What could it be... Suspension/Steering or Defective tires?

[R.C.]

Hello all,

Hope someone can help with this question. First,I have a 99 Tuarus and the alignment on the car was straight as an arrow with my old tires. So, I just bought 4 new All Season tires. I had to return back to the garage twice to have two different tires replace with the exact same brand of tire because of a rotational "wumping" noise coming from them. Ok... no more noise but now the car pulls to the right at any speeds. So I return back to the garage regarding this problem. They suggested that we first rotate the two front tires to see if it continues to pull right or does it pull left. If it pulls left they will replace the two front tire due to a "radial- pull". The mechanic also recommended that the lower ball joints need replacing but not right away but soon and a wheel alignment, I decline for now. I leave the garage and the car does not pull right anymore but it does pull left at highway speeds and I take the highway everyday. I go back to the garage regarding this problem and now they tell me that they will not warranty the tires until I have the work that they recommend done first because they feel the cause for the right and left pull is due to the lower ball joints need replacing and a alignment done. Lastly I have all the work orders with the promises and recommendations writen on paper.

So, after all that is explained. What do you think... Suspension/steering problem or defective tires?

Thanks for all responses.

 

[R.C.]

Hello again.

I chose not to mention the brand tire nor the garage company yet so there is no baised decisions based on name brand or company name. I'll let you guys know shortly.

Thanks for the continuous responses.

 

[shojuan]

Well worn suspension components can easily cause uneven wear patterns on tires. I know, I have a completely worn out suspension on my SHO (158K miles, everything needs replacing).

Without thinking about it a great deal (I've had a bottle of wine tonight) I figure of what their telling you 50% is true and 50% is them trying to make a buck.

OK, seeing that you have a '99 vehicle that does seem quite a bit premature that the suspension pieces are worn to the point of needing replacement. My SHO is an '89.

Rick

 

[shojuan]

Shoot it's likely they're not very good at balancing tires and that the tires in question aren't very well made (meaning they're hard to balance). The fact that they won't warranty the tires anymore until you have work done sounds fishy to me. Here in the states most shops wouldn't give a crap about filing a warranty claim since it's no skin off their backs. Lemme guess, you're getting a Canadian Tire mounted at a Canadian Tire shop. Conflict of interest right there. Maybe they mussed up your alignment by accident and they want you to pay for them to fix it.

I don't know, I'm getting tired, it's time for sleep and I feel I'm not being of much help. Good luck and I'm sure you'll get some clear headed advice from some of the shoforum residents shortly.

Rick

 

[bigpappy]

I can't really answer your question with any certainty. However, when dealing with an untrusted mechanic, whenever possible, I ask another mechanic at another shop what their opinion is. Then, maybe a third. Most of the time, I get three different stories! These folks are trying to make a buck off you; no question. Tell them like this: you'll get the parts replaced, everything they recommend -- but if you still have the problem, they refund you the labor for unneccesary work.
Diagnosis of the problem is also the responsibility of the mechanic. If they don't know, I suggest finding another mechanic. You'll be out a bit of cash, but if you can find a mechanic that you can trust, it'll be worth the loss.
Just my opinion.

 

[pjtoledo]

Did you put the new tires on your old wheels. Or get new wheels too? What size new and old tires? How many miles, what are the roads like? Here in Ohio and Michigan the roads are so bumpy that an alignment can go bad in just a few weeks. When you say it pulls,, does the steering wheel rotate when released? Does the car go straight if you hold the wheel straight? There are 2 types of "pull". First is if something is wrong up front, the front of the car wants to go left or right. The other, often overlooked cause is the rear being out of alignment. If both rear wheels are not of equal/proper toe and camber the rear will track to one side. Thats called thrust angle. When the rear tracks to one side, you have to turn the wheel a bit to compensate for it. This results in a car going down the road slightly sideways, but going overall straight in the lane. Speaking of lanes, which lane do you drive in? Most alignments are set to pull slightly to the left because the right lane is sloped to the right for drainage. I had the toe set to zero on my 92 because I spent so much time in the left lane of the Ohio Turnpike. Wider tires amplify any problems with the alignment. Worn suspension parts let the wheels move in and out, back and forth. So, you won't get a good alignment if the parts are indeed worn. Good luck, keep us posted.

Perry Toledo,Ohio

 

[performancered]

pjtoledo:
Did you put the new tires on your old wheels. Or get new wheels too? What size new and old tires? How many miles, what are the roads like? Here in Ohio and Michigan the roads are so bumpy that an alignment can go bad in just a few weeks. When you say it pulls,, does the steering wheel rotate when released? Does the car go straight if you hold the wheel straight? There are 2 types of "pull". First is if something is wrong up front, the front of the car wants to go left or right. The other, often overlooked cause is the rear being out of alignment. If both rear wheels are not of equal/proper toe and camber the rear will track to one side. Thats called thrust angle. When the rear tracks to one side, you have to turn the wheel a bit to compensate for it. This results in a car going down the road slightly sideways, but going overall straight in the lane. Speaking of lanes, which lane do you drive in? Most alignments are set to pull slightly to the left because the right lane is sloped to the right for drainage. I had the toe set to zero on my 92 because I spent so much time in the left lane of the Ohio Turnpike. Wider tires amplify any problems with the alignment. Worn suspension parts let the wheels move in and out, back and forth. So, you won't get a good alignment if the parts are indeed worn. Good luck, keep us posted.

Perry Toledo,Ohio

Another thing to look out for is some shops align the car with a slight right pull so if you fall asleep or don't pay attention you drift off the road not into traffic. All the shops in my town do this as I couldn't figure why my car always pulled right. Also make sure that you do like said above and make sure they did a 4 wheel alignment. Front wheel drives they normally do but i had a 91 1/2 t-bird sport and had it aligned when i put new tires on it and gave it to my mother. And this time I took it to a mechanic I trusted who also has a t-bird about a year newer. Anyway when he aligned it he said the rear hadn't been touched in years and he found the same when he aligned his car the first time as it was a used car. Apparently the alignment machine only check the variables you plug in it isn't completely set by the car being done so if the sho has an extra or in the t-birds case a hard to see/reach alignment piece it may neaver get changed. After I got my car done the last time it hugged the road better than ever. For years I thought the car had a crappy suspension and it was the alignment.