tire rotation, alignment off

hey got my tires from one place that doesn't do alignments but got a lifetime rotation/balance, just did that and now my windstar pulls left, is it normal for a rotation to throw your alignment off? and is the place I got my alignment from responsible to do the alignment if the tire config has changed since they did it? I'd imagine it varies from place to place but how about in general?

Reply to
Petebert
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Petebert opined in news:26AOd.96$ snipped-for-privacy@news.uswest.net:

Take it back to the tire store... You may have a bad tire.

Dont let them BS you. If necessary take the writer out to demonstrate the pull then have them swap the tires across and take it out again

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

Right. And this happens more often than you think. I don't know what causes a new tire to pull but it does happen.

Reply to
Scott

It has to do with the way the plies in the tire are arranged.... In a radial tire. there is a "belt" layer (or several belt layers) that wrap around the tire directly under the tread face. These cords (plies) can shift or unravel allowing the tire to assume an "unnatural" shape... instead of a tube (like a piece of pipe) it will assume a cross-section more like a foam coffee cup. As a comparison, roll a piece of pipe across the table and roll a foam coffee cup across a table and compare their trajectories.

Macpherson strut front ends are very forgiving as far as suspension angle induced pulling is concerned... tire wear is another matter.

Now... for what surprises me. Didn't the alignment tech road test his work???? if for no other reason than to make sure the steering wheel was centered? At the very least, he/she should have noticed any unexpected conditions and made sure that you were aware of them.

Before I forget... I agree with BYMs prognosis.... swap the front tires side for side... the pull will either vansih (double whammy) or swtich sides. In rare occasions, it *may* be the rear tires causing the grief.

Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

Reply to
Jim Warman

"Now... for what surprises me. Didn't the alignment tech road test his

either I mistyped or you misread, I got the tires this summer at an air force base service station, got lifetime rotation/balance, they dont do alignments. I brought it to a firestone off base that week for an alignment, last week I cashed in on my free rotation and now the van pulls to the left, I stopped by the service station yesterday, they are going to check out the tires on monday.

Reply to
Petebert

I didn't misread... you had an alignment and rotation... the tires have switched position. To check for a tire pull we switch the tire positions. If the bad tire was on the rear axle, we might not notice.... moving it to the front axle would make it noticeable.

It's not magic and it's not rocket science....

Now.... if the alignment and rotation were performed at the same time..... didn't the alignment tech road test his work???

demonstrate

Reply to
Jim Warman

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