Steering wheel a little off and a pull to the right when straight

[Black&Gifted]

Hi,

When the steering wheel is straight on/aligned/dead center with the steering column, the car will start to drift/pull to the right. If I hold the steering wheel slightly to the left, the car stays straight as an arrow.

I've had a couple alignments done (and now it is aligned to carfixer's specs), swapped tires around, etc., and the pull is still there. As a matter of fact, the drifting to the right (and having to hold the wheel slightly to the left) has not changed at all even with changing multiple variables such as tires and alignment.

Any thoughts on the issue? Bad steering shaft?

Could it be as simple as removing the steering wheel and placing it on slightly adjusted for this?

I know I've been posting a lot of new threads lately but I took some time off of work after a recent tragedy. Now i have nothing but time and figure may as well hammer out some projects on the marauder.

Thank you for any input.

[Black&Gifted]

Not the best pic but this is what I'm referring to:

http://img.tapatalk.com/aefd767b-2f9f-53a1.jpg

You can see how the wheel is turned/tilted to the left in relation to the steering column.

Any thoughts?

[slickster]

The first alinement I got the guy did not lock the steering wheel in place right with the steering lock thingy when you do alinements. My steering wheel look like I was turning left but I was going straight so I came back and was like hi dude WTF and he corrected it. Yea he did not lock your wheel in place correctly go back and he will fix it make sure you watch him doit

[fastblackmerc]

Not the best pic but this is what I'm referring to:

http://img.tapatalk.com/aefd767b-2f9f-53a1.jpg

You can see how the wheel is turned/tilted to the left in relation to the steering column.

Any thoughts?
Your alignment guy screwed up.

The steering wheel should be locked in "straight ahead" before doing an alignment.

[Black&Gifted]

Thanks. Thought for sure it wasn't the alignment as its been like this since I bought the car and through 3 alignments (during my ownership). I have to hold the wheel to the left (as shown in the pic) to continue straight. When the wheel is straight, it starts to go to the left.

I really appreciate the insight slickster and FBM.

Looks like back to the alignment guy I go!

[Black_Noise]

yeah, thats ALL alignment problem, but its not for lack of locking the steering wheel.

your wheel having to counter a pull/drift issue is because of camber or caster causing a pull.

If it was that way (cocked at 11 o'clock when you go straight with no pulling to left or right) then it would be a toe problem, usually because thats where the steering wheel was pointed when the toe setting is adjusted.... aka not locking the steering wheel straight before starting the alignment

[Bluerauder]

Here's how I would check it ....

On a flat, level road (with no rutting) at about 30-35 miles per hour let go of the steering wheel briefly. If it still pulls right, you have an alignment problem or unevenly worn tires (due to that prior misalignment). Or it simply might be low tire pressure on one side. If it is not too bad, you can do this at slightly higher speeds (e.g. 50-55 MPH).

If it tracks true and straight withough touching the steering wheel, then the alignment is fine and its the steering wheel position that may not be centered properly.

If you have to maintain a slight strain on the steering wheel to maintain a straight track to prevent the pull to the right (or left), its bad tires or alignment or both. More strain means more problem.

[fastblackmerc]

Thanks. Thought for sure it wasn't the alignment as its been like this since I bought the car and through 3 alignments (during my ownership). I have to hold the wheel to the left (as shown in the pic) to continue straight. When the wheel is straight, it starts to go to the left.

I really appreciate the insight slickster and FBM.

Looks like back to the alignment guy I go!

That is basic front end alignment 101...........

I'd find another alignment shop.

[tbone]

I thought my alignment went bad a couple weeks after it was done with the same problem as you. It turned out that I had a leaking rear shock and once replaced, the alignment was fine. You wouldn't think it would affect it, but it did. Check it out.

[Black&Gifted]

I started from scratch today:

(1) NEW front tires
(2) NEW monroe severe service shocks for the rear (was already planning on replacing the rear shocks because of bottoming out when hitting dips in the road on the worn out stockers)
(3) Alignment at NEW alignment shop (not going back to the old place)

Not sure what the exact issue was but I believe the main issue with the steering wheel was due to really bad tires (both as in just a crappy tire as well as the crappy, uneven tread wear). After installing the new tires, the car tracked much better. I then went to a new alignment shop and spent about 30 minutes with the guy explaining my issues (and handing him carfixers writeup) before even letting him touch my car. He let me ask questions as he did everything. Everything was within carfixer's specs except for the camber (it is at -.7 instead of 0 to -.3 as recommended) because he said the cam bolts are maxed out and could not get the camber to adjust any more.

At the end of the day, car is 1000x better and runs pretty darn true...and at least much truer than before!

Thanks everyone for being patient with me and the helpful tips (even if it takes a few of you beating into my thick head the issue LOL). All the info in this thread was very valuable to me.

[Rockettman]

Valuable to me too, as I have the same issue with my Mustang.

New tires / new shocks all four corners / and the new alignment; car drifts to the right.

I have yet to fix the problem; but from following this, looks like my best bet is to get a new alignment at A DIFFERENT SHOP.