Car go’s left when i let go of the steering wheel

[John]

Hey guys,.

I got this for some time now, when i let go of my steering wheel the car wants to go left, i need to pule the steering wheel horizontal to go straight. when i let it go the steering wheel is not horizontal annymore and the car go’s to the left.

It got this when i bought the car, now i have done the tierode on one side and also did a alignment. When i got it back my steering wheel whas WAY off. and it whas still pulling to one side.
So i did a alignment at a professional alignment shop and now when i keep my steering wheel horizontal my car go’s straight but its still pulling to the left when i let go of my steering wheel.
It doesn’t shake or whatever not even whit high speeds. that feels great.

Now i did see that the car may got in a collision in his life, mayby thats the problem? if so, can i fix it? i have no clue annymore.
If someone is here and thinks HEY i know how to fix that pls help me 🙂
I hope my english is oke and everyone knows what im talking about.

car : 1999 Fiat Bravo HGT 2.0

Topic

[college man]

Try rotating the tires to see if the pull changes.

[Jared Thomson]

I usually dont worry too much about alignment issues unless its causing bad tire wear, but then again I live in a place where the fields are smoother than the roads 😛

[SDMAN1981]

I Believe if the frame is bent from an accident it could cause the pulling to the left.

[Jared Thomson]

It could, but there is really no way to tell, or to fix it unless you take it to a frame shop

[celticbhoy]

Make sure all of the tires are properly inflated. If that doesn’t fix it, the switch the front wheels with eachother (right to left, left to right). If the problem persists then there could be a few problems, one of them being that the steel radial plates in the tire may have shifted. If you have access to a couple of other tires then switch them out. Could be a number of things but start with those.

[Charles]

Haven’t seen anyone post about the rear wheels? If the rear alignment is off it will cause your problem if everything is ok in the front. I know you have seen old cars that travel sideways down the road because the rear axle is shifted on one side. Use a tape measure and check the distance between each front wheel center and each rear wheel center. Take it back to the shop that did the alignment and ask for a 4-wheel alignment.

As a test, drive your car slowly down the street (holding a straight path) near the curb or white line (neighborhood street). Stop the car and measure the distance between the front tire near the curb or line and do the same for the rear tire. They should be the same.

[John]

Thanks everyone,

About switching the tires is mayby a thing i could try.
Is that possible to just switch whitout taking of the tires it self? i mean just for testing? (afcourse when its not raining)
Or is that a huge mistake because the rotation is not the going the right way?
If i can just test it so i know for sure, if it is i think il just buy 2/4 new tires because i know for sure the alignment is correct now.

But im almost sure its not the tires, not a 100% thats why il try’t that to see if im right.
I think its because of that collision. but i dont know for sure.

[college man]

Before you buy tires. rotate the fronts to the back
and backs to front.This way no money is spent.If it is
a collision issue. New tires won’t solve it. 😉

[Charles]

I thought of another test you should make. Find a level parking lot and measure the turning radius in each direction. It should be the same. Lock the steering wheel in one direction and drive in a circle. Mark the diameter of the circle with chalk and compare to the other direction. They should be the same. If not, the alignment is off.

[Dustin Hicks]

Okay, there’s a couple of other things you can check after the tires and wheel base (front to rear at center of hubs should be 2540mm or 100 inches). As earlier, measure the turning radius. Specs say 10.8m or 35.4ft in each direction.
This is a FWD auto, so check that the front sub-frame, if any, is square in the car.
A rough test for a square frame is to use pieces of string with a nut or bolt on one end tied to a spot on the front and diagonal rear, e.g. LF and RR corners, of the frame. Measure this distance, and compare that to the measurement of the same spots on the opposite corners. If they are the same, the frame is likely square. If the distances are different, double check the measurements by starting over. If still different, the frame MAY be bent. The only way to repair this is for a good shop to do it for you.

[EricTheCarGuy]

The first thing that came to mind was a tire problem until I read about the collision. It’s possible that something in the subframe is bent making it so that it can’t properly be aligned. Ask the people that did the alignment if they were able to align it properly. If not then you may need to have the frame or subframe straightened or you might have to replace some of the suspension parts in order to correct the problem.

[Author]

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