Can pulls hard to the right - Alignment?

[aphex]

Bringing the car into a local tire place that i've used for years for an Alignment tomorrow - $49.99

Is that the likely cause for a hard right pull on my car? Tires are all inflated properly.

 

[Black88GTA]

I'd look for a dragging brake (frozen caliper or internally collapsed brake hose) on one of the front wheels first. Then check for bent tie rods or other front end parts. Your alignment by itself would have to be EXTREMELY fucked to show a "hard right pull" without something being actually bent.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Is it just 'tramlining' on rutted roads? Some cars do that, my WRX used to be a pain with that. Just stay out of the truck lane.

 

[aphex]

I guess I should clarify:

If you let off the wheel (no matter what lane you are in nor the road conditions) you will either be in the next lane on the right or on the shoulder within 5 seconds.

You have to hold a little bit of pressure in the wheel left to make it to straight.

 

[exdeath]

Most likely tire wear. Such problems almost never have anything to do with alignment.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Very well could be an alignment problem. And such problems are caused by alignment A LOT.

If it's uneven tire wear....that's either alignment or over/under inflation that causes that.

Personally, on this one it might be a bad tire. Before I took it for an alignment, I'd rotate the tires side to side and see if the pull went the other way.

 

[exdeath]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Very well could be an alignment problem. And such problems are caused by alignment A LOT.

If it's uneven tire wear....that's either alignment or over/under inflation that causes that.

Personally, on this one it might be a bad tire. Before I took it for an alignment, I'd rotate the tires side to side and see if the pull went the other way.

Just saying, any indication of a bumpy ride or veering off course is always blamed on alignment, when truthfully most cars rarely need their alignment adjusted from factory spec unless they have taken suspension or frame damage. Most of the time it's just crappy tires that are well past their rated mileage or haven't been properly rotated.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: exdeath

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Very well could be an alignment problem. And such problems are caused by alignment A LOT.

If it's uneven tire wear....that's either alignment or over/under inflation that causes that.

Personally, on this one it might be a bad tire. Before I took it for an alignment, I'd rotate the tires side to side and see if the pull went the other way.

Just saying, any indication of a bumpy ride or veering off course is always blamed on alignment, when truthfully most cars rarely need their alignment adjusted from factory spec unless they have taken suspension or frame damage. Most of the time it's just crappy tires that are well past their rated mileage or haven't been properly rotated.

Well, that's my point....most cars aren't in factory spec. They need to be put back into factory spec.

I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that you can pull any 10 random cars with say, 30k miles that have never been aligned off the street, put them on an alignment machine and at least one measurement will be out of spec.
And if you pull the same amount of cars with a tire wear problem, nearly every one will be at least slightly out of spec.
Just because you're within the factory spec does not mean you won't have tire wear or a pull.....your particular car might do better if it's adjusted to one side of the spec or the other.
So if your camber adjustment spec is from .4 degrees to -.4 degrees, just being in that range doesn't mean you're at the optimum setting. Plus, you wouldn't want one side at -.4 and one at .4.
There's a lot to alignment other than just the specs.

But I'll agree that most folks blame a pull on alignment....a bumpy ride has nothing to do with alignment.
That's why I recommended the OP rotate tires first.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I hate it when my can pulls to the right...

 

[manowar821]

Mine pulled left, and then I got brand new tires along with an alignment job and tire balancing. It still pulls left, but only slightly.

It started pulling hard left back in oct when I got my old wheels "rotated" along with an oil change. Pissed me the hell off because they claimed after I came RIGHT back complaining about it, that "you can't mess up alignment by kicking the wheels off of a car". Well, guess what, it was hosed after you guys dealt with it!

Anyway, my point is, did you do anything to it recently like let greasy kids kick at your car?

 

[manowar821]

Double post... LOL

 

[imported_wonderwrench]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Very well could be an alignment problem. And such problems are caused by alignment A LOT.

If it's uneven tire wear....that's either alignment or over/under inflation that causes that.

Personally, on this one it might be a bad tire. Before I took it for an alignment, I'd rotate the tires side to side and see if the pull went the other way.

Good call. You must be a auto tech or in the business?

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: wonderwrench

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Very well could be an alignment problem. And such problems are caused by alignment A LOT.

If it's uneven tire wear....that's either alignment or over/under inflation that causes that.

Personally, on this one it might be a bad tire. Before I took it for an alignment, I'd rotate the tires side to side and see if the pull went the other way.

Good call. You must be a auto tech or in the business?

Yep, I'm afraid so.

Not with a dealership anymore, own my own business in sort of a niche market...I repair water leaks, wind noise, and sunroof for a bunch of dealerships in the area now.

But that doesn't mean I forgot all my previous training and experience, though.

 

[BabaBooey]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I hate it when my can pulls to the right...

I caught that also,damn cans...