Torque Steering

[thewalrus]

1989 Ford Festiva L, stock motor and 4 speed tranny.

Alrighty, first I replaced control arms/ball joints, tie rod ends and front struts/strut mounts.

Before I did this, the car drove as straight as an arrow.

After I did the job, it started doing what my mechanic calls "torque steering."

This is where the car pulls to the left when you accelerate, and then pulls back to the right when you take your foot off the throttle. It's no biggie in town, but it can be a real pain out on the highway if there's traffic around.

Anyway, I then proceeded to replace front and rear wheel bearings and seals and installed two new drive axles.

The problem didn't go away. Anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? Any idea what might need to be done to fix it?

[FB71]

it needs an alignment. total toe is out, if the wheel stays straight while coasting, and it probably also has a camber issue. the new struts or lca's may be slightly off. Did you tighten the lca's (lower control arms) while the car was in the air, or after it was back on its wheels? If you tightened the the lca's while they were in the full-down position, the bushings get bound in an odd position, and try to spring up. this causes excessive jounce on accel, and insufficient rebound during deccel/braking. Loosen the the lca bolts at the frame rails, let the car down on all four wheels, bounce the front bumper two or three times, and tighten the bolts while the car is on the ground.