I got two questions to you guys:

1) Car seems to pull to the left slightly. Is there anything else besides messed up toe that can cause this? It's been like that for about a week. The car was aligned and corner balance about a month ago.

2) Every time I go over a bump I hear a dull rattling sound coming from either left or right front suspension area (depending on which wheel goes over the bump.). It's somewhat similar to the sound produced by shaking coins but not as loud.
Any ideas of what could be the cause?

Thanks in advance!

 

Anyone?

Could worn strut mounts be a cause of both of these problems?

 

Worn strut mounts..... Maybe. If they were REALLY gone. You could also have a brake dragging.

When you had the car aligned and corner balanced, did you check to make sure your height was even on both sides?

Did you check your LCA ball joints, tie rod ball joints, suspension bushings, wheel bearings, etc.?

You could also try switching your wheels front-to-back and seeing if the problem goes away. If it does, you have a bad rim or tire.

 

They purposely set the height a little uneven because of the weight difference. lol

I checked wheel bearings, lower ball joints and LCA bushings, and they seem to be fine. I also do not have any vibration in the steering wheel, so the rims shouldn't be bent either.

How do you check if the tie rod ball joints are worn? Just like lower ball joints? (by trying to shake the rim)

I'm also not sure how to check the strut mounts for wear.

Thanks!

 

Aren't you supposed to set preload rather than height?

You could still have a bad tire. Again, try switching your front and rear wheels to see if the pull goes away.

The best thing is to get the car up on a lift, get behind the wheel you want to check (so you can see all the suspension and steering bits), and then try to shake the rim. That way, if there is any play, you can see where it is.

Damn, I should know this but I haven't had strut mounts for a while....

 

To be honest, I'm not sure... But I think that's what they adjusted, the car still sits a little uneven though. (LF - 25 7/8, RF - 26)

hm... that's possible, especially considering that the car started pulling to the side a day or two after autocrossing. I guess I'll switch them for a couple of weeks...


That's exactly what I did. No free play at all, except when the car is in gear and someone is holding the wheel on the other side you can still rotate the wheel, like a degree or two. But as far as I know that's normal.


You don't know something like that?? You suck man!! ...... j/k