Car Pulling To Left

[JamesK]

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

[Charles89]

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

[paulr33]

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

[Ruffels]

lol, your a pissa paul!

[R34_Wong]

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.

[Charles89]

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.

[_Ryan_]

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.

[JamesK]

Alright I'll bring it to ProTek tomorrow and let them have a go at it, hopefully it wont be anything more then a minor adjustment, thanks for the input guys

[TRB-001]

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.

[PIOTREK]

i had a simular issue a while back, changed the tie rods and caster rod bushes and once i put new tyres, went in for an allignment and now its sweet!

[180Roman]

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

[JamesK]

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

[JamesK]

Ok well I didn't even realize this until now, they aligned my car as an R31 GTS.....would that cause this?

[TRB-001]

to me both front and rear camber is uneven and will cause pulling slight pulling

[JamesK]

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..........

[_Ryan_]

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.

[180Roman]

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

[iseekool]

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.

[CrispyFries]

Having SAI and Included Angle of 40 degrees on one side and 4 degrees on the other seems a little wrong o.0

[JamesK]

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