GingerPowered

I noticed a couple of weeks back that the wheel was pulling to the right, fairly hard, at highway speed. Thinking something got bumped out of alignment, I took it in today. A few adjustments were out of spec and the shop corrected accordingly - see attached.

Unfortunately, the adjustments did absolutely no good - wheel is still pulling to the right.

Now, a few weeks ago, I had a very, very slow leak in the driver side rear wheel patched. I started noticing the pull a few days later, but, of course, I can't verify that the wheel patch had anything to do with it. Air pressure is correct; tires have lots of tread left, with no crowning or odd wear; I haven't run into anything; I have not been at the track, etc.

With the alignment not helping, I'm not thinking maybe the patched tire wasn't balanced properly, but would that cause such a dramatic pull to the right? Or can anyone tell anything from the alignment provided if anything there might be causing the pull?

Thanks in advance.

GPd

Rob VN

You might try swapping the front tires. That has worked for me on several cars.

eagle1960

Yep. Sounds like a tire issue. If alignment and pressure is good, swapping tires side to side may not solve the problem, but it will tell you the cause.

GingerPowered

Roger. I'll give it a try and report back.

MJBird993

I don't think that being out of balance will cause anything other than vibrations. I like the idea of swapping tires - it's the simplest and cheapest first step.

Tire pressure is very important. Double-check it with a gauge, just in case the car's sensors are off.

Ginger should also update his/her profile so that we know where she/he is located. It would be totally different for someone in the UK to report a pull to the right than someone in the USA, for example.

GingerPowered

Air pressure is definitely good, with double and triple checks on a $3.00 gas station tire gauge and calibrated gauge at the shop.

I forget, however, so many folks drive on the wrong side of the road. I'm in Texas. Please don't hold it against me.

I've tested the pull on inside, middle and outside lanes of highway. The pull is unmistakably to the right, no matter the lane or camber.

Blu RS

If you have a tie rod end on the right front that's gone out of spec, either thru wear or damage, then in theory it could be leaving you with an excessive toe-out condition that steers you to the right, particularly as your speed increases while driving. I have a friend with a Boxster with about 120K+ miles that's currently in need of tie rod ends at all four corners because of wear and the dealer can't do a proper alignment because of slop in the tie rods. I think it's possible the prior alignment may not have a caught a damaged tie rod end and that it could have been masked, particularly if the damage/slop isn't that severe. Here again swapping the tires out as suggested will help confirm the diagnosis of the problem not being the tire/s.

It hasn't been mentioned yet, but a dragging brake rotor can cause the symptoms you mention as well. A brake rotor can be dragging because the caliper pistons are hanging up, or the brake pads are hanging up in the caliper, or something is interfering with the normal free rotation or the rotor/s on the right side.

GingerPowered

This is very interesting. My brakes make a very high pitched, but brief, squeal when braking around 20-30 mph, then goes away. I had the same problem on a 69 Camaro and the problem turned out to be the brake pad dragging.

Still haven't tried the tire swap, but will do so and report back. Will also try to see if the pads are sitting on the rotor at rest.

MJBird993

I doubt that you will be able to visually tell if the pads are dragging. Instead, try this: when you've got the car jacked up to rotate the tires, before you remove them from the car, spin them. They should spin easily. If not, then you've got a brake issue.

QuickOne

Did they happen to remount the tire in the reverse rotation after the tire patch?

CW-VIESOCK

You have a blown belt in the repaired tire. Whatever punctured the tire, cut the belt. This assumes, the person who repaired the tire, centered it on the rim properly. Replace tire.