QuestionDear Mr Smith
Sorry to annoy you again
As per your suggestions, I got the front tires swapped [what used to be rear tires]
Unfortunately, my car still goes to the left even with the steering wheel held straight.
So as per your interpretation, the problem is with alignment.
Well, I went to the alignment people. Although they did not give any print out of 'After', they are quite confident that all the values were normalized. There is no need for further adjustments as the readings were all within normal specifications.
What next ... ?
Well I thought when I am affordable in few months, I would go for all tire change as these tires seem to be from a cheap manufacturer. Hence I would go for some branded ones then.
Just couple of thoughts from my alignment friends from India. They asked me to discuss with you about their opinions.
Can there be a problem with the ball joint? [ I don't know what exactly that mean ]
My thought - during 4 wheel alignment, is it possible to pick up any damage caused by previous impact which might be causing all this?
Please tell me what you think and I am very very thankful to you.
Yours truly
Dr Gagan Belludi
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The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
Dear Mr Smith
I am a doctor working in UK
I have bought a Toyota Corolla 1999 model in April 2006.
It was pulling to the left and initially got aligned couple of times - with 2 wheel alignment - each time they said its ok - but problem persisted.
A year back itself, the previous owner had put all the 5 new tyres.
July 06 - got a 4 wheel computerised alignment - some corrections were done in rare wheels - computer wise, alignment was perfect this time with respect to all 4 wheels - but problem persisted - took it back to them - this time they swapped the front tyres - issue sorted - i was happy.
It was ok for next 2 months and during a rural drive, because of road humps and bumps, it started pulling to left again. By now I had moved to a different city. Got 4 wheel alignment done - couple of deviations - corrected - but problem persisted - took it back to them - this time, they brought the rare wheels front and front wheels back - Left back to Left front and Right back to right front [did not cross them] but they balanced the front wheels.
He also said that if the problem persists, I dont think we can do anything further.
By this time, I was also frustated of going to wheel alignment people for more than 15 times in total each time with the same problem.
Hence thought of asking your expertise to help me.
[Right hand drive, UK roads, Power steering Toyota Corolla 1999 model]
Current symptoms of the car are - while driving on a straight motor way or free way, if I ease my hands on the steering wheel, the car tries to go to the left lane. Steering wheel will not change much. Then I pull it on the middle or towards the right line and then again if I dont keep it on the lane, car goes to the left lane in 10-15 mts length.
In the city roads, car SOMETIMES tends to go straight but if a small bump or ditch or hump on the road is crossed, it tends to go to the left again.
But majoritily, going to the left is seen.
Please ask me of any other details, but help me in resolving this issue.
PS - My car has a dent in the right front wing bumper intact - but this according to the previous owner [ who is my best friend ] had happened more than two years - never had pulling problem since.
Also my understanding is if that impact had to cause problem, 4 wheel alignment should have picked up some non correctable issues.
As the same side back tyres are brought front, should I swap the front tyres now?
Waiting for your response,
Yours truly
Dr Gagan Belludi
gagbel@yahoo.com
-----Answer-----
There seem to be a couple of things going on here.
First, any time you swap tires around and the problem changes (disappears or merely reverses direction, then the tires have what is know as radial pull - which is caused by a tire property called conicity (root word - cone). So we have established that the tires that are currently on the rear have a mismatch. I should point out that you can wear conicity into a tire or it can come from the factory the way.
But I think you have an alignment problem with the vehicle. I can't say with any degree of certainty about the UK, but in the US a lot of alignment mechanics go strictly by the tolerances published by the vehicle manufacturers. Those aren't good enough. Plus many vehicles (and I think your Toyota is one of them) has no provision for adjustments, so a lot of folks here think you can't (or shouldn't) make adjustments - They would be wrong.
What leads me to think that you have an alignment problem is when the front tires were swapped left to right, the problem disappeared - what should have happened is the pull changed directions. That means it is both the tires and the alignment.
I think you also need to consider that the crown of the road may be affecting the vehicle as well.
What to do?
Well....Swapping the front tires (which used to be the rears) is probably a good experiment to perform. If the pull changes direction, then the tires are the problem and since we already know the rears are also a problem, you should replace them all.
But if the problem doesn't change, then we can rule out the front tires and concentrate on the alignment. Get a print out of the "After" and see if the parameters are within the middle half of the spec. If they aren't, then the alignment shop needs to get them there, even if it means slotting holes or installing eccentric bolts.
And if the problem disappears, then it is both the tires and the alignment.
Hope this helps.
AnswerSo we have verified it is not the tires. So what do the alignment folks think it is?
Doctor - it's the alignment!!!! I suspect that just because the vehicle is "in spec", they think it is OK - well it's not!! I also suspect they know that they are going to have a problem getting the vehicle not to pull because there is no built in adjustment and that makes their work very difficult and time consuming.
Wait, wait, wait!!! The UK doesn't drive on the right side of the road. (Very bad pun!!)
OK, one more possibility - ply steer. This is a property that tires have where they constantly pull in one direction. It's built into the tires and is more or less unavoidable. So if you are driving on the left side of the road you need tires that pull to the right and vice versa.
Talk to someone who is familiar with tires and see if the tires you have (or can get) are UK specific.
Another possibility is that the alignment is specifically biased in one direction and the tires are biased ply steer wise the same direction. The net effect is that you are getting a pull that isn't being compensated for by the alignment.
OK, Ball joints? Could be, but the alignment shop - if they are worth doing business with - should check for worn components, so I don't think this is a possibility.
I really like this ply steer theory. So I would suggest you get a name brand tire - assuming the tires you currently have are some off brand.
