Wheel alignment

Pedro K

My car was pulling to the left, so I took it to a tyre dealer and had the wheels aligned.

I've gotten it back and it nearly seems worse. (Will be going back tomorrow)

Is there anything other than the tracking that could make the car veer off course like this?

Thanks in advance guys.

mickdw

Worn suspension components most likely the cause of the problem.
What type of car? Is it old?

Pedro K

I was thinking that, but hoping it may not be. Money is tight at the mo.

It's a 00 N15 almera.

Must get my mechanic to have a look at the suspension then.

Thanks

Avns1s

Pedro K wrote: »

My car was pulling to the left, so I took it to a tyre dealer and had the wheels aligned.

I've gotten it back and it nearly seems worse. (Will be going back tomorrow)

Is there anything other than the tracking that could make the car veer off course like this?

Thanks in advance guys.

Check that the tyres on each axle are the same; same type and same amount of threadwear.

It is also possible to get faulty tyres, as happened to me, in this case, if you swop the tyres from left to right, the car will pull the other way.

In relation to suspension components, what mileage is on the car? If its relatively low, this is unlikely to be the cause. Did the car have an accident that could have bent something, even a heavy bump on a kerb?

Nozebleed

i brought my almera for a service a while back..it was driving perfect,just wanted oil/filter change etc...and when i got it back the car was driving off the road. said it to the guy who serviced it,made him drive it.. and he tried to tell me the steering column in almera's are known to be dodgy! he then tried to convince me i needed new tyre's...that the front 2 tyre's were different brand.. you're best off just bringing it back to nissan.it might cost a little more but you know it'll be fixed.

corktina

could be a partly seized brake caliper.Does it pull all the time or just on braking?

Pedro K

Avns1s wrote: »

Check that the tyres on each axle are the same; same type and same amount of threadwear.

It is also possible to get faulty tyres, as happened to me, in this case, if you swop the tyres from left to right, the car will pull the other way.

In relation to suspension components, what mileage is on the car? If its relatively low, this is unlikely to be the cause. Did the car have an accident that could have bent something, even a heavy bump on a kerb?

corktina wrote: »

could be a partly seized brake caliper.Does it pull all the time or just on braking?

Thanks again folks for the advice.

The mileage is only 60k. Had around 50k on it when I got it. As far as I know it's never been involved in any accidents.

@ corktina, it pulls all the time, not just when braking.

OldmanMondeo

I had the same problem woth my current car, brought it back to the dealer several times, they never fixed it. Got the wheels re-balanced and the problem disappeared.

corktina

worth checking all the tyres pressures including the rear are correct...I have known the back axle to affect the steering, strange as that might seem....

Dr Kamikazi

Also depends on what they check in the garage.
Got my wheels balanced yesterday and asked if he could do wheel alignment as well.
What he didn't tell me is that he only did front wheel alignment, but not the rear wheel and not camber. Was pretty pissed off to have wasted money on a service that is useless and now would have to be redone in a proper garage.
You must go to a garage that check all 4 wheel and check camber, caster and toe.
Otherwise you're just throwing your money away on a pointless check that does next to nothing.

wandererz

Had a similar problem myself. Drove me nuts. Wheel alignment (twice) made no difference. Changed the tyres and problem gone.

I would suggest swapping tyres around to see if it makes a difference.