Suspension & Brakes Theory, alignment, spring rates....

Car pulls to the right after alignment

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Old Aug 2, 2006 | 12:15 PM
  #1  
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Default Car pulls to the right after alignment

So about a week ago I replaced my right axle because the cv boot was torn.

Before this my alignment was fine.

After replacing my axle the car then pulled to the right pretty hard. Of course i expected the alignment to be off after changing the axle, so no surprise there.

So today i take it in to get the alignment done. I get it taken care of & the car still pulls to the right. When i'm just coasting it just slowly cruises to the right. However, if i give it any amount of gas it quickly pulls hard right. How could this be?

The printer wasn't working at the alignment place, but the guy showed me the specs on the computer. Toe was 0. The car is lowered on omni coilovers w/ no camber kit. So of course my camber is pretty negative, i think around -2.5 it was up front. I have the rear camber taken care of w/ the washer trick.

Would the camber make my car pull like this? But it didn't before i replaced the axle.

Also could the axle be causing this? I followed the helms manual step by step while doing it & torqued every bolt to factory spec. So i'm stumped?
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Old Aug 2, 2006 | 02:04 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (strsi)

I feel stupid, but problem solved.

Front right tire had a nail in it so it was low on air.
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Old Aug 2, 2006 | 02:29 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (strsi)

common mistake. i guess thats why everyone trys to teach us to check our tire pressures at least once a month!

glad you got it fixed.
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Old Aug 2, 2006 | 03:53 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (Downey)

Well, i just filled all the tires to 32psi & went driving. The car actually still pulls to the right, i have no idea why.
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Old Aug 2, 2006 | 04:03 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (strsi)

could be a caster difference.

just curious, is this on an ek?
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Old Aug 2, 2006 | 09:37 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (strsi)

your alignment shouldnt change at all after changing the axle.

i would go back and make sure you got all the bolts tight, and make sure the shock fork is properly seated far enough up on the shock.

you could always take it back to the alignment shop and tell them its pulling to one side.

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Old Aug 2, 2006 | 10:21 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (Downey)

eg.

I figured changing the axle would affect alignment since u have to mess with parts of the suspension.

But yea, here is what is going on. When i drive it only pulls to the right when I'm giving it gas. The more gas, the harder it pulls right. When i throw it in neutral it coasts perfectly straight.

When i was done with the axle I put every suspension bolt on loose, then let the car sit at ride height. Then i torqued everything down to factory spec.


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Old Aug 2, 2006 | 10:30 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (strsi)

i guess the only thing to do is take it to the alignment shop and check the figures. maybe from some reason you now have more caster on one side.

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Old Aug 2, 2006 | 10:38 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (Downey)

I suppose its possible.

Other thing i need to try is adjusting the ride height. After measuring it seems the right front corner sits about 1/4-1/2 an inch lower then the left front side.

Although it was like this before & the car drove straight then. But i got to imagine this isn't helping the situation.
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Old Aug 3, 2006 | 07:48 AM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (strsi)

Check your radius arm bushing. When seating the bushing it might got stuck when you tightened it and now it has settled and is loose.

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Old Aug 3, 2006 | 05:52 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (thesmogman)

The car drove straight before. Then a changed the axle & now it wont go straight.

I just rechecked every bolt, bushing & balljoint down there. I also leveled out my coilovers because the front right side was sitting slightly lower, now they're totally even. & it still pulls right, again, only when i give it gas.

To me this points only at the axle, but i dont understand why.
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Old Aug 10, 2006 | 04:22 AM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (strsi)

I have a similar problem. I had my right axel replaced recently and after an alignment from the Honda Dealership, it pulls to the left. I have a camber kit in the front both sides, so that should not have affected it. When I drive, I have to slightly turn my stearing wheel to the right in order to go straight. The harder the accelaration and/or brake, it pulls harder to the left.

Wierd thing is that I have Tein Coilovers, Front Anti-Sway bark, front bushings and camber kit. After the axel was replaced, problems began to occur. I've had it aligned twice which showed near perfect specs but still it pulled. My guess is it may be the front differential but I hope not.
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Old Aug 10, 2006 | 08:59 AM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (hahakenny)

what were your caster numbers?
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Old Aug 10, 2006 | 10:14 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (Tyson)

i have no idea what my caster was because they were out of paper so i didn't get a print out. i had my mechanic check out my work & he said that i installed everything correctly & that he couldn't find anything at all wrong. he said that it must have been a bad alingment.
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Old Apr 19, 2007 | 03:32 AM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (strsi)

Did you ever find a solution to your S2000 pulling to the right on acceleration? I just bought a 2003 (23k miles) and am having the same issue.
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Old Apr 19, 2007 | 07:22 AM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (smcneely)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by smcneely &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Did you ever find a solution to your S2000 pulling to the right on acceleration? I just bought a 2003 (23k miles) and am having the same issue.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Nobody ever made mention of having an S2000. What makes you think thats what the OP was talking about?
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Old Apr 19, 2007 | 06:46 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (94eg!)

A FWD car with un-even axel lengths will always have torque-steer when ever the throttle is heavily applied, In a civics case the right axel is shorter there for it will pull to the right. Either that or when you took your axel out you twisted your tie rod or put it on upside down when re-installing it throwing out your alignment. Also, if you dont have the same two tires in the front it will cause a pull.
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Old Apr 19, 2007 | 06:47 PM
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Default Re: Car pulls to the right after alignment (RicerRacing69)

wholy ****, I just relized this was 9 months old, who brought this back from the dead?
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