So I took my car in for alignment after doing my struts and the car still pulls slightly to the right

I figured its due to camber.. probably the right having more camber than left, so this is what I do.

I park my car at my cousin's driveway(which has a slope) with the cars front prointing down. Turn the wheels right, and use the "P" to hold the car instead of parking brake.

Is this going to work?

 

Just take it back to where you got it aligned and have them correct it. You will never be able to get the alignment straight yourself.

 

I have eibach camber bolts for sale if you are interested just PM me.

 

Did you read the alignment printout to confirm the camber is out of spec?

 

No, this won't work.

You need to use the camber bolts to adjust camber like Caradana said.

If it's pulling then it's probly not the camber. I'd just take it back like Dubbya said.

 

Did you lower the car? If not & you just replaced stock with stock, you alignment shouldn't be drastically changed. You mention that it "still" pulls, hence it was an issue that was bothering you for a while.

 

bone stock. was perfectly straight when struts were replaced. when i replaced left axle, then it started pulling ever so slightly. i read that the only thing thats specified for alignment on 4th gens are toe. though a mech might be nice to mess with the lower strut bolt to adjust camber. this is not a huge thing though, i can barely feel it. its only detectable when you let go of the wheel on a straight road for a little while

 

Yes, you could fiddle with the strut bolts to change the camber ever so slightly. But the design is such that anywhere the stock bolts are tightened, the alignment (camber/caster) will be within spec. So what this would mean is that either your toe is out, something is bent, or the tires are causing the pull (most likely).

 

Wow in my other fourm someone has the same prob..

They replaced a axle and when ever they gas it the car leans to one side.. hmm I wonder..

 

Somewhere in the past I recall reading that suspension engineers intentionally design in a very slight amount of drift to the right (presumably with caster) so if the driver were to fall asleep at the wheel, the car would be more likely to drift off the shoulder rather than into oncoming traffic.
Nevertheless, unless this is only your imagination, if it wasn't there before, you only replaced the struts and are otherwise bone stock, it shouldn't be there now. The key to finding the problem ought to be in the alignment spec printout sheet (and having an alighment specialist who understands what he's doing and the subtle effects small variations can have).

 

Probably just a symptom of the fact that the road is higher in the middle than the edge, or the prevailing wind.

A true pull will start the moment you let go of the wheel.

 

This thread is useless unless we see the alignment numbers.

 

Mine pulls slightly right also. Tires don't wear funny though.

 

When i worked at a dealer and did alignments i added a bit more toe-in on the right side to help compensate for the road crown. I left them within spec though, of course...

 

How would that help? Correct me if I'm wrong, but when the driver turns the wheel to the right, that would neutralize that extra toe you give them. Therefore, it would all be the same as you not giving any extra toe on the right and the driver leaving the wheel centered.

 

The extra toe is to help straight line tracking when the road crown is pronounced. Why does the driver turning the wheel to the right have to do with anything?

 

what im saying is that that extra toe would result in the same effect as if there were no extra toe and the driver turns the wheel slightly left to compensate... in other words, when the driver lets go of the wheel, the car will still drift right

 

This makes no sense...


The point of doing that is so there is less steering input required to track straight. And FYI, i've been in cars that i've aligned with and w/out this method and there is a difference. I'm not speculating. I'm speaking from experience.

 

Toe will not 'straighten' a car against the force road crown. But like Nismology says, it significantly helps straight line stability.

Dave

 

Camber can very well cause a pull to one side or the other, especially on our cars. Since there is no factory adjustment for camber on our cars without camber bolts, chances are the alignment tech just adjusted your front toe and shipped the car. If you have the alignment sheet I'd look at the numbers and see whether it's in spec or not.

Also...take a good look at your caster. Is caster on both sides within a degree of each other? If there is more than a degree of difference one front wheel will be trailing the other and cause a pull to the side with less caster.

Also take a look at your SAI...if one side is significantly different than the other it indicates something is bent in the car. Look at your rear toe as well. If your rear toe is out it will throw off your thrust angle, and if the thrust angle is off your front toe will be out even if it says it's within spec.

Any other questions just ask. I do alignments for a living, lol

 

Exactly! I've had my 96SE since day one, and early-on I detected a slight drift (not a pull) to the left. When the dealer's alignment tech and service manager couldn't explain it, it suddenly became my imagination. Several years later an expert alignment tech detected the LR wheel with too much toe-in. Never had an accident, so it apparently was manufactured (or delivered) that way.
Nevertheless, none of this explains why you now have this situation that (apparently) never existed before you replaced the struts.

 

didnt happen after i replaced struts either. only after i replaced the left axle did it come up. thats why im suspecting that when the guy took off the hub, he put it back on with a different camber.