I can't seem to find the cause of my car pulling to the left. I checked tire pressure & had it aligned, no difference. Then I changed the springs,struts, endlinks, got it aligned again , no difference. I thought maybe one of the brake calipers on the left was dragging, but that's not it either. Any chance the power steering pump can be out of whack and causing this? The laser alignment showed the car was straight. Never been in an accident either, BTW.
Car pulls to the left
- Thread starter raserx
- Start date
Good Call on the tires, but wouldn't they have found that out when he took it in for the alignment?
- :
- Protege5 2003
No. Alignment sets the geometry of the wheels, they don't do anything which will measure forces generated by the tires. Usually if a car pulls it is because the problem tire is on the front. You can temporarily swap the front left and right tires and then drive it. If the tires are the problem the direction of pull will reverse with the swap. Do not leave it that way, but it is safe to drive for a mile or so with directional tires "backwards". Alternatively, swap the tires on the left side, drive it, then the ones on the right.
I have had this happen to me several times. A tire develops a pull and it has to stay on the back and can't be rotated forward because the car drifts too much when it is on the front. If the tires are new and you find one that pulls like this take it back and get a replacement. Tires can develop this problem from hitting potholes, uneven wear, or who knows, maybe gypsy curses. It is pretty common.
I completely concur with you on that. But I am just saying this from a Shop Owners point of view. When I do alignments I check for the tire wear and everything you just stated, I am just saying you would expect a place you take your car to, to inspect these.....if not you need to come to my shop and let me service your cars.
drgnzadiel101
Member
- :
- 2002 mazda protege5
yea wish more people were like you
Bent wheels can definitely have an effect in this. again, something that would have been noticed when balancing the tire.
papa protege 5
Member
after spending hours at different mechanics and tire places some one was finally smart enogh to mention radial "pull" or "drift" created by a defective tire. The Falkens i had on only had 4k miles on them. But sure enough after taking my car to where i purchased the tires they found out which tire it was and replaced it for free. No pull at all now. wish i would of had some one mention this possibility months ago. Good luck.
hence why i said this, its so overlooked!
My 2002 has pulled to the right since the day I bought it new. 88K miles, several sets of tires, 3 four-wheel alignments, one change of brake pads, and just recently four new struts. Nothing has made a whit of difference. I'm actually thinking of replacing the steering rack because, frankly, I don't see how it can be anything else.
