MechE00

Regarding caster and road crown- http://autorepair.about.com/library/...bldef-086b.htm

I tried to find something with a better explanation of _why_ unbalanced caster can cause a pull, but so far I haven't.. and I'm too lazy to write one.. if anyone else can, please post it up!

As an aside, here's an interesting page explaining terms on the alignment sheet... http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm

I would follow cmjaure's advice:
Note: that's only after you've already made sure it's not the front tires! ...you only bought rear tires, so you might be trying to eek a few more miles out of the fronts even though they may have already been worn/deformed to the point where they will result in a pull.. swapping them to the rear would probably be the easiest way to check, BUT be aware that having worn tires out back and new tires out front can make the car unstable/prone to oversteer.. (unexpected/unwanted "dorifto" can cause nasty accidents) <edit> ...so swapping to the rear should probably be a temporary measure, for safety's sake </edit>

My mystery steering problems have tended to turn out to be tire problems.. (forgive me if I missed the post where you said you already removed the possibility of it being tires)

fstrnyou

Thank you, that's exactly what I said.

MechE00

fstrnyou-- I know the conclusion was the same as your position.. the link was a bit less confrontational about it, and I thought it might have helped forestall a pointless arguement.

patman

iTrader: (3)

goodyear sucks. charged me 117 bucks for an alignment, and still didnt get it right.

if i were you: buy a poly bushing kit. energy suspension is the one i got...100 bucks on ebay. this will put most of the alignment settings back to factory specs or close. then get a 4 wheel alignment from someone who actually knows what they are doing. as far as the rear camber... it is not adjustable from the factory. your only choice is to either figure out whats making it bad (worn spring, junk strut, worn out DTSS) and replace it, or get an aftermarket camber adjustment kit.

pat

jon88se

Uneven camber in the rear is very common on FC's, especially lowered FC's. Mazdatrix has some nice individual adjusters now...

RSVampire

rotated my tires front to back. Not left to right yet, but now my car pulls all kinds to the left and before it pulled to the right.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

make sure you check your tire pressure as well.

RSVampire

oh yes and tire pressure is a'ok

RSVampire

oh yes and tire pressure is a'ok

MechE00

"pulls all kinds"?? Now it pulls _more_ than it did before (in addition to being in the opposite direction)?? You don't have different rims on the front than the back or something like that, do you? And the "new" tires, which are now in the front, don't have more than a couple hundred miles on them, right?

Hmm.. I wouldn't expect the "bad" tires being at the back would result in the problem getting _worse_..

but if it does change when you rotate tires, I'd say the tires are at least part of the problem!

RSVampire

I still have stock everything on the car, suspension, wheels. And the new tires that I moved from the back to the front have 59 miles on them. And the problem has the exact same pull, just now it's in the oppisite direction.

bingoboy

which way will worn dtss bushings effect rear camber? + or - ? too lazy to go look up how they are connected right now

MechE00

59 miles shouldn't be enough to cause the new tires to develop any kind of problems... Without being able to drive the car, it's tough for me to know get a really good sense of what might be going on, but the situation may ultimately require replacing the remaining old tires before things are right again..

It kinda sucks having to ditch tires that seem to have tread left, and no terribly obvious problems with them, but I've had to do it before..

fstrnyou

i do'nt think a worn DTSS bushing will cause incorrect camber because these bushings add and remove rear toe with suspension movement. i don't believe it has anything to do with camber. i'd have to assume the camber link bushings are prolly worn out.

RSVampire

You guys are gunna love this. So I take the car to my mechanic to make sure nothing is bent/broken and he looks at the car and tells me nothing was done to the car. THE ******* DIDN'T DO **** TO ALLIGN MY CAR! Not 1 bolt was moved, loosened, changed nothing. Went down the street to Firestone and they aligned the car and now the thing is perfect! I'll try and scan the NEW sheet with specs tonight and post it. I'm so pissed. So for everyone who lives in California. NEVER GO TO SKIP'S/GOODYEAR TIRE SHOPS!!!!

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

too bad it's tough to prove or i'd say call the Bureau of automotive repair on em, i wouldn't even give em a chance to explain. mistakes happen but people have to pay for their mistakes, if the fraudulently did it then they definitely need to burn..

kenn_chan

He's got the sheets from the first time, and they are prolly date time stamped, and he has the new ones, I say take it to the local better business burea, and the Bureau of automotive repair (?)(I never heard of) and let the greenbacks flow forth! (in a jim carrey voice)

the very fact that you could have been injured due to a vehicle that had been "repaired or Adjusted" by them opens up enough of a door that any half assed lawyer (sorry they are all vamps) could put the hurt on them quick, (better yet tell them you will drop the subject for a job since yo lost yours!) sorry had to say that

MechE00

Glad to hear it! Did you end up putting the older tires back up front?

I'm not 100% sure what was going on, but I'm glad it's worked out for you now.. I look forward to seeing the new sheet!

RSVampire

no I left the new tires up front. Alright here is the new sheet that you can all laught at. Oh and for all you lazy people I'll attach the old one as well for quick reference.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

looks like firestone agrees with me since they set the caster out of spec on the right and focused on the camber being out of spec.

glad you at least got the issue resolved, the comparison is too close to prove since every alignment machine varies to a certain degree as you can see since none of the measurements are the same on both sheets but it is a wierd coincidence that the camber was still out on the right side after they'supposedly' brought it into spec at -.1*

eage8

iTrader: (9)

well while everyone is here...

when I reverse when I'm at full lock my car bumps (sorry for lack of better description, but I don't really know how to describe it)... my friend who stood outside said my tires looked like they were jumping when it bumped. it does it worse if I go down a bump or curb or something. I got it aligned and it still does the same thing.... what do you guys think?

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

check your bushings to see if they are cracking or worn out, check your wheel bearing for any slop, have a friend shake the steering wheel and look at the tie rods and linkages to see if there is any excessive movement. lastly check your lower ball joints with some large channel locks and a prybar, there should be virtually no play in any of these except for the bushings so long as they still resemble a piece of rubber.

the only thing that is kind of tough to check not listed is your struts and strut turn plate bearings. you can try jacking up on the car and see if the plates make a popping noise when you lift the car.


also do you got any aftermarket springs installed?

eage8

iTrader: (9)

ok, I'll check them tomorrow, thanks

no I don't have aftermarket springs