I go in and raise a little hell, or am I missing something?

Thanks, gents.
 

What was on the list of things they thought they should overcharge you to replace? control arms? ball joints? sway bar links?
Correct me if i'm wrong senior members, but many things can cause said problem.

And yes, It's possible they screwed up your alignment.
 

boostedinaz

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Apr 20, 2006
Messages
4,085
Location
Scottsdale, AZ
^^^

Correct. Anything to do with an alignment such as ball joints, bushings, etc.. will make it hard to get aligned. If those are bad you gattoa replace them.

The other option is they didn't do a very good job. Take it back and have them do it again.
 

misterfixit

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Joined
Aug 4, 2004
Messages
1,596
Location
Midlands, UK
Check their gauges. If they are shite then you'll get a shitty allignment.

I just did the back end of my stand in 4ws prelude by eye and it was only 0.15° off on camber on the left side, If its still shitty look at the bottom ball joint and the top mount. One other thing to check it the rotor is free on that side?

Rich
 

mikus

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Joined
Jan 11, 2007
Messages
2,763
Location
Aurora IL
in order of liklihood?
- other bad related parts to be found
- tire issues (tread/inflation)
- bad alignment
- you're driving in a steady gust of wind and/or experienced gravitational shift associated with lunar cycle (apply less wax)
 

^^^
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif
very true, very hilarious
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif
 

Two things U might need to check...
First, switch tires. Sometime if the tires too much pressure. I mean too much. It will expand. But once expended, it won't come back the original size.
Second, take it to body shop. Put it on the lift & have mechanic measure the bottom chassis & front end.
I have my done...long time ago. Found out the rear control arm slightly bent from curve. U can barely see from your eyes.
Hope it help..
 

Olson

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Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
1,237
Location
Moreno Valley CA
I'll say tires. When i had my stock 15's all seasons on it tracked straight and true once i put the 16 inch advans on witch i had it aligned with it pulls here and there because of the grade of the road.
 

The first thing you should do is go back to them and ask someone to take a ride with you. Show them exactly how the car pulls, and then ask them to do another alignment. If the alignment shop can't fix the pulling, ask them to tell you why they can't fix it. If the BS starts flying, ask for a refund, and find another shop.
 

bmxkid415

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Joined
Jan 27, 2008
Messages
204
Location
Bradenton FL
Did they just do a toe and go? I know in order to set front camber you need to e longate the front strut tower bolts in order to get some adjustment out of them. If you could post a picture of the print out that would be helpful. At the very least the specs for before and after.

There are a lot of things that can cause the car to pull one way or another. Simple thing you can do is swop the front wheels side to side. See if it starts pulling to the right afterwards.
 

iceman69510

Turn Right Racing
Staff member
Joined
Mar 5, 2001
Messages
10,964
Location
Michigan
What are all the numbers on caster, camber and rear toe as well? I know they are not all adjustable easily, but cross camber and uneven caster can cause some pull.

Bad tires as others have stated (large conicity, or failed belt). Rear toe can cause front pull issues (dogtracking).
 

iLLeffeKt vr-4

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Jul 26, 2004
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2,153
Location
NYC
Post your printout from the alignment shop so we can better help you.
 

DR1665

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Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
4,642
Location
Iowa City, IA
I'll see if I can't grab the printout here in a bit. Thanks, fellas.

Guess I could swap tires side-to-side, but they're directional (Hankook R-S2s), so I really don't want to do much driving around with them rotating the wrong way.

Murphy's Law: They did everything right, but my struts/ball-joints/LCAs are fuct from just a bit too much fun off-road. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/uhh.gif

Man. I gotta get [195] back together pronto.

Thanks again, gents.
 

DR1665

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Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
4,642
Location
Iowa City, IA
Here's numberwang!



Any thoughts?

Thanks as always, gents.
 

thecman02

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Nov 3, 2007
Messages
917
Location
Kalamazoo,MI
Hmm your front toe angle ever so slighty points to the right, your rears are favoring the left though. The rear left wheel has more pull to the left then the right to the right by .05*. It definitely isn't perfect by any means. Front right wheel also has .7* of camber in while the left wheel has none.

While the alignment isn't perfect, it should be pretty close, maybe try rotating tires and checking the air pressure. If your not happy with the alignment though I'd definitely bring it back and show them the problem.
 

Muskrat

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Joined
Jun 13, 2004
Messages
2,107
Location
Lexington, KY
Do you know accident history on the car?

Sometimes the frame is tweaked, and even though the numbers are in spec, it wont drive straight.

See if you can find a good shop with alignment tech who definitely know what they are doing. Not just those guys who throw it on the rack and let the machine do the work. Sometime to get a car to drive straight, you actually need to set the suspension up outside of factory spec.
 

iLLeffeKt vr-4

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Jul 26, 2004
Messages
2,153
Location
NYC
Have them set the TOE to 0 all around and go from there.
 

DR1665

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Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
4,642
Location
Iowa City, IA
Quoting Muskrat:
Do you know accident history on the car?

Sometimes the frame is tweaked, and even though the numbers are in spec, it wont drive straight.

See if you can find a good shop with alignment tech who definitely know what they are doing. Not just those guys who throw it on the rack and let the machine do the work. Sometime to get a car to drive straight, you actually need to set the suspension up outside of factory spec.



I'm a bit concerned about this. The front right corner of the car was cut out and replaced by a previous owner. She's got a "washed title" out of California. She's since been totaled again, getting rear-ended last summer, curiously, just off-center on the left side. Even so, she's tracked straight before...

Might be time to get the trammel out...

Thanks, gents.
 
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