steering and suspension Car Keeps Pulling After Getting Out Of A Turn

[ma.jomaa]

Hey guys,

 

So i got the 02 aligned and now I notice that whenever I turn a corner she keeps pulling to the same direction I turned after getting out of the corner, any suggestions?? I lifter her to see if anything is binding or stuck but the struts and springs turn freely. I'm dumbfound as to why she's doing that any help is greatly appreciated. She sits on IE stage 2 cut springs and Bilstiens sports. If anyone is local and willing to take a look I would greatly appreciate it.

[eurotrash]

Did you adjust the steering box lately?  If it was over-adjusted this would occur.

[Hans]

strut top bearings.

[ma.jomaa]

Did you adjust the steering box lately?  If it was over-adjusted this would occur.

 

Nop didn't touch the steering box.

 

strut top bearings.

 

How do you check if it's the strut top bearings?

[sl0ride]

Did you check all the tie rod ends and ball joints? You can check that by shaking the wheel back and forth about a 1/4 turn while you are underneath looking/listening  for clunking. Also use a pry bar to check all the bushing mounts by prying on them against the frame. Check your rear suspension and subframe mounts too.

 

Top strut bearings you can pop the dust cover off and shake the car back and forth, up and down. The threaded end shouldn't move up, down, or laterally. 

[Hans]

Did this start after you installed springs?

[skipsfcr]

Along the lines of what. Jason suggested, you might make sure the steering box isn't empty. They tend to leak down over time. Aside from that, all the suggestions offered are good.

[Rocan]

My car did this recently. the issue was severely worn rear shock top bushings. It could be this or a number of other things. Inspect all of your bushings front and rear. It could be as simple as what I mentioned above, or something else astray with any number of parts. 

[ma.jomaa]

Thank you guys for all the great replies, things got hectic around here right after I posted my question and I haven't gotten a chance to touch the car yet. 

 

Did you check all the tie rod ends and ball joints? You can check that by shaking the wheel back and forth about a 1/4 turn while you are underneath looking/listening  for clunking. Also use a pry bar to check all the bushing mounts by prying on them against the frame. Check your rear suspension and subframe mounts too.

 

Top strut bearings you can pop the dust cover off and shake the car back and forth, up and down. The threaded end shouldn't move up, down, or laterally. 

 

 Tie rod ends and ball joints are new, every bushing and mount was replaced and has less than 1000 miles. I'll check the strut bearing though. Thank you for your reply

Did this start after you installed springs?

 it happened after installing the springs

 

Along the lines of what. Jason suggested, you might make sure the steering box isn't empty. They tend to leak down over time. Aside from that, all the suggestions offered are good.

 

 although it was resealed before the swap was performed I'll look at the steering box to see if there are any leaks

My car did this recently. the issue was severely worn rear shock top bushings. It could be this or a number of other things. Inspect all of your bushings front and rear. It could be as simple as what I mentioned above, or something else astray with any number of parts. 

 

I'll check the rear shock top bushings, but I can't wrap my head around how the rear bushings could cause the front to pull after making a turn. I sure hope it's not something that will require a lot of work.

[Hans]

I have the same problem understanding how the rear shock mounts would affect steering return, but FAQ is about discovery!

 

Seems to me that either something is binding enough to prevent the steering from returning to center on its own, or the caster that promotes that return got screwed up. Caster is not adjustable on 2002 short of major whack. I'm not sure if too much toe-out would do that  - I think you'd notice wonky/darty steering first. How did you set toe-in?

 

I can't see that mildly lowered springs would change caster enough to notice, but I don't know.

 

So, a couple of thoughts: perhaps the re-assembly of the strut tops got messed up so that the spring cup is binding on the strut bearing. There are some washers in there. Strut bearing/s could be worn and binding. My E28 did that. Sometimes it would snap back because bearing didn't move, or if it did move, it wouldn't come back to center. You could try having someone turn the steering wheel while you look in with flash light to see if strut/spring are turning together.

[DUDONLY]

+1 strut bearings

[M3M3]

perhaps the re-assembly of the strut tops got messed up so that the spring cup is binding on the strut bearing. There are some washers in there. Strut bearing/s could be worn and binding.

 

this.