With a little over 125K miles on my vehicle, I started to notice some play in the front suspension so I replaced the lower ball joints, upper control arms, and inner and outer tie rod ends.
The next day I took it in to get aligned at a local tire shop that does great work on tires, but tends to be very busy.
The first try, they were close, but the steering wheel was not centered when driving straight. If you imagine the steering wheel as a clock, then it needed about a 3 minute correction to the left, as the steering kept wanting to wander to the right while driving (take note of this). Also, I noticed later in the day that the camber on the front wheels was radically different. The passenger side was sticking out while the driver side was sticking in.
I went back in yesterday and told them about my observations and they redid the work. I watched the tech use what I believe was the Hunter DSP series alignment rack and make adjustments to the camber and tie rods. He test drove it a few times and they finally gave me back the keys and said the tire was to blame as it was the source of the pulling. They were able to "prove" this by saying they swapped the front tires and now it was pulling to the left. When I got in and drove, what they told me held true, although fortunately the camber was corrected this time. They suggested I rotate the front tires to the back and that the issue would resolve itself in time. I got home and did exactly this. Front tires went to the back, the backs came up to the front. Still having wandering issues.. it pulls to the left.
Well, last night I had to run to the store and when I parked, I made sure the steering wheel was dead centered. I got out and looked at the wheels and it now appears that the toe on both wheels is incorrect. With the steering wheel centered, it appears that the toe on both wheels is slightly to the driver's left. I now have to set the steering wheel about 3 minutes to the right in order to go straight.
The alignment cost $65 and comes with a 12 month warranty. Should I keep trying with these guys or go pay again to have a different shop try at it? You'd think that the Hunter alignment rack would take a lot of noise out of the equation, but I wonder if this one of those cases where experience and a sharp eye can get the vehicle driving straight again.
The next day I took it in to get aligned at a local tire shop that does great work on tires, but tends to be very busy.
The first try, they were close, but the steering wheel was not centered when driving straight. If you imagine the steering wheel as a clock, then it needed about a 3 minute correction to the left, as the steering kept wanting to wander to the right while driving (take note of this). Also, I noticed later in the day that the camber on the front wheels was radically different. The passenger side was sticking out while the driver side was sticking in.
I went back in yesterday and told them about my observations and they redid the work. I watched the tech use what I believe was the Hunter DSP series alignment rack and make adjustments to the camber and tie rods. He test drove it a few times and they finally gave me back the keys and said the tire was to blame as it was the source of the pulling. They were able to "prove" this by saying they swapped the front tires and now it was pulling to the left. When I got in and drove, what they told me held true, although fortunately the camber was corrected this time. They suggested I rotate the front tires to the back and that the issue would resolve itself in time. I got home and did exactly this. Front tires went to the back, the backs came up to the front. Still having wandering issues.. it pulls to the left.
Well, last night I had to run to the store and when I parked, I made sure the steering wheel was dead centered. I got out and looked at the wheels and it now appears that the toe on both wheels is incorrect. With the steering wheel centered, it appears that the toe on both wheels is slightly to the driver's left. I now have to set the steering wheel about 3 minutes to the right in order to go straight.
The alignment cost $65 and comes with a 12 month warranty. Should I keep trying with these guys or go pay again to have a different shop try at it? You'd think that the Hunter alignment rack would take a lot of noise out of the equation, but I wonder if this one of those cases where experience and a sharp eye can get the vehicle driving straight again.
