Allignment

Tiny
BREWERBRUCE
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 FORD ESCORT
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 150,000 MILES
Just had my car fixed after a wreck, they replaced the steering rack and front drivers strut and aligned the front end. Upon acceleration the car drifts to the right.
Saturday, April 30th, 2011 AT 11:23 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,916 POSTS
Ford is famous for building cars that can't be aligned for that. What you got is what you get. They have rotten tire wear too but they don't want you to know that when you're looking to buy a car. They ride smoother than other brands but that is the trade-off for the tire wear problems.

What you can try first is switching the two front tires side to side to see if it is a tire pull. Another clue to a tire pull is the car will tend to pull to the left under moderate to hard braking.
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Saturday, April 30th, 2011 AT 11:38 PM
Tiny
BREWERBRUCE
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Thanks for the info, we had just put two new tires on the front. Could it be in the rear of the car.
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Saturday, April 30th, 2011 AT 11:53 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,916 POSTS
New tires are more likely to have a pull than older tires that have been running fine. It's not exactly a defect; it's a difference in the way the tread reacts to the road. They won't cause a problem if you put them on the rear because they can't steer. They just follow along.

While switching them front-to-rear is common to solve a pull, every once in a while you run into a pair in the rear that have the same problem. That's why it's best to switch them left-to-right first to be sure you've identified the right cause of the pull.

I bought four tires many years ago, and one of them caused the car to pull extremely hard to the right. I switched the two right side tires and left them there. Never had a problem for over 40,000 miles, but I knew to never rotate them after that.
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Sunday, May 1st, 2011 AT 12:22 AM
Tiny
BREWERBRUCE
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Once again thanks for the help, I will try it.
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Sunday, May 1st, 2011 AT 12:39 AM

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