I've been having this problem for quite a while now and it's finally time for me to stop compensating while driving and fix it.

My car is pulling to the left. Hard.

Alignment is good. I have some camber, but my toe is good. I had this done about 3 months ago. It was still pulling.

It seemed to get worse when I put in my ES motor mount inserts.

The wheel will **** to the left if I don't hold it while driving. Even if I'm at a crawl and take my hand off of the wheel, it turns a good bit to the left and the car starts to pull off to that side. It does this in and out of gear.

<U>Ideas for fixing it:</U>
Tires - It could be uneven wear on the tires, but I don't want to spend 60 dollars getting the tires re-mounted side to side if this isn't going to fix it. There is no change when the tires are rotated front to back, and I can't rotate side to side without having them re-mounted (uni-directional tires).

Axles- Can a failing axle cause this? I have some popping noises from my front suspension, that could possibly be the axles, but not the characteristic clicking of a bad axle. I almost don't think it's this because it does it out of gear as well.

Suspension bushings- The car is about 145k in, and I've had it the last 45k or so. I know they haven't been replaced since I had it and they look pretty beat. I know the LCA bushings going can cause the car to wander, and it's wandering pretty good on the highway. I don't think you can get these bushings directly from Honda. I already have the ES motor mount inserts, but what kit can I get from ES (or any other good Poly bushing makers) to change out all the bushings in the suspension (front and rear)?

Ball Joints- I don't even know if these can exhibit these symptoms, but it's possible; they're as old as dirt too.

Transmission- I had my tranny apart to do my ISB. The car pulls harder under acceleration, so I wonder if it could have anything to do with the diff inside of it.

This weekend I'll be changing out my clutch, tranny, and axles if I can make myself go back to my parent's house to use their garage and hopefully that will fix it.

I'd just like some imput here.

 

Ya i had the same problem about a month ago and thought it was just bushings were going bad. it was on the right side pull tho. then i inspected my ball joints and everything.

Then when leaving the mall last weekend i couldnt turn my wheel barely so i thought someone put something between my tire or a flat.

Well it was my inner tie rod. its gone. So now im gonna replace the entire Rack and pinion with a type R.

So go out and check your tie rods and your steering rack bushings. BTW are your wheels balanced or have been balanced lately.

 

Yes, they have been balanced and are balanced every month or so. 60 dollars will get you a lifetime warranty on balancing on any set of tires at Just Tires, so I use the heck out of it. I'll check my tie rod ends too. Were you having that popping noise or was it just the pull?

 

only popping noise when i hit a pot hole or uneven pavement surface.. i just thought it was my struts since they are pretty much gone. but it pulled as well when i drove.

 

I've never worked on any of the steering stuff in a Civic other than replacing steering wheels.

What do I need to do to replace that? Will I have to change the whole rack or is it a peice I can remove and replace without pulling the whole rack? I'd check my Helms, but it's sitting in my car, and it's raining outside. Plus, work doesn't take too kindly to me dropping a 1000 page greasy *** manual on my desk where it doesn't even look like I'm working.

 

Dont worry im doing a write up on it when ever i get my damn rack in..lol

eh who would have thought me doin a write up? god im a loser haha

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDMlyfestyle &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Dont worry im doing a write up on it when ever i get my damn rack in..lol

eh who would have thought me doin a write up? god im a loser haha</TD></TR></TABLE>

So you do have to replace the whole rack? God this is going to suck.

And I appreciate the writeups, even if I don't use them.

 

See if my writeup will help.
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1317231

 

well its a pain in the *** to replace the inner tie rod. saves you so much time to remove the rack and replace it. Or just swap in a better rack which will cost you about the same and be less of a headache to dick with replacing the inner tie rod.

 

Ugh. I drive an 97 DX Hatch. I don't know of a quicker rack that I could swap in.

Looks like I'll do my rack this weekend too then.

 

The ITR is 2 1/4 lock to lock. all you gotta do is put some PS fluid in the rack and loop the system and ur good to go. thats what im gonna do and thats what Hasport did for there Track CRX

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDMlyfestyle &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The ITR is 2 1/4 lock to lock. all you gotta do is put some PS fluid in the rack and loop the system and ur good to go. thats what im gonna do and thats what Hasport did for there Track CRX</TD></TR></TABLE>

I thought the ITR rack wouldn't fit in an EK? And I'm already without PS, so it's no big deal.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDMlyfestyle &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The ITR is 2 1/4 lock to lock. all you gotta do is put some PS fluid in the rack and loop the system and ur good to go. CRX</TD></TR></TABLE>Are you 100% sure on this? I was under the impression that ALL integras were 3.0LTL including the ITR but the itr has a differnet part number.

