would a bad inner tie rod affect alignment?
 

could a bad right front inner tie rod affect my cars alignment. it pulls hard to the left at high speed, and drifts to the left at low. i have to hold the steering wheel straight and taught or else it will move/drift left. its easier to turn the wheel to the left than it is to the right.

i hit a pretty big pot hole a year ago, had the RIGHT front upper ball joint replaced. the tire shop found that the tie rod had play in it after the second time i had it aligned after they put new tires on it.

could it just be their incompetence? it didn't pull that bad to the left before, or could the tie rod have something to do with it?


Modified by busyychild at 12:16 PM 1/2/2008

yea any of your tie-rods or ball joints can cause your alignment to be jacked up. in your case your "toe" angle will be affected and from ur description it sounds like a tie-rod is loose, check it out soon otherwise your wheels will be pointing outwards like duck feet, lol

Re: (h23prelude)
 

yes

Fix that tie-rod and get an alignment. Replacing the rod moves your "toe" angle, so you gotta get the alignment. And do a tire rotation if you havent got one.

all 4 tires are brand new. the shop that put them on found play in the tie rod. but they found the play in the tie rod only after i brought it back to them a second time to have it realigned due to it pulling to the left the first time they aligned it. i figured that they messed something up the first time b/c the car didn't pull like that before i got the tires.

the tires that i had put on were the Yokohama AVID V4S's, stock size on stock wheels

i guess im trying to figure out how possibly play in the front right inner tie rod would cause the car to pull hard to the left on the highway, and to the point where i have to hold the steering wheel in place or else it would turn left.

if i can get to a scanner i can post up the first alignment sheet, and then the second alignment sheet that shows all of the angles and adjustments that were made.

probably your tie rod ends. put it up on jacks and see if any of the wheels move side to side.

you cannot do an alignment on a car with bad tie rods, the toe will be constantly changing. if you want to make your car stop pulling, replaced all bad steering and suspension parts, then get an alignment done. tires ususally wont create a pull until they are badly worn or defective from the factory.

Re: (prelude_h22vtec)
 

im going to jack it up tonight and see if the wheel moves around. so far i have gotten 2 quotes for just putting a new tie rod in,

$275 and $102 for the labor.

I can get the part myself and the tire shop will re-re-align it once i get it replaced.

It's weird how it started pulling to the left after you got the tires and did the alignment. I work @ a tire shop and never heard of a honda car pulling so hard because of a play in the tie-rods. I mean, if it has little play, it should'nt pull how your describing it. Just to be sure, I say, level your steering wheel centered, walk infront of your car at least 5-7ft away, duck down, and look at both front tires if they are both straight and not looking towards the left (which will be your right if your infront of the car). Make sure they are facing straight. If they arent, the shop did a bad alignment. But either way, that tie-rod has to be replaced. Quick question...Do you have camber kits?!!!

Re: (HeDge_BB6)
 

I don't have a camber kit. The suspension is stock with the exception of ebay strut bars in the front and rear. I just left it at my mechanic this morning and he said I would be needing an inner and outer on the passenger side (the side that i hit a massive pot hole with last year) and I would need an outer on the driver side. I'm having them replaced today b/c I'm due for an inspection sticker this month, and i wouldn't want the wheels falling off anytime down the line in the future like it did with a buddy of mine in his 93 POS civic.

i dont know about MA inspection but for NC inspection, you can up to 3 inches of play in your steering wheel! your steering system could be completely gone and still pass haha

Re: (busyychild)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by busyychild &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">im going to jack it up tonight and see if the wheel moves around. so far i have gotten 2 quotes for just putting a new tie rod in,

$275 and $102 for the labor.

I can get the part myself and the tire shop will re-re-align it once i get it replaced.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Is that including the part and labor or just labor. The tie rods are super easy to replace, you could probably replace them yourself in about an hour. Just count the turns as you remove them, and twist them back on the same amount to get it close so you don't eat the tires up going back to the alignment shop.