tonykdee

Hi guys, i just got my alignment done at an auto shop. After driving it around after the alignment, i noticed that after i make a hard right (like from one street onto another), my steering wheel is not straight anymore. when i drive straight, my steering wheel is to the right, by a lot. It also pulls to the left when i let go of my steering wheel. But when i make a left u-turn, my steering wheel is corrected again. so when i drive straight, the steering wheel is straight. When the steering wheel is straight, there is no pull and drives perfectly.

So I took it right back to the shop and the mechanic said that because my car has a modified suspension, there will be play in my steering rack. Is this true? He first said my bushing in my steering rack were blown but after further inspection, he said there's just play, nothing is blown.

Car is an '04 civic. im riding on buddy club n+ with two finger gaps all around. the specs for the alignment:
Camber Front = -1.5
Camber Rear = -.75
Toe front = 1/32nd toe out
Toe Rear = 1/32nd toe in

So i guess my question is, how do i get this fixed? how do they fix this? what's the problem? is there really room for "play" when you modify the suspension?

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

The only reason why you'd have play in the steering rack, is if you had blown tie rod ends. There should be no play on the steering rack, and your steering wheel should be straight when your front wheels are straight.

Where did you get the alignment? JiffyLube?

tonykdee

Some automotive shop. its a real auto repair shop.

Can this happen because i have camber slots on the coilovers and they didn't tighten the bolts enough?

khoda355

yes it can be that too.. had the same thing =[

tonykdee

will check tie rod end in a second. so if it is leaking then its bad. will i also hear noises when when i turn or drive if the tie rod end is bad also?

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

Do you have camber plates/bolts? Are they tightened down? If they are, then you can test the tie rod ends by jacking the car up and pushing on the wheel to see if there is much deflection.

tonykdee

what coilovers do you have? you're in san jose too?

tonykdee

i don't have camber plates or bolts but on the coilover where the camber bolts go, there are slots so you can adjust camber. maybe that bolt was not tighten all the way down. ill make sure and if it is loose, ill take it back to the shop if it is safe.

tonykdee

it was the camber bolt. the alignment place didn't tighten one of the bolts. -_-