Pulls really hard to the right

[skswig62]

I just got my new 88 Festiva yesterday It is a four speed manual in pretty good condition. The problem I am having is that it pulls really hard to the right when you let go of the steering wheel. With the Steering wheel held straight it goes straight. I checked the alignment with the string trick and it seems pretty dead on. Both sides have a tiny amount of brake rub (it has been sitting for a while) but it seems equal. It brakes straight with no more or less pulling when braking. Nothing looks bent or loose. There is no tire shake or anything like that. The boots on the Tie rod ends are intact and they seem tight. Any thoughts? Thanks

[bravekozak]

Off the ground. Grab each tire and wiggle. Check for slop. Replace any bad bushings or other suspension parts.
A professional alignment is preferred. Big difference between string and laser.

[nitrofarm]

I just got my new 88 Festiva yesterday It is a four speed manual in pretty good condition. The problem I am having is that it pulls really hard to the right when you let go of the steering wheel. With the Steering wheel held straight it goes straight. I checked the alignment with the string trick and it seems pretty dead on. Both sides have a tiny amount of brake rub (it has been sitting for a while) but it seems equal. It brakes straight with no more or less pulling when braking. Nothing looks bent or loose. There is no tire shake or anything like that. The boots on the Tie rod ends are intact and they seem tight. Any thoughts? Thanks

Even if your Toe is off they really don't pull that bad(you get crappy mpg and hard steering input).If your Camber is not close left to right it will pull(and get bad forward bite in the rain or snow),so look and see if you have more neg camber on the right side. Also the right tire is the one that the diff drives so if its got more camber than left it will really show up fast when you give it hard throttle inputs.
Just make sure you don't have a bad Caliper Hose. You'd be surprised at how bad a soft hose can make these cars pull. Post back what you find-You can use a LARGE metal 90 deg square for a quick Camber reference on flat concrete.:thumbs_up:

[crazyrog17]

Check sway bar bushings. They cause a pull when accelerating and decelerating.

[skswig62]

I am not getting any slop and the steering does not have an play. I think the problem might be getting better as I drive it (healing from prayer? ) So it might be brake grab that I can not really detect when it is not under power and getting that torque steer.

[skswig62]

Funny you mentioned that I did think I noticed more neg camber on the right side but I did not check it with a square. I have a big one though so I will have to do that.

[nitrofarm]

Soft Caliper Hose,Camber Or Sway Bar Bushing will cause pulling. Tie Rod & Ball Joints that are worn wont they just make the steering feel loose.

[TominMO]

I used to do the string alignment until Greg finally converted me to the tape-measure one. Much better.

[skswig62]

a soft caliper hose would only make it pull during braking right? I am starting to think it might be a bent steering rod.

[Movin]

The soft hose can hold a little residual brake pressure when you are not using the brakes. A bent steering linkage will only change toe and will not cause a consistent pull , darting but not pull. Bad tire belt where you can't see it ( swap tires recheck ) . A real alignment will find caster and camber problems that you may be having a problem seeing. It will not tell you what is bent but if it says left front caster is off and the left wheel base is long you would know to look closely at the sway bar mount and bushings, the lower control arm for straight, anything that could allow the left front to move forward a little.

All the measurements other than toe should be in specification, unless something in the suspension or body mount is loose, worn, bent, rusted out ...things that really need a close look comparing one side to the other.

Swap tires then start really looking close. Check clearance between tire and strut, it will show a bent strut.

[skswig62]

Thanks for the tips. When I let go of the wheel the car steers hard to the right. I have noticed it is worse or better depending on the camber of the road. If the road tilts more to the right then it is NOT as severe as flat road, which I think is very strange. Going to get it up on the stands again today and take a closer look at that steering rod. Will be taking it to an alignment shop in the morning.

[skswig62]

Well here is what happened. I took it to pep boys for an alignment. They had it on the rack for an hour or so and came back and said they could not align it but that nothing looked broken or bent or out of speck and that everything was tight. It still pulled to the right, hard. I ask them how it was possible that a car that was in speck could not be fixed, they shrugged their shoulders and said it could be the the tires on the front. Why they did not swap them around and see when they had it in the shop I do not know and did not ask but I did tell them I was not going to pay them. On the way home I realized I had not paid for their coke that I was drinking either but that is another story. I had considered the tires, the ones on the back are very new still have the little bb's on them. The ones the front looked a little older but still fine with maybe 25 % even wear. When I got home I swapped the front tires left and right an now it pulled to the left. I swapped them front to back then and it drives like a new car. So I guess one or both of the tires that were on the front have an internal belt separation or something. Any way I feel kinda bad that I did not do the tire swap first, but Pep boys could have put a little more effort into it if you ask me.

[TominMO]

You're right, they should have tried this. But it would have required a test drive, perhaps more time than they were willing to invest in your problem, esp. since they were not going to get to sell you anything. Oh wait, they could have sold you a tire or two!

Great that you figured it out on your own. If you could narrow down which tire it was that was bad, go buy a new one. Not too thrilled with you having a faulty tire, even on the rear. Maybe put your spare on front, along with one of the older tires. If that doesn't cause it to pull, try the other older tire. Or just swap them front to rear, on one side at a time, and go for a test drive, to see what results you get (but do this on both sides to make sure that both of the older tires are not bad).

[skswig62]

With the car I got all of the components to do a Aspire swap front and rear. I have not decided if I am going to do it or leave the festy stock. So I am not sure if I am going to invest any more money in 12 inch tires.

[nitrofarm]

Just switch to 13" Geo Metro wheels. Then you can actually get real tires

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