kosmo886

Hi
my max has been pulling to the right for a while. I have gotten my tires alligned, and it still pulls exactly the same way. does anyone know what else the problem could be.
thanks

slizan99

iTrader: (1)

every max i've ever driven pulls one way or another. when you got an alignment, did they give you a spec sheet? also check that your tires are properly balanced and not over-worn on one side.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Rotate your tires and see if it goes away. If your not running directional tires, swap left and right and see if the pull follows the tire. If it does, you've found your problem, if it doesn't and continues to pull to the right, you most likely have a camber problem.

You can set your own camber fairly easily. If your lowered, losen up the lower strut bolts and pull the top of the hub assembly twards you as much as you can. Then tighten everything back up again. Repeat this for both left and right sides. That should set your camber pretty even on both sides.

If your not lowered, push the top of the hub inwards, or away from you. Again, make sure you do both sides the same way.

That should make your camber equal or very close to equal on both sides. Your pull should go away.

You will need to have your toe set after doing this procedure so get the car aligned again.

Most shops will not try to adjust camber on our cars. Some will even tell you it's not adjustable. The play in the bolt holes will give you almost a degree of camber adjustment. Setting both sides equal should stop any camber related pulling.


EDIT:
Quick note - Pull to the right means to much negative camber on the left wheel or to much positive camber on the right wheel.

Pull to the left is the opposite.

A pull caused by uneven caster means you have bent suspension components.

clee130

And possibly the one thing that gets overlooked each time: tire pressure.

bb0ys

what about a frozen or stiff caliper on the right side of the car? if the brakes are constantly applied to the front right whell, it will want to spin slower than the left wheel and the car will want to turn that direction.

jlsund

i was told by a mechanic that maximas, and especially old 300z's, if lowerd had a tendance to develop a pull that couldnt be fixed without some unorthodox metal-bending. IM not sure why, but i am still looking into all of this

Quack 2x

couple of other things you may want to consider: (warning- LONG POST)

ever since day one, my max has NEVER steered straight... it has always had a pull to the right. It's been in and out of the shop for almost the first year I've had it for this problem, and these are some of the things that came up for us. There are NO suspension mods, no rims, and no pothole/curb impacts.

when having your car aligned, make sure the dealer's alignment machine is set correctly. Each time the car went to the dealer, the alignment was always off... so they "corrected it". When Nissan Motor Corp. had me take the car to the local HQ for consideration for the "lemon law", it was determined that the local Nissan dealership's alignment machine was off, hence, the erroneous readings.

Another suggestion was that the crown or slope of the road (for drainage) was causing the pull, since the slope should always be towards the outside. Tested this theory by driving on the opposite side of the road (should have caused a pull to the left) and by driving in flat parking lots. Still pulled to the right.

Nissan then determined that my rear beam was bent from the factory, and replaced the rear beam and suspension assembly. Still pulls to the right. Getting aggravated at the car now, since Nissan is still refusing to honor the "lemon law", even though the car has been documented to have been taken in for service at least three times for the same problem, which has not been corrected.

One more phone call to corporate HQ, and the car goes back in. It was then determined that the steering gearbox was incorrectly adjusted, which could be causing a pull to one side. Gearbox was replaced.

Car still pulls mildly to the right, but nowhere near as bad as before. Steering is manageable. Before the gearbox change, I would constantly have to fight the car to go straight and keep pressure on the wheel... i.e., as my wife puts it, "you have to turn left to go straight". Now as long as you are kinda monitoring forward progress, it's not so spooky.

Sorry for the long post, hope some of this might be useful in solving your problem.

Aloha,

Quack2x

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Please don't ever use that mechanic.

I've had more suspension combos in my car then just about anybody on here. I've never had a pull of any kind. And, as most know, I do suspension installs for orgy members here in NJ. I've never had a Maxima come out of my shop after a suspension install with a pull of any kind. They all track straight, even before their toe is reset.

maximizd97

Now what is the deal if the car pulls right only under acceleration, but drives straight at steady speeds...I know maxima's are known for bad torque steer, but my dad's 2000 is no where near as bad as mine.

Nismotic

iTrader: (25)

I had the same problem. After dropping the car and rotating the tires, presto!

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Torque Steer.

The Acura's suspension is completely different from ours which eliminates quite a bit of Torque steer. Tires also effect how much Torque steer your car has.