What's wrong with my steering?
 

So about six months ago i put some spring clamps on my springs. Not a good idea as my wheels started to toe in about 2 months after i did it. So i look at it and think eehh, its not that bad. So i drove on it for about 4 months when i noticed my tires were wearing too much, the metal bands (the second one was showing). So i take the clamps off and figure i need new tires. But i didn't have the money at the time so i said i would do it the next paycheck (get new tires). But the next day my tire blows and i go get tires, get them mounted, and balanced. Then i go and get an alignment. When they are done aligning it i drive done the street and it pulls to the left. Quite a bit. Not quite where i have the wheel to 45 degrees but in between 0 and 45 degrees. Anyway so i take it back and they said they put it in to the specs of the computer. So what could be wrong. We looked under the car but don't see ANYTHING wrong. Whats wrong with my steering?

Tnx

if the car is actually pulling...and not just he wheel is turned but the car is actually pulling.....they screwed up the alignment...and its wrong.

make sure you weren't on some strange road that was banked or something....NORMALLY roads are crowned but that would make your car want to go to the right...not the left.

get on a really falt surface and check it out again....if it still pulls to the left like you said....demand that the alignment shop fix it.

You might want to look into your stock springs. By clamping them, you may have distorted them. Take it back to the alignment shop first and have them ride along with you on a road test to show them exactly what the problem is.

I took it back like right after they did the alignment. And the manager dosen't seem like he's gonna let his guys put it back on the machine. Ill go again. I was reading in one of the books and it said that if the springs are sagging it would pull also. How do i tell if the springs are sagging. All the book tells me is how to fix it.

You better make sure you get that manager's name if he doesn't want to help you. Having a car pull hard after an alignment is not normal. As for the advice from the book you're reading, did it happen to tell you to put some hard rubber spacers between the sagging coils? Usually, a sagged spring needs to be replaced, and can't be easily fixed.

i acctually went to the haynes manual and skimmed over it there, and it says i have to take out my springs and shhhtuff so, that sounds like its gonna be a pain. Well i was gonna scan in the page that showed all the info but its a pretty poor copy. Anyway ill type maybe you could help with this info.

Left(actual)__Right(actual)______Min/Max._____Item
-0.5_______-1.2____________-1.78/0.22_____Camber
2.6________2.1_____________0.88/2.88_____Caster
-0.09______-0.05___________-0.10/0.30_____Toe

Front(actual)
0.7 -1.50/1.50 Cross Camber
0.5 -1.50/1.50 Cross Caster

After looking at your alignment specs, no wonder the car pulls left. :rolleyes:

The car is aligned wrong and the specs say so. First, a car will pull towards the side with more positive (less negative) camber. The factory spec for cross camber is 0.5 degrees or less, and in my experience, anything over 0.25 degree will cause a noticeable pull. The shop has aligned it to 0.7 degrees cross camber, and they SHOULD be able to get it closer than this.

Second, the toe is set at almost maximum negative. This will make the car wander and exaggerate the pull. BJ Proteges tend to be sensitive to toe out (i.e. negative toe) and start "tramlining" at anything less than zero toe.

The caster settings should (on paper) make the car pull RIGHT, and maybe the alignment tech was hoping that the cross caster will counteract the camber problem. Obviously, he/she was wrong. :rolleyes:

Couple of other thoughts:

1) Tires are actually one of the most common causes of pull. If you mix and match different tire sizes, brands, or types on the same axle, or if the tires on one side is significantly more worn than the other side (like if you replace one tire without replacing the other), this can cause pull. Asymmetrical wear (i.e. one tire worn down on one shoulder) can also cause problems. If the front tires aren't directional, try swapping them from side to side and see if the car's behavior changes.
2) You can check for sagging springs by checking the ride height. I will dig up my factory service manual later and post the specs. :D

Hope this helps!

well i took the paper to the dealership today and they said the same exact thing you did. So i went up to the shop i got it done at and the guy said that as long as they are within the specs then technically they are in the go. He siad they could have made the right camber better, but its still within MIN/MAX. Then i told him that the dealer said "how you suppose to know whether the specs are right or not if you don't know the rear wheel specs" So he said he agrees and would put it back on the machine, get the rear specs and see if they match up to specs. He said if it is within specs he would rotate the tires (even though they are new) and see if that helps. He said the reason why is cuz even if they are only a few days old the tires can get set in there ways and pull to either side. I will tell him though, that he needs to adjust the right camber more. Thanx for your help carguycw

THIS PROBLEM COULD ALSO BE A LITTLE PAIN IN THE ASS CALLED (RAIDIAL PULL) SOME TIRES WILL MAKE YOUR CAR PULL. TRY SWAPING ONE FRONT TIRE TO THE BACK , AND IF THAT DOESN`T WORK SWAP A RIGHT WITH A LEFT . IF YOU HAVE DIRECTIONAL TIRES YOU WILL HAVE TO UNMOUNT AND MOUNT THE TIRES.

well he fixed it and it was the radial pull. so now my car drives straight. Thnx for you help guys.