WTF alignment

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theholycow
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WTF alignment

Post by theholycow »

My car has always driven dead-on straight until a few weeks ago when it started pulling to the right. I figured the alignment came out of adjustment, a part was bent, or a bushing rotted away and disappeared.

Last night I visually inspected it and found no bent parts, no missing bushings, and no evidence of adjustments that have changed (I can tell because the relevant parts are all covered in a thick layer of caked-on grease and crud that I can't decide whether to keep for rustproofing or remove for cleanliness, but the status quo is easier and mercifully rust-free. The only thing that might not be totally obvious in that crud would be a tie-rod and end that have been screwed into each other more).

Then I took off my wheels and inspected my brakes. I forgot all about the alignment. I swapped the front wheels before putting them back on, for tire rotation purposes. Then I did the wheel bearing and front end tire-wiggle tests, vertical and horizontal (result: only the slightest barely perceptible movement) before lowering the car off the jack stands.

On the way into work this morning I noticed it's not pulling at all. Once again it's dead-on straight.

WTF? If the pull was from a damaged tire or wheel I'd expect the pull to merely switch directions. If it was from something like debris between the wheel and rotor then I'd expect it to have happened while I had a wheel off, not after a month of nonremoval. If it wasn't wheel/tire-related then I'd expect it to stay the same after last night's inspections.
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Shadow
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by Shadow »

Could have been something as simple as a slightly dragging brake caliper. I'd take a look at the caliper pistons and slide pins (on a floating caliper) to make sure one of them isn't causing any drag. Sometimes brake drag can come and go, especially when you're taking the wheels off and putting them back on.
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by theholycow »

Image How did I forget brakes? :oops: They haven't been touched in at least 10 years and 35,000 miles, possibly as long as 32 years and 68,000 miles. If it's the brakes then that'll get fixed in my upcoming big brake job with a pair of loaded calipers.
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by AHTOXA »

Certainly could have been. I had an interesting and somewhat recent case where my Acura started dragging the right front caliper quite badly. It was to the point of smoking when the issue first appeared on a drive home from work. There was no pull what so ever.
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by bk7794 »

Could it also have been a tire?
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by theholycow »

If it was a tire I would expect it to pull to the other side now. I suppose some kind of damage could exist that would make it pull when the tire rolls one direction but not the other, but that seems farfetched. Oh, and on the brake idea I might expect to have smelled it and the rotor to be blued, but lack of those indications doesn`t rule out brakes.
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by six »

I suspect solar flares or sunspots.
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by watkins »

My scientific experience leads me to concur.
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by theholycow »

Image
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by bk7794 »

Where did you switch the tire to? The left side? Do you have all 4 tires being the same size?
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by theholycow »

I only swapped the two front tires. Left front <-> right front. All four tires are the same marked size, though the two on the front are a different brand than the two on the rear (and are worn differently).
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by bk7794 »

theholycow wrote:I only swapped the two front tires. Left front <-> right front. All four tires are the same marked size, though the two on the front are a different brand than the two on the rear (and are worn differently).
Weird, maybe it was the banking on the road?
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by AHTOXA »

Are you guys swapping roles now? Now you're interrogating cow?

:) hahahaha
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by bk7794 »

AHTOXA wrote:Are you guys swapping roles now? Now you're interrogating cow?

:) hahahaha
Well now that my car is broken down I got lots of time on my hand.

hahhahaha :lol:
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Re: WTF alignment

Post by theholycow »

^ :lol:

I'm driving the same roads as always, the banking hasn't changed.
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