Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Ok as most as most of you guys know recently i had to change my Lower Control Arm and Caster Rod, after getting a new set of tires, alignment and suspension check the car is starting to pull to the left (if I let go of the steering wheel it will just start going to the left) I was wondering what you guys think it is, it drives fine i took it to the midnight cruise with no dramas but its worrying me for the Buller cruise. Does anyone know of a good suspension specialist near Caulfield East? After a close examination I think I've tightened the LCA bolt too tight but it seems to be stuck now (It free spins, no amount of untightening or tightening makes it move) I'm currently getting another bolt from the guy I bought the LCA from but I just haven't had the time (as he lives in Frankston) although I dont think it will have a major influence on the steering will it?

Any input appreciated

EDIT: I have to keep the steering wheel slightly to the right for it to go straight

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/294690-car-pulling-to-left/
Share on other sites

  • Replies 40
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Ok as most as most of you guys know recently i had to change my Lower Control Arm and Caster Rod, after getting a new set of tires, alignment and suspension check the car is starting to pull to the left (if I let go of the steering wheel it will just start going to the left) I was wondering what you guys think it is, it drives fine i took it to the midnight cruise with no dramas but its worrying me for the Buller cruise. Does anyone know of a good suspension specialist near Caulfield East? After a close examination I think I've tightened the LCA bolt too tight but it seems to be stuck now (It free spins, no amount of untightening or tightening makes it move) I'm currently getting another bolt from the guy I bought the LCA from but I just haven't had the time (as he lives in Frankston) although I dont think it will have a major influence on the steering will it?

Any input appreciated

EDIT: I have to keep the steering wheel slightly to the right for it to go straight

Maybe they didn't align it probably? Because if problems was with the things you install, wouldn't the car sway left when the steering wheel is straight? It's just a guess lol

But I'd hate to see you fall off the mountain next weekend :down:

its meant to veer to the left ever so slightly if you take your hands off the wheel

its a safety feature designed to make you not run onto the wrong side of the rd

just check how much - if in doubt goto a wheel balance / suspension place

Could it potentially be your tie rods? Even after an alignment, the settings won't stick if your tie rods are porked.

Suggest you get those looked at.

A nice place to go around East Caulfield; perhaps Pro Tek tyres? They're located on the corner of Ferntree Gully Rd and Dandenong rd. If not there, you can head down Nepean Hwy towards Nissan Brighton. Theres a place directly across from there but I'm not sure of the places name.

Good luck.

its meant to veer to the left ever so slightly if you take your hands off the wheel

its a safety feature designed to make you not run onto the wrong side of the rd

just check how much - if in doubt goto a wheel balance / suspension place

Actually, thats true. Because the roads are made to be on an angle, so water and stuff rolls off to the side. There's one way to test it, is to drive in the middle of the road (of course when there's no cars), then let go off the steering wheel lol.

Could it potentially be your tie rods? Even after an alignment, the settings won't stick if your tie rods are porked.

Suggest you get those looked at.

A nice place to go around East Caulfield; perhaps Pro Tek tyres? They're located on the corner of Ferntree Gully Rd and Dandenong rd. If not there, you can head down Nepean Hwy towards Nissan Brighton. Theres a place directly across from there but I'm not sure of the places name.

Good luck.

ProTek and tierods/ends.... sounds like a plan.

Will pull to the left on most roads due to the slope, if you run a little more castor on the left i think it is it drives straight on cambered roads.

also take into consideration tyre condition and inflation, make sure they are all even,

and possibly brakes dragging or handbrake being overadjusted on the left side

or even a dodgy wheel alignment, these 4wsteer systems need experienced ppl to do them right.

could be a stuffed Tie rod since you hit it hard enough to bend an LCA

did you get an alignment print out from the aligner,

as some places will just say, we made it as straight as we can, without showing any printouts with all the alignment settings

could be a stuffed Tie rod since you hit it hard enough to bend an LCA

did you get an alignment print out from the aligner,

as some places will just say, we made it as straight as we can, without showing any printouts with all the alignment settings

Yea man Nathan gave me the alignment print out but I dont know about this stuff, I'll go get it and post it up here to see if anyone know about it

Some comments the mechanic left after a comprehensive check:

Play in L/H Front King Pin

Play in L/H rear tie rod end and upper control arm joint

L/H ball joint rubber cover split

sounds pretty serious..........

2deg less castor on the left than right, 2mm less toe on left than right, 1deg less neg camber on the left. Normally when they can't adjust camber and castor atleast get the toe equal side to side... Take it somewhere that can give advice when they see the camber/castor is out that much with no adjustment IMO.

i see this as the issue. the .3 of a degree difference in camber on the rear is insignificant compared to the fronts overall differences.

yeah i agree with ryan,

all you have to do is just look at the final values column and compare left to right

The values should be very similar left to right

your front end is showing some major differences

take it to a suspension specialist and see if they can fix it using factory adjustments

otherwise, the problem lies deeper within the suspension mounting points which could have been damaged in the accident, or possibly a bent hub

Are you running standard (stock) suspension setup?

If you are - try to find the factory manual - it seems to have all the correct angles (specs) etc. and send it to the wheel/suspension place.

