Please Help

ok heres the deal

driving to the store my car was fine, on the way home my car started pulling to the left.. like going over 35mph seems like my car would do this.
so id pull it to the right, and it would make a popping sound.. im like wtf, so i pull over nothing is wrong with the tires.. so i start going again and id feel it pull again.. so i pull down a side street and turn around, slow and no sound, no pop. so i head back up to the main road, to take a sharp right andit makes a really really loud pop and a lil jerk, i dont know whats going on. i need new front rotors, and also the sound seemed like it was coming from the right front tire.. anyone kno.. is it the brakes????

sorry i really need it fixed monday

You didn't say what kind of car it is. If it is pulling to one side without brake application, then the problem is most likely not the brakes. Lift the front wheel off the ground from under the lower control arm or axle. This will keep the