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Car pulls to left, alignment done and new tires

S

SVTED

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Jul 21, 2007
Messages
689
Location
Waterloo/Toronto
I just got an alignment done and new tires over the weekend and now it's pulling to the left. I'm getting a grinding noise from I think the right side, so I'm thinking bad bearing but can that make the car pull to one side while coasting AND braking?
 
Could be bad LCA bushings. Let me pull up my ugly but accurate diagram of what happens with bad LCA bushings...

Here you go:

steeringpull.jpg


This becomes highly prominent on braking because of the weight being distributed to the front of the car. Hope this helps.
 
look at where the lcas mount to the subframe. If your lucky enough to have 2 bolt lca's then you might want to start there. They are the cheaper of the 2 variations and definitely the easiest to change lol. now you can do the o'clock test with the car jacked up to check the bearings. also does the grinding noise occur constantly or only when you turn one direction and are going straight. those usually mean wheel bearing.
 
it's there constantly and i swear sometimes it's there turning both sides and sometimes it's only on one side :blackeye:
 
SVTED said:
it's there constantly and i swear sometimes it's there turning both sides and sometimes it's only on one side :blackeye:
Click to expand...

That description right there sounds a lot like a wheel bearing. Turning slightly left sounds a bit different than turning slightly right, but turning hard in one direction will yield the sound while turning hard in the other direction will not. If you turn hard left and hear the sound, then your right wheel bearing is bad. If you turn hard right and hear the sound, it is the left wheel bearing.

However, one more clarification: Is it a constant grind? Or is it intermittent and makes a quick grind once per revolution of the wheel?
 
oh and apparently my hub nut wasn't on tightly on the left front wheel (i impacted the mofo when i did my swap wtf). So i had that tightened over the weekend but driving around with it not completely tight might've destroyed that bearing
 
There are two obvious things to also check.

The alignment itself. Did they give you a print-out? Can you post it?

Tires. Swap the two front tires and see if the pull moves to the other side. If so, you have a tire pull.
 
Big Jim said:
There are two obvious things to also check.

The alignment itself. Did they give you a print-out? Can you post it?

Tires. Swap the two front tires and see if the pull moves to the other side. If so, you have a tire pull.
Click to expand...

I'll post the print out when i get home

The tires are brand spanking new...
 
icysvt said:
look at where the lcas mount to the subframe. If your lucky enough to have 2 bolt lca's then you might want to start there.
Click to expand...

I just looked at pictures of the 2 bolt and 4 bolt and if the void in the middle is only for 2 bolt LCA's, then i have those. I'll check later though
 
alignment:

Front old(L/R):

Caster 2.5/3.0
Camber -0.7/-0.9
Toe -0.8/-0.45

Front new (L/R):

Caster 2.6/3.1
Camber -0.7/-0.8
Toe -0.05/-0.05
 
Okay i'm pretty sure i found the grinding sound.

I just checked out both LCA's, they look fine. I thought one of the calipers looked a little funny so I wiggled the right side one around and I can move it in (towards the engine) and out almost an inch or so. That ain't supposed to be happening is it
 
Okay wait. I think I just realized I'm retarded. The caliper is SUPPOSED to move along the guide bolts isn't it? So the side that's not moving has a sticking caliper?
 
if the brakes are bolted on the car then they shouldnt be moving AT ALL. if they are you may have lost a bracket bolt.
 
i had everything off earlier this afternoon.

frig i spent the whole afternoon trying to fix this and then i own my car tonight :nonono::mad:
 
SVTED said:
alignment:

Front old(L/R):

Caster 2.5/3.0
Camber -0.7/-0.9
Toe -0.8/-0.45

Front new (L/R):

Caster 2.6/3.1
Camber -0.7/-0.8
Toe -0.05/-0.05
Click to expand...

I've been away from a shop just long enough that my alignment theory is rusty.

Caster and Camber is not adjustable on our cars unless you install caster/camber kits.

Normally, you want Caster and Camber to be close to the same right to left. Sometimes a little alteration is needed to compensate for road crown. That is usually done by adding a slight amount of Caster to the right side, as much as 1/2 degree. Camber will do it too, but it is opposite. You need slightly more on the left side to overcome road crown.

In theory, this car should be about right or have a slight drift to the left.

However, our cars need all four wheels aligned. If the rears were not aligned at the same time, the thrust angle could be off causing the pull. Did you get the rear readings and thrust angle too?
 
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