This sounds stupid and may have already been posted.
Have you checked the air pressure on all four tires?
Not Stupid, But Is Part Of A Proper Wheel Alignment.
CSA
With 4 wheel independant suspension the rear end can cause the drift. What are the numbers there? In fact, measure the distance from center to center, front to rear. They should be very near equal. Rear toe is not measureable at home.
And, is the steering wheel centered when driving straight ahead?
Normally, you would want a bit more caster and more negative camber on the right side to offset the road crown instead of what is shown on the printout.
Another possible cause is a slightly dragging brake caliper and in some cases; the track (or thrust angle as some call it) may be off.
The track means the rear is following the front dead-on with no crabbing and whenever I did alignments checking the track and adjusting as necessary was part of the job. Even on a 2-wheel alignment this is done by adjusting the front tie rods.
I do respectfully disagree that slotting holes and attempting to force something into specs is permissible and no competent alignment tech would do this.
Look at the top of the strut towers on your own cars, take the slant into consideration, and then picture what will happen if you start moving the top of the strut assembly in or out to change the camber.
Changing caster this way will also open up a can of worms.
If one has a vehicle in which the camber or caster cannot be adjusted (either fixed or adjustable models) then something is worn out or bent.
Most of the time the definition of “bent” means a damaged lower control arm.
My point about “slotting holes” was that many folks think that if there is no adjutsment built-in, it can not be adjusted - and that is clearly wrong.
But how an alignment tech approaches an out-of-alignment situation where there is no built-in adjustablility is a way of judging how good an alignment tech is. I am not advocating slotting holes as a 100% fix to things, but I am advocating that walking away without considering the possibilitiy is incompetence.
I had a car like that, it pulled bad when I applied the gas, it took 3 mechanics to figure it out. It was my tie rods, replaced both sides and it was perfect…
Chris
yes a good alignment person can work wonders,did the OP install new tires?-Kevin
My point is that one should look at the top of the strut towers which are generally slanted down and in.
If the wheel has a 1/2 degree negative camber and needs 1/2 degree positive what’s going to happen if the holes are slotted towards the outside? The strut assembly with wheel is going be pulled upwards and in or the car forced down; depending on how you look at it.
If one does this with camber then control arm bushings will be distorted to some extent.
Being curious, I’d like to know of any car manufacturer or trade organization that recommends cutting slots as a means of curing this problem.
As your car drifts right, to cancel that out, I will add, in agreement with others that rear wheel alignment or misalignment if you like, can cause this.
If steering pull to the right is due to unequal caster in the front if the numbers that you have been given are in error, this steering pull can also be canceled out by adjusting the rear wheels so that they are set to turn a little to the right to cancel out the front pull to the right, consistent with keeping the rear toe per spec to minimize tire wear. If this is carried too far, your car will drive ok but will dogtrack. You may be able to see this from a car following yours.
Camber has relatively little effect on steering pull compared to caster. The reason for this is because radial tires have rounded treads.
Don’t be concerned about camber when adjusting caster at the top of the strut tower by moving the top of the strut forward or backward with slotted holes or caster plates. Camber can be later adjusted separately by elongating one of the two bolt holes at the lower strut mount. It is preferable to increase caster on one side rather than decrease caster on the other side to enhance self-centering and straight line stability. With power steering, increased steering effort due to added caster is not a problem.
Don’t assume too that the alignment people gave you flawless numbers. When there is a problem, anything is suspect until the problem is solved.
The alignment specification that has the most profound effect on tire wear is toe.
Just being curious let me ask this.
Have any of you actually spent any time aligning vehicles on the rack?
Have any of you actually taken a die grinder with a carbide burr and elongated any holes to see how this works?
I’m surprised no one mentions a sticking caliper. it may not be the case but it’s sure a potential candidate.
does it worsen with brakes applied or acceleration? have you hit anything recently, that actually would fall under alignment, wouldn’t it?
I would hope this shop is reputable and would notice bad ball joints.
Whenever it drifts, your mother-in-law is not sitting in the back right seat is she?
Just kidding. I found it hilarious when Tom and Ray heckled a caller that complained of a whining noise and they asked if his mother-in-law was in the car and they got so cracked up they almost couldn’t recover to continue the call. The snorting and table slapping sent me over the edge and I almost lost control of my car.
Let us know your findings so we can help the next poor soul with a Jetta and maybe convince them to sell it.
Just kidding of course!
Good luck and God Bless!
JP#3
Tractor, loosen and shift the sub-frame opposite the pull.Re-check alignment.
"I’m surprised no one mentions a sticking caliper. it may not be the case but it’s sure a potential candidate."
I did mention a dragging caliper earlier.
I still don’t get why someone would think that a spec that is out and can’t be set properly (on fixed or adj. suspension that can’t be brought into spec) should be solved by taking a die grinder to the mounting holes.
So a car that should be .5 a degree positive and is sitting at 1.5 negative due to a bent control arm or even worse, a lower ball joint that is about to snap, should be brought into line by forcing something into a place where it was never designed to be?
I would ask again. Is there one single car maker, trade organization, or any engineering org. that approves of this method? If so, I’d (sincerely) like to know who they are.
And for what it’s worth, change the caster and you will change the camber, followed by the toe.
"
I still don’t get why someone would think that a spec that is out and can’t be set properly (on fixed or adj. suspension that can’t be brought into spec) should be solved by taking a die grinder to the mounting holes.
So a car that should be .5 a degree positive and is sitting at 1.5 negative due to a bent control arm or even worse, a lower ball joint that is about to snap, should be brought into line by forcing something into a place where it was never designed to be?
I would ask again. Is there one single car maker, trade organization, or any engineering org. that approves of this method? If so, I’d (sincerely) like to know who they are. "
You question the wisdom of Top However Many Contributors? Prepare for some ad hominem attacks.
when i posted this there was only 6 comments. why mine bumped all the way down here i don’t know. but when i came back to check posts sticking brakes was mentioned and i figured mine never posted. we’re all in this together. nothing personal. if someone mentions the same thing, we’re only trying to help. don’t get defensive.
Quote: “And for what it’s worth, change the caster and you will change the camber, followed by the toe.” Unquote
This is very true in the case of a double “A” frame type suspension where shims are used on the lower A frame mounts to adjust caster or camber with each and also toe affected by adjustment on the other. In the case of a VW with a McPherson type suspension, the change in caster is done at the top of the strut as in elongating upper strut mount holes on some brands or using caster plates for a VW. The change in caster done at the top of the strut will effect a very minor change in camber but a small change in toe large enough to deserve checking and adjustment.
Being attacked is not going to cause me to lose one minute of sleep but my questions about anyone having any actual alignment rack experience or any car maker, trade org., etc. approving of this strut tower modification remain unanswered.
I have elongated the slots on towers to get alignment into spec on several cars. Alignment are rarely done here as it is very time consuming on the old equipment. I also recall elongating slots on the lower end of struts and heating axles to bend them. The suspension and steering parts that I use have instructions of the specific procedures needed to accomplish the job. I seem to remember Ford T-Birds needing the slots cut in the towers.