Car pulls to the left, cause?

[whitedevil95]

The car has pretty much done this since it was stock. Car has lowering springs on it when i got it, owner said he did the alignement himself. So i figured that was the cause, got it aligned and it still sort of did it. At this point ive had the car for 5 years, now have an SRA, Coil overs, Tubular k, 3 different sets of wheels and tires etc etc etc. And it still does it. Ive had it aligned and the shop I go to says alignment is in spec. Maybe I should try a new shop? Wheel bearing? Not really sure what to check.

 

[Comp04svt]

If the alignment is within spec, then you could have a tire pull. If the tires are not directional in the front, swap the front wheels side to side. If they are, try dismounting the front tires, and re mount them on the opposite side and see if that changes things.

 

[c6zhombre]

I know this isn't your issue now since you are SRA.....but every place I have ever taken a terminator to for an alignment just automatically assumed it was solid axle lol. I would have to remind them this is a factory IRS car and there are adjustments back there. Lol

 

[01yellercobra]

I would check the tires as well. My car has been to three different alignment shops and it's always had a slight pull to the right. I chalk it up to the front tires. They're directional and haven't felt like getting them swapped side to side.

 

[03terminatorcobra]

Has the car ever been in an accident?
Tire pressure checks out?

 

[Black Gold 380R]

You mentioned almost everything "except" your brake caliper. It might be sticking or grabbing/rubbing the left rotor causing the pull. Not saying this is your problem, but since you said you put several rims and tires on it over the years and it still does it then it could be the caliper. If not the caliper, maybe the rotor is warped.

Just throwing ideas out.............

 

[whitedevil95]

TO my knowledge the car has never been in an accident. All panels are original. Carfax came back clean years ago. Calipers could be worth looking into.

 

[SVT_Troy]

What's your alignment specs set to? What kind of roads are you noticing this pull on? Alot of folks add a little camber in alignments to adjust for the crown in the roads.

I had to buy FTBR's modded IRS eccentric camber adjustment bolts as i found one oem bolt broken (bolt head broken from shaft and allowed movement) and once welded neither of them would give me enough adjustment.

Next I would ask if your K-member squaring was checking when installing it? MM has the instructions on their website under the installation of their K-member.

I suspect you have had your car on a lift and checked for play by grabbing your wheels and shaking them in different directions, bent/worn components, etc already.

 

[Huachipato]

If you had the tires on the car for a while, maybe look for signs of uneven wear?

My car has been with me since new. The alignment has never been to spec - specifically the spec caster/camber adjustments have always been beyond what the car could physically adjust to.

Even recently - the caster/camber stock bearing had too much play in it - so the alignment shop told me to pound sand till I go a new caster/camber plates installed (I was desperate too since I had just replaced the lower control arms and the alignment was dangerously out of spec). I got some new caster/camber plates in and thought it would finally really be able to get aligned to spec, but nope - my car's physical adjustments are still outside of the stock spec.

That said - the shop I go to does an excellent job of adjusting both the fronts and backs. My car does ride straight and true every time I get it back from them.

 

[whitedevil95]

Now that I run 17x4.5 Welds up front it seems to be exaserbated a bit. Im gonna try a different shop and see if they can do a better job. Maybe let them know if they need to go out of spec to get it to go straight then go for it?

Best ways to check for dragging front brakes? Just jack it up and spin em? Same for front bearings?

 

[Goindeafonmtx]

If the alignment is within spec, then you could have a tire pull. If the tires are not directional in the front, swap the front wheels side to side. If they are, try dismounting the front tires, and re mount them on the opposite side and see if that changes things.

This is the answer except you don’t need to dismount. The tread pattern is solely for water evacuation. Just swap the front wheels and tires and see if the pull follows.


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[SVT_Troy]

Now that I run 17x4.5 Welds up front it seems to be exaserbated a bit. Im gonna try a different shop and see if they can do a better job. Maybe let them know if they need to go out of spec to get it to go straight then go for it?

Best ways to check for dragging front brakes? Just jack it up and spin em? Same for front bearings?

Yea if your brakes are dragging jack it up, remove the wheel and check for uneven wear on your brake pad. You can also try and spin them and see if one has more resistance than the other.

When wheel bearings go bad they normally squeal (more so in slow turns) and it you can pull the wheel in/out checking for abnormal play. There should not be in/out movement.


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[Soap]

I bet it's the K member. Mine had the same issue after installing an aftermarket K.

--Joe

 

[whitedevil95]

I bet it's the K member. Mine had the same issue after installing an aftermarket K.

--Joe

No it did this before the K member. I was hoping the K member would fix it, lol.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

id find a shop that specializes in lowered/race cars. Just because the lights on the screen turn green and it's "in spec" doesnt mean it'll track straight, it can still be off enough to cause it. If you've been using one shop the whole time I'd definitely say try a new one.

Case in point my aunt had an alignment done on her Tahoe but it pulled left and they kept telling her it was fine. We took it to a guy I know and didn't tell him anything, just asked him to check the alignment. He called us a little later saying "pulled to the left didn't it? It was in range but still off enough to pull"

 

[HudsonFalcon]

Car have CC plates? If so, the plate specs may be different than the specs your shop is trying to achieve.

 

[whitedevil95]

Car have CC plates? If so, the plate specs may be different than the specs your shop is trying to achieve.

Yes MM CC plates. I didnt know that.

 

[HudsonFalcon]

Yes MM CC plates. I didnt know that.

I believe this is the chart for the MM Plates just double check on their website.

Ran into the same problem.

Edit: with your suspension upgrades I would call MM directly, they're very helpful.

 

[SVT_Troy]

No it did this before the K member. I was hoping the K member would fix it, lol.

Don't write off the K-member, it cold have ben slightly canted from factory or removed for maintenance before you got to it. I know I installed my stock K-member slightly off (I noticed the rear K bolts did not line up with the old wear marks indicating the K was off) and it threw my alignment off. This is why MM wants you to check and make sure its square to the rear.

 

[Boss75]

If the alignment is within spec, then you could have a tire pull. If the tires are not directional in the front, swap the front wheels side to side. If they are, try dismounting the front tires, and re mount them on the opposite side and see if that changes things.

This is the best answer. Do you have your alignment sheet where you can post it?