Then take the car for a run on the freeway.

Ok well the story is that I brought the car to ProTek where they said (after looking at the alignment sheet) that he thinks the guy wasn't exactly the most capable but in his defense he said that he thinks the whole suspension has been pushed back and in a bit, his suggestion was to bring it to pedders and get an aftermarket setup that would allow me to adjust and compensate for the damage, or to bring it to a specialist and see what they can do. He recommended me to Kents but of course every time I hear "panel beater" there is only one real name that comes to mind when operating on a budget (Vu) so the car is now with Vu @ DT Panels and hopefully he'll be able to get it fixed with no real dramas and at a good price

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Who did you have do the installation? I actually know someone who is VERY familiar with the AVS gear. The main point of contact though would be your installer.   Where are you based in NZ?
    • Look, realistically, those are some fairly chunky connectors and wires so it is a reasonably fair bet that that loom was involved in the redirection of the fuel pump and/or ECU/ignition power for the immobiliser. It's also fair to be that the new immobiliser is essentially the same thing as the old one, and so it probably needs the same stuff done to make it do what it has to do. Given that you are talking about a car that no-one else here is familiar with (I mean your exact car) and an alarm that I've never heard of before and so probably not many others are familiar with, and that some wire monkey has been messing with it out of our sight, it seems reasonable that the wire monkey should be fixing this.
    • Wheel alignment immediately. Not "when I get around to it". And further to what Duncan said - you cannot just put camber arms on and shorten them. You will introduce bump steer far in excess of what the car had with stock arms. You need adjustable tension arms and they need to be shortened also. The simplest approach is to shorten them the same % as the stock ones. This will not be correct or optimal, but it will be better than any other guess. The correct way to set the lengths of both arms is to use a properly built/set up bump steer gauge and trial and error the adjustments until you hit the camber you need and want and have minimum bump steer in the range of motion that the wheel is expected to travel. And what Duncan said about toe is also very true. And you cannot change the camber arm without also affecting toe. So when you have adjustable arms on the back of a Skyline, the car either needs to go to a talented wheel aligner (not your local tyre shop dropout), or you need to be able to do this stuff yourself at home. Guess which approach I have taken? I have built my own gear for camber, toe and bump steer measurement and I do all this on the flattest bit of concrete I have, with some shims under the tyres on one side to level the car.
    • Thought I would get some advice from others on this situation.    Relevant info: R33 GTS25t Link G4x ECU Walbro 255LPH w/ OEM FP Relay (No relay mod) Scenario: I accidentally messed up my old AVS S5 (rev.1) at the start of the year and the cars been immobilised. Also the siren BBU has completely failed; so I decided to upgrade it.  I got a newer AVS S5 (rev.2?) installed on Friday. The guy removed the old one and its immobilisers. Tried to start it; the car cranks but doesnt start.  The new one was installed and all the alarm functions seem to be working as they should; still wouldn't start Went to bed; got up on Friday morning and decided to have a look into the no start problem. Found the car completely dead.  Charged the battery; plugged it back in and found the brake lights were stuck on.  Unplugging the brake pedal switch the lights turn off. Plug it back in and theyre stuck on again. I tested the switch (continuity test and resistance); all looks good (0-1kohm).  On talking to AVS; found its because of the rubber stopper on the brake pedal; sure enough the middle of it is missing so have ordered a new one. One of those wear items; which was confusing what was going on However when I try unplugging the STOP Light fuses (under the dash and under the hood) the brake light still stays on. Should those fuses not cut the brake light circuit?  I then checked the ECU; FP Speed Error.  Testing the pump again; I can hear the relay clicking every time I switch it to ON. I unplugged the pump and put the multimeter across the plug. No continuity; im seeing 0.6V (ECU signal?) and when it switches the relay I think its like 20mA or 200mA). Not seeing 12.4V / 7-9A. As far as I know; the Fuel Pump was wired through one of the immobiliser relays on the old alarm.  He pulled some thick gauged harness out with the old alarm wiring; which looks to me like it was to bridge connections into the immobilisers? Before it got immobilised it was running just fine.  Im at a loss to why the FP is getting no voltage; I thought maybe the FP was faulty (even though I havent even done 50km on the new pump) but no voltage at the harness plug.  Questions: Could it be he didnt reconnect the fuel pump when testing it after the old alarm removal (before installing the new alarm)?  Is this a case of bridging to the brake lights instead of the fuel pump circuit? It's a bit beyond me as I dont do a lot with electrical; so have tried my best to diagnose what I think seems to make sense.  Seeking advice if theres for sure an issue with the alarm install to get him back here; or if I do infact, need an auto electrician to diagnose it. 
    • Then, shorten them by 1cm, drop the car back down and have a visual look (or even better, use a spirit level across the wheel to see if you have less camber than before. You still want something like 1.5 for road use. Alternatively, if you have adjustable rear ride height (I assume you do if you have extreme camber wear), raise the suspension back to standard height until you can get it all aligned properly. Finally, keep in mind that wear on the inside of the tyre can be for incorrect toe, not just camber
×
×
  • Create New...