ok so i have .1 of toe on the left, .16 on the right, and the car still pulls to the left. .1deg of cross caster, and .4 of cross caster. everything in the rear is also within spec.

...wtf. took it to belle tire. i think i need a real alignment shop. any suggestions around the troy and rochester hills area in MI? Did the same stuff with 2 completeley diff sets of wheels and tires.

 

well, does it pull right away or does it take about 5 seconds to "drift" to the right? if its right away have them re do it first and if it does it again, have them swap the front two tires left to right, then if it pulls to the left then you know you have a radial pull.

 

can you post a pic of the alignment sheet they should have given you one .1 and .16 toe seems like a lot I .like as little as possible while still being in the spec. You also didn't say what your camber was set at. I do alignments at my shop. Sounds like you have too much camber to the left. Camber pulls to to the highest number caster pulls to the lowest,in most cases you need around .4° pulling to the left to over come road crown, but will vary with location

 

Im an alignment tech just because everything is in spec does not mean it wont cause a pull. Also as stated above cross rotate the front tires see if the pull changes direction to rule out a tire pull

 

check dumb things like tire pressure, no sway bar preload, good suspension bushings and free strut bearing movement

 

If I suspect a tire pull I rotate them one at a time to the rear a "bad" tire will not pull on the rear of a vehicle I have seen tires that will push a car in one direction so side to side doesn't always work. Good catch I didn't think of a tire issue

 

low air in the tire. bad tire. bad rim?

 

take it back and tell them it pulls to the left after the alignment. It could be a separated tire "bad", they should have set the air pressure before the alignment, and in the 4rs I've been in the auto biz I've never seen a rim cause a pull correct me if I'm wrong on that....

 

here is the alignment sheet:

tires are fine. they are also new. like i said, it did it with a completely different set of wheels and tires.

 

looks pretty good on paper. theres no camber, or caster adjustment with factory struts anyways. .5Deg. of caster shouldnt make it pull.

 

im thinking the wheel bearing maybe. although i cant hear it making any noise, and there is no play... i dont want to just go throwing parts at it though.

 

I have the same issue, it happened after i put some cheaper tires on.
Put the original conti`s back on the front and it was straight again.

You say its not the tires, but have you tried rotating front to back

Probably not the hub (bearing) if it still tight.

 

he said it was 2 different sets of wheels and tires...

after thinking, could be a collapsed brake hose. pressure from stepping on the brake will not show the issue while braking, but when you let up, it can hold fluid agains the caliper and cause the pads to drag on the rotor, causing a slight pull.

 

hmmm. that looks like a pretty perfect alignment ha. our cars dont have rear adjustments so the front is all u can really do. but TOE wont cause a pull itll cause ur steering wheel to not be straight when ur going straight. ha to check ur TOE portion of the alignment drive down the street and hold the steering wheel STRAIGHT then see if the car goes straight. if it does then ur toe is good. its something else. i know at toyota i see this happening with frozen calipers on occasion

 

im having a similar issue... mostly on fast starts from a stop.... think my alignment is fine... it really doesnt pull either way while driving... just on hard acceleration from a stop... any ideas?

 

^ really? its called torque steer.

 

Lol this thread rocks
Anybody consider possible power steering rack internal fluid leak past the seals will cause this too.

 

I had the power steering recall done last year. what seals are you speaking of? i dont seem to have any fluid leaks.

 

cobalt steering is electric no fluid to leak past internal rack and pinion seals, as for a brake pull you will only notice them at lower speeds.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say its pulling to the right as there is a total Of .4° pulling that way in my area I .need .4-.5° pulling to the left to make a car go straight..am I correct?

Our cars do have rear adjustments but you have to install a "full contact shim"

As for adjustment with stock struts there is a cam bolt kit that can be installed, this only adjusts camber no caster adjustment I'm awear of

When it comes to tires new doesn't mean good just had to warranty 2 out of 4 for an out of round vibration, less than 1500 miles on them.

 

any way to fix it?

 

Have the alignment tech put ballast in the front driver's seat. I worked at a dealer where they would use salt softener bags like two or three 80 lb bags depending on your weight. This could help with some of the pull. Could also be bent suspension parts.

 

Yeah buy a rear wheel drive car

 

.5 on the cross caster is enough to cause a pull. A good rule of thumb for cross caster/cross camber is .5 or more will cause a noticeable pull...
So you 'should' have a pull to the right.

Caster can be adjusted...requires shifting of the cradle

Couple things I see:
1) Range for rear toe; -.18-.43 seems awfully broad.
2) Where did the 'Before' specs go?
3) Although everything is "in spec"...it definitely needs adjusted

When I get to work in the morning, I will see what the specs are. It's not all that hard to "adjust" the specs to make things green.



More than likely, it is a tire issue...Just cross rotate to the rear and double check tire pressures.
...Don't rule out the road though...

 

radial pull on the tire
thats what i had

 

good idea with the weight idea, if there was bent parts it would show up on the alignment sheet as the angles would be affected. I could see a worn out suspension part causing a pull tho.