My '94 Camry recently started to pull hard to the right. I had it aligned, and it still pulls. No accidents or other damage to explain the change. Tires are not abnormally worn (yet). My question is whether or not worn out struts can cause the drift. The vehicle has
195,000 miles on it and I think that it still has the factory struts.Thanks for any insight that you can provide.
Your car is a mere puppy. I went through the same investigation. Get it aligned (still pulls to the right). Swap front tires (now pulls to the left). Replace front tires.
The steel cords in radial tires can be permanently deformed by hitting a curb or pothole. Even a dynamic rebalance doesn't spot it sometimes.
Umm, the first person I'd ask about this would be the mechanic who performed the alignment. Nothing like getting bad news from the horse's mouth.
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My 98 Camry pulled to the right, I switched tires front to back and it now runs straight. I guess what I'm saying is it might be the tires or a tire.
Hi,
Do check the lower ball-joints to be safe. These are an important link (no pun).
They don't cause much trouble normally, but if a boot is split, and dirt enters, a consequently worn joint can alter alignment on braking.
You can do this yourself with a crowbar (wrecking bar to you Yanks ;-]) following
Geoff
That reminds me - my '96 camry (137k miles) pulls to one side (I don't remember if it's left or right - the steering wheel is not perfectly straight as I drive straight). I didn't take a protractor to measure the angle the steering wheel is at, but it's a slight angle - maybe 5 or 10 degrees. (web protractor:
Thoughts...?
Thanks,
Michael
It can also be dragging brakes, worn struts, tires (much less likely if well maintained) or other suspension components.
If you raise the car do you see the struts leaking? Are the ride heights at all corners the same (or within 1/4")? Are the calipers and pads sliding free? Dragging brakes can be hard to diagnose. Isolate the problem before replacing parts.
If the problem points to struts, I'd recommend using a complete assembly, like the Monroe Ready-Strut. Assemblies like these include all new components: struts, springs, rubber seats, strut mounts, bearings, boots, bumpers. The draw back is Ready-Strut comes only with SensaTrac but some people like the SensaTracs. They are easier to install. I personally prefer the Gabriel Ultras or the Monroe Reflex, but not their SensaTrac, which is being phased out as Reflex ramps up production.
dennis wrote:
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