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The brake booster hose has been cut into by some PO (looks terrible, like they did it with a pocket knife) to install an aftermarket cruise control (which wasn’t even fully connected so I remove it and capped off the T they installed on the brake booster hose. It doesn’t have any clamps on the T though, I’ll definitely try clamping that and checking the MAP hose. Thanks.
The brake booster hose has been cut into by some PO (looks terrible, like they did it with a pocket knife) to install an aftermarket cruise control (which wasn’t even fully connected so I remove it and capped off the T they installed on the brake booster hose. It doesn’t have any clamps on the T though, I’ll definitely try clamping that and checking the MAP hose. Thanks.
Yes it’s efi, since it’s OBD1 there’s no details form when the code was thrown, no CEL. it’s coming on 175k miles and I’m not sure of previous maintenance. I’ll check the coolant and make sure it’s full/bled. It’s a fairly new K&N intake (<10k miles) so air filter is good. doing an intake clean and seafoam to make sure nothing is gummed up from carbon. Also will check the vacuum hose to FPR and fuel pressure if I can (some are easier than others for the tools I have access to. Thanks
Yes it’s efi, since it’s OBD1 there’s no details form when the code was thrown, no CEL. it’s coming on 175k miles and I’m not sure of previous maintenance. I’ll check the coolant and make sure it’s full/bled. It’s a fairly new K&N intake (<10k miles) so air filter is good. doing an intake clean and seafoam to make sure nothing is gummed up from carbon. Also will check the vacuum hose to FPR and fuel pressure if I can (some are easier than others for the tools I have access to. Thanks
sorry about the delay of update, but I have since replaced the passenger front control arm (both are new now) and put new shock mounts (old ones were rusted and I had to put new bump-stops on the shocks also) then I had it aligned at a different place. I bought the nationwide lifetime alignment and will have it checked next time I rotate my tires. The person who aligned it was really helpful and acknowledged the subframe damage and how it would prevent a perfect alignment. It pulls slightly, but the tires appear to be wearing MUCH better (already almost 6k mi and cross-tread mold marks are still there) also the steering pull-to-lock problem is almost entirely gone, it’s still there, but barely. for a $700 car i’m considering it good enough.
My final diagnosis/consensus/guess of the problem: the alignment wouldn’t stay because of the bad control arms, and when I got the new ones on, it was out of alignment causing it to pull-to-lock (in association with the frame damage), but now that it’s aligned better and holding, the steering geometry is less prone to pull-to-lock.
Either way, it seems to be good for now so we’ll see when it comes time to rotate and check alignmentQuoted From EricTheCarGuy:
If the vehicle is not aligned properly it could cause the ‘pull’ you describe, if there is an issue when doing the alignment that will not allow the vehicle to be properly aligned it will show up during the alignment inspection process as the first step after checking the tire pressure is to check for loose or broken suspension components, you can not properly align something that has loose or broken suspension parts. In short what I’m saying is that if there is some sort of mechanical issue then the vehicle can not be properly aligned until the issue is corrected.
Here’s the latest, I jacked the car up and checked everything for movement which all I could find was the cv axles had a little play. (they’re brand new, hopefully they weren’t damaged by whatever is causing the steering issue) I took off the drivers side shock and mount and inspected the mount, the inside-bottom of it appeared to be deteriorated pretty badly and there was absolutely no rotation in the bearing whatsoever. I ordered some new ones (not too expensive, plus the car has over 130k and still original ones) and will put them on tomorrow and have it aligned (at another place with a good rep) I’m also going to ask them if they see anything that would hinder the car’s ability to hold an alignment (especially if it’s still not fixed with new strut mounts) Hopefully that will take care of it. Either way, the control arms, cv joints, and shock mounts are new so it will at least hold the alignment better and my new tires will last longer. I’ll keep everyone updated. Thanks
Quoted From johnzcarz:
If it’s not an alignment issue, it sounds like something is hanging up when you turn your wheel to the left causing the car to pull in that direction – just like having a seized caliper.
Here’s what I would do. Lift the front of the car and support it with stands. Put the transmission in neutral and with the wheels pointing straight ahead, rotate each wheel and get a feel for any resistance. Then turn the steering full right and then full left rotating the wheels and checking for unusual resistance each time.
Based on your description i would suspect that when the wheels are turned full left you are going to feel a lot more resistance turning the tires. If that’s the case report back and we can take it from there.
I’ll do that, probably tomorrow, then get back with you. Thanks alot! =)
Quoted From EricTheCarGuy:
Torque steer is possible but make sure the front tires are properly inflated and of the same brand and size. As for the upper strut mounts this is something that I’ve seen quite often cause noises, I diagnose it by having someone turn the wheel lock to lock while feeling the top of the strut, if it feels rough in it’s travel I replace the upper strut bearings and the problem often goes away.
Msinly I think whatever is causing the wheel to pull itself to lock is most likely the reason my wheels didn’t hold the alignment. Is that a legitimate assumption?
Quoted From dreamer2355:
+1 on taking it to another alignment shop, College Man is right regarding the caster being at fault.
What brand of tires do you use and do you know the full history of the vehicle?
I took it to midas which gave me a full print out of all four wheels before/after. The tires are falken all seasons. I can tell teh car was in a front end wreck, but I don’t have history of it. What’s odd is that the car doesn’t really pull at all either direction except for under hard acceleration.
Quoted From EricTheCarGuy:
That vehicle does have issues with the upper strut mount bearings but I’m not sure if that is the problem with yours. There is one thing to check however if the struts were not installed correctly that same upper strut mount is offset so if the offset was not placed in the correct position the alignment will be all out of whack. I too recommend taking it somewhere else to have the alignment checked and have them show you the numbers on the print out, these print outs show not only what is measured on your vehicle but also what the spec is and what you should see for a particular measurement.
is there a tech service bulletin or something that you’re referring to about the strut mount bearings? Otherwise, how would I check them? I took it to the local midas, where I have never had any problems, to have it aligned, but I had that done after I installed the struts. The other odd part of the symptom is that it only pulls to steering lock when driving forward. When backing up, it naturally straightens as it should, so something to do with the caster being thrown off makes sense.
Quoted From twiggy02919:
This sounds a lot like an issue I had with a Ford Probe years ago, it turned out to be broken where the front shock attaches to at the top.
The shock mounts? because I replaced the shocks and reused the old mounts. I’ll check it out. Thanks.
Quoted From college man:
When you had the steering rack done. the tie rods had to be removed and swapped to to the new rack. anytime steering
components are moved or replaced it changes the alignment of the front end. with the tires feathering to the outside
is an indication that your front end is out of alignment and needs to go to an alignment shop. your vehicle will probably need
a 4 wheel alignment. As for the wheel not returning when turned sounds like your caster is out. the wheel alignment should resolve
your issues unless you have deeper suspension issues. C8-)That would cause it, but the alignment was done after the gearbox was replaced. Thanks