Intermittant pull to the Left

[blkfordsedan]

Had 4 new tires installed yesterday on my '93L. The car drove great but after sitting for several years the tires were a little "out of round" and after 3K miles had not gotten any better. It had also developed a slight vibration at 55mph that would disappear as soon as you let up on the gas slightly. I attributed it to bad/out of balance tires and had 4 new Hercules installed. Also had them check the alignment, which was slightly toed out. They said the factory calls for a slight toe-in, so they adjusted it and away I went. Down the highway 2 miles and it drove great but the vibration at 55mph was still there. I turned around to head back and it was now pulling HARD to the left. After several miles I turned right onto another highway and it drove perfect again! Investigation revealed that following any LH turn the car will pull hard to the left. If you make a RH turn it will straighten out and drive perfect until you turn left again!

My guess is that the driver's side CV/axle is binding following a LH turn. Probably due to stiff grease from sitting for several years. The binding causes slightly more resistance on the driver's side and with an open differential, the result is more driving force on the passenger's side, causing the LH pull. I also suspect the vibration at 55mph it developed is caused by said CV joint sticking. A slight lift of the throttle allows it to "unbind" and you can then speed up to a 65mph cruise vibration free. The joint/axle feels tight (no slop) but I think it's an early state of failure and lack of Lubrication rather than excessive wear (which will happen shortly).

Does this sound logical to you? Anyone else have any ideas/similar experiences?

[GenevaDirt]

I would think not on the cv joint. I would suspect you have worn/damaged bushings and things are shifting when you turn certain ways. I had the same issue once.
Does the car pull to either side when accelerating or decelerating?

[Mike McKown]

I would suspect you have worn/damaged bushings and things are shifting when you turn certain ways.

I agree. I'd be looking at worn ball joints causing a toe change.

[blkfordsedan]

Thanks for the advice. I'll do another inspection of all the front end as soon as it warms up outside!
It does not pull when either accel or decel. I had the whole front end apart for inspection about 3K miles ago when I pulled the motor/trans out for a trans rebuild. I intended to replace anything that even showed signs of wear. Rod ends, ball joints, control and sway bar bushings, etc.. Everything looked like new and was tight. Even the CV joints felt smooth and tight. I would have thought that the place that aligned it would have noticed a worn part, especially a ball joint or bushing that would have thrown the settings off. Usually they are finding anything slightly worn and then suggesting they fix it, along with an outrageous estimate!
I can't think of anything they could have screwed up either, since all they did was adjust the toe. Would a bad strut bearing act this way?

I'll post when I solve the issue...........