But also, he'd have to swap to an EG or Teg subframe to get it to work on his EK.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by litterbox &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">But also, he'd have to swap to an EG or Teg subframe to get it to work on his EK.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I didn't think it was a direct replacement, and honestly, I'm just using the car as a DD now and refuse to put that much time and effort into it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ricey McRicerton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I didn't think it was a direct replacement, and honestly, I'm just using the car as a DD now and refuse to put that much time and effort into it. </TD></TR></TABLE>Ok. What do you think you'll do?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by litterbox &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok. What do you think you'll do?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Replace the tie rod ends and be done with it if that's at all possible. I don't want to pull the rack, and I damn sure won't be changing the subframe out for a quicker rack.

 

It could be a bent control arm or some thing of that fashion as well . On my 05 accord my wife hit some thing and an unoticable to the eye but slightly bent - as well as the spindle if that is bent cause cause a slight tug to one side or the other . Think of any damage to one side of the car that might have occured or big pot holes that might have been hit things like this - bring it in for a free estimate at a shop they should be able to diagnose this as much as i have from your texts have given me here or more from visualisation

 

damn im slow- was stuck on a call and couldnt post and now theres a bagillion in front of mines lol

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ricey McRicerton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Replace the tie rod ends and be done with it if that's at all possible. I don't want to pull the rack, and I damn sure won't be changing the subframe out for a quicker rack. </TD></TR></TABLE>Understood.

 

If the car pulls significantly to the left, even when driving slow, I think you can definitely cross out uneven tire wear.. unless you've been drifting or something outrageous

What kind of "pull" is it? A smooth veering to the left? Or is it more of a vibration that makes the wheel rough to hold?

My mom's BMW 325i just recently had a ball joint replaced. I had a chance to drive it a few days before it was replaced and it would pull strongly to one side. It wasn't a smooth veering off, the wheel shook more and more violently as you went faster on the highway. At 80+ you definitely felt that if you let go of the wheel, you'd be going right into the ditch.

Granted, the tires were worn pretty badly and it needed an alignment, but I'm 100% sure that the ball joint was causing the majority of the problem.

Granted, we're comparing a RWD BMW to a FWD Civic.. but I still think that could be a possibility. My mom had it fixed at the dealer of course, but even then I don't think it was very expensive as far as BMW repairs go.

 

It's a gradual turn. I can watch the wheel turn to the left smoothly with my hands off of it, even at low speeds.

 

If it pulls harder under acceleration then I'd lean towards axles or diff itself.

My ITR hatch used to have some wicked torque steer and it too would pull hard to one side under acceleration.

I realigned a few times - nothing.
I replaced inner and outer tie rods - nothing
I replaced axles - nothing
Upper and lower balljoints - nothing

While those mods did tighten up the steering and make the car feel great when not accelerating, they didn't help the crazy torque steer effect.

Then my transmmssion grenaded again (broken final drive) and when we pulled it apart I expected to see a fucked diff too - no visible damage whatsoever.

???

I purchased a brand new ITR trans because I was tired of rebuilding the old one, and guess what?

No more pull.

So I'll never know exactly what caused my problem, but it was gone after doing the transmission.

I did also replace both axles again due to an ongoing inner joint vibration I kept getting with each rebuilt axle, so *maybe* the axles fixed it, and not the transmission.

Rebuilt axles suck *** IMO from having so many vibrating sets.

Your problem really sucks because even a shop would be hard-pressed to try and pinpoint the problem. I doubt my shop could even diagnose it, and we've got 3 40+year old mechanics who are probably the best techs I've ever met or worked with.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ricey McRicerton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's a gradual turn. I can watch the wheel turn to the left smoothly with my hands off of it, even at low speeds. </TD></TR></TABLE>

It may not be a ball joint then. On the aforementioned bimmer, it didn't pull too hard at low speeds, but shook quite violently at higher speeds.

In your case, I've never seen something like that before

 

Is it possible to just live with it?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C5-EH2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Your problem really sucks because even a shop would be hard-pressed to try and pinpoint the problem. I doubt my shop could even diagnose it, and we've got 3 40+year old mechanics who are probably the best techs I've ever met or worked with.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've got a few very good mechanics here including myself and my father who has been turning wrenches fairly regularly for the last 30 years, has rebuilt more cars than I can count, and was a helicopter mechanic for the Marines. We're all running out of ideas other than to just start throwing money at the problem, which I'm not really willing to do. I understand the 500 dollars ins't really all that much, but I don't care to replace a bunch of parts if I don't have to.

Maybe I'll just replace the tranny and clutch and not change the axles right away and see if that kills the pull. Without the car being in gear, would the diff still be able to pull the car like that?