Pulling to the left.. why?

[jameswh]

Hi guys,

This problem started occuring a few months after I had purchased my car. It's an on going issue, and I would like to have it solved, but no one can seem to do anything about it. Which, of course, is quite unfortunate, and is making me more upset as the days go by.

Basically, my car (04 VY II S) is pulling to the left. No matter the speed, the road, the conditions, etc - there is a constant pull to the left. I have to drive with my steering wheel at a rather awkward angle, and have a hold of it at all times (sounds logical, I know, but even a split second of letting go of the wheel will send the car into the left lane, or off the road).

I've done the following in an attempt to rectify the issue:

- 3x wheel alignments, at 3 different establishments
- 4x new tires
- Rotated tires, several times
- 2x new engine mounts
- 2x new rear shocks (don't even know why I gave that a shot)
- New caster road bushes
- New sway bar rubbers
- New radial rod bushes

I'm at a complete loss as to what I could try next. This has turned out to be a rather costly, time consuming and stressful issue. Could anyone recommend any advice? Would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys.

[shiftySLE]

Can you garantee it hasn't been in an accident or even a stat write off and repaired by a half ass panel-beater, are the struts bent putting out camber?

[jameswh]

I can't guarantee that, no - given the fact that I know it was involved in a relatively low speed front ender - cosmetic damage to the left (coincidence?) headlight and 1/4 panel.
The car was purchased from someone I know, and I had seen the damage that was done to the car - not enough to justify structural damage, I would have thought. Do you think it's worth checking out? Where should I take the car to have such a thing looked at?

[Lumps of cheese]

Oh noes, doesn't sound good since it was in a smash.
Take it to a RACV or whoever they are in NSW and get it checked out.

[shiftySLE]

see if the VIN has been recorded through your reg branch, otherwise what are the reasons the wheel joints are giving you for not working it out, just a thought, you have changed a lot of bushes for radial/castor rods whatever but are you sure the rods themselves are not bent, is one tyre wearing more than the other or are they wearing more on the inside or feathering, any tell-tale signs at all of anything

[jameswh]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I'm not familiar with RACV? Who are they? : \

Two places were at a complete loss, one place told me that a 4 point camber kit may be worth while. Not sure why, though - I thought the VY II S came with the ability for a camber adjustment? I've really struggled to get these establishments to even speak to me a second time - they treat my car as if it is just a nuisance - too much work. I don't know. It's actually quite saddening that I cannot get to the bottom of this. : (

Just further to that; all tires seem to be wearing evenly. Not too sure if the rods themselves are bent.

[Lumps of cheese]

RACV, RTA in NSW?, not sure but they do vehicle inspections and roadworthys.

[alien]

RACV is comapred with NRMA up in NSW juzo :P Totally different. RACQ in Queensland, RAC in WA

[MaN|aC]

Did you get a print out of the wheel alignment specs? if so post it up

[jameswh]

I do have a wheel alignment print out - several, in fact. I don't have access to a scanner at the moment, so I will take the latest print out into work tomorrow and scan it there. I'll post it up as soon as I can.

Say something other than cosmetic damage had occurred during the front ender, what would have been damaged exactly? Anything that I could be looking at exactly, based on the symptoms I'm experiencing?

Thanks for all the help thus far guys.

[MaN|aC]

take a pic on your phone?

[jameswh]

Hehe. I tried that prior to submitting my previous post. Unfortunately, the print out was done on some old school forms printer, and as such, the ink is rather faded - it's not even readable, even on a high resolution shot. : (

[MaN|aC]

Ive been doing wheel alignments for 5 years now, for a VY I usually set it at;

Fronts either side at
camber -0.30 degree
toe + 1.3mm
castor* isn't adjustable unless it has aftermarket bushes, but prefer 1/2 degree more to the left hand side

Rear
camber - isn't adjustable but it should be around -1.30 degree either side
toe + 1.5mm

[jameswh]

Thanks for the info mate - most appreciated. Do you mind if I scan this print out tomorrow, and send it your way for your expert analysis? : )

[MaN|aC]

no problem

[foo27]

i'm going through the same deal with my vy ss at the moment, ( luckily i work at a tyre joint doing wheel alignments). i've done pretty well the same as you but i have noticed some set-back issues on the rear, it now looks like the next plan of attack for me is the rear cross member bushes as i've just started to get some axle tramp issues i'm also going to put in the nolathane diff insert.
Maniac, do you get any inside wear with only 1.3mm of toe in i'm finding that up here in cq we're putting in about 2mm?!

[jameswh]

Hey guys,

Here is the report from my latest wheel alignment. Can anyone see any inconsistencies? http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8...mentreport.jpg

[danja]

Enhanced report for clarity (attached).

[jameswh]

Thanks danja!

[Harry]

Hi All

Im suffering from the same thing .. bought 4 new tires and had a wheel alignment . Now it pulls to the left .. Had it back 3 times and still no better .. Let me know if you find out the cause ..

[jameswh]

Hi Harry,

As per the posts above, I think (in my case, at least), my issue may be attributed to a structural defect which occurred during the front ender that my car had prior to me purchasing it. It has gotten progressively worse over time. This may be something worth checking out on your end, as well?


Can anyone recommend a place at which I could get potential structural problems investigated? Would a place like Pedders be able to handle such a task?

[impulsive]

try a wheel alignment first

[impulsive]

try a wheel alignment first

that you have tried after reading this thread.. my bad.. check for bends in your steering arms lol, 'I'll try again

[MaN|aC]

Maniac, do you get any inside wear with only 1.3mm of toe in i'm finding that up here in cq we're putting in about 2mm?!

With half a degree negative camber +1.3mm doesn't wear the inside edge, I usually work off the camber to set how much toe it needs.

jameswh, the specs doesn't really show why its pulling to the left. The castor is good, it has very little toe which means its going to wear the inside of the tyres a little and the camber I would .20 more negative camber on the left hand side.

[MaN|aC]

double post