Strange steering behavior
I'm with John on this one.
(turbo monte)
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 403
From: MI.
Unfortunately its my daily driver vehicle and I don't have an alternative.
The guy who did the alignment is willing to look at it again for nothing. He says if its something else other than the alignment he can spot that as well.
The guy who did the alignment is willing to look at it again for nothing. He says if its something else other than the alignment he can spot that as well.
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 146
From: massillon, oh
a different tire size can cause the vehicle to steer abnormally...i would still start with the basics first by checking all front end parts etc...of course, you will need to put the correct tire size back on the vehicle...alignment won't be accurate if you have the incorrect tire size on the vehicle...
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 841
From: n/a
I would consider taling it to a different shop. Any decent alignment shop will check for loose suspension/steering components. And definately wouldnt do the alignment till you had matching tires. I had one shop tell me no because my tires were too worn, jus my $0.02
Be careful of that alignment guy. If something was bad in the front end he should not have done an alignment. And he should have noticed that you had an off size tire when he put the reflector on the rim. That's why he is willing to check it for free!
Your control arms keep the tire centered in the wheel Well. Allowing the wheel to move roundy roundy while keeping it's center from moving forward or backward. If the wheel moves forward the car will pull to that side. Especially under heavy torque. I'm going with bad control Arm bushing!
Your control arms keep the tire centered in the wheel Well. Allowing the wheel to move roundy roundy while keeping it's center from moving forward or backward. If the wheel moves forward the car will pull to that side. Especially under heavy torque. I'm going with bad control Arm bushing!
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 403
From: MI.
Thanks guys for all the input.
Yeah he admitted he hadn't noticed that the rear tire was an oddball size. I didn't really know that he should or shouldn't have noticed it but I'm willing to give him the benefit of a doubt. I actually knew better than to get an alignment with a mismatched tire but completely forgot the damn thing was on there.
The passenger side (the side it pulls to) is a new control arm and new tie rod end. The control arm is an AC/Delco with the bushing and ball joint all in one from Amazon and replaced about 3 months ago. The tie rod ends are new on both sides and replaced about 1-2 months ago. The driver side control arm has not been replaced.
I had a guy at another shop that I explained the situation to say it could be anything from an alignment to the rack. When I mentioned that I had gotten an alignment with a mismatched tire on it he said that would have made the alignment read "higher" than it should have. I did notice that it drove fine after the initial alignment and the problem only cropped up after I switched the mismatched tired out and bought a pair of Sumic GT-A's for the rear (correct size).
I don't really do that much driving I go to college twice a week and go out on the weekend usually but I will definitely be careful. With the weather we're having here in Southwest Michigan I'm lucky if I can get above 45 MPH anyways. LOL
Yeah he admitted he hadn't noticed that the rear tire was an oddball size. I didn't really know that he should or shouldn't have noticed it but I'm willing to give him the benefit of a doubt. I actually knew better than to get an alignment with a mismatched tire but completely forgot the damn thing was on there.
The passenger side (the side it pulls to) is a new control arm and new tie rod end. The control arm is an AC/Delco with the bushing and ball joint all in one from Amazon and replaced about 3 months ago. The tie rod ends are new on both sides and replaced about 1-2 months ago. The driver side control arm has not been replaced.
I had a guy at another shop that I explained the situation to say it could be anything from an alignment to the rack. When I mentioned that I had gotten an alignment with a mismatched tire on it he said that would have made the alignment read "higher" than it should have. I did notice that it drove fine after the initial alignment and the problem only cropped up after I switched the mismatched tired out and bought a pair of Sumic GT-A's for the rear (correct size).
I don't really do that much driving I go to college twice a week and go out on the weekend usually but I will definitely be careful. With the weather we're having here in Southwest Michigan I'm lucky if I can get above 45 MPH anyways. LOL
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 403
From: MI.
*UPDATE* OK guys problem solved. 
Turned out to be a loose ball joint, the nut on top was not tightened down. Now I'm not sure if me and buddy left it loose when we did the flywheel/flexplate? Or if the guy that did the alignment was messing around with it? Had my nephew look at it at the garage he works at AFTER I went back to the alignment guy and in 30 seconds he called me over to see the loose ball joint. There was about an inch or so of play in that ball joint.
Needless to say though I won't be going back to the alignment guy. He was telling me I needed new struts and a new control arm bushing (which I do actually on the drivers side) but apparently didn't notice the loose ball joint. My nephew is telling me the alignment guy shouldn't have been fooling with the ball joint but wouldn't put it past him to have loosened it for some reason and forgot to tighten it.
Thanks for all the advice guys I think you were all exactly on as you all suggested "something loose or worn". Nice to know we have such knowledgeable people available on here.
Turned out to be a loose ball joint, the nut on top was not tightened down. Now I'm not sure if me and buddy left it loose when we did the flywheel/flexplate? Or if the guy that did the alignment was messing around with it? Had my nephew look at it at the garage he works at AFTER I went back to the alignment guy and in 30 seconds he called me over to see the loose ball joint. There was about an inch or so of play in that ball joint.
Needless to say though I won't be going back to the alignment guy. He was telling me I needed new struts and a new control arm bushing (which I do actually on the drivers side) but apparently didn't notice the loose ball joint. My nephew is telling me the alignment guy shouldn't have been fooling with the ball joint but wouldn't put it past him to have loosened it for some reason and forgot to tighten it.
Thanks for all the advice guys I think you were all exactly on as you all suggested "something loose or worn". Nice to know we have such knowledgeable people available on here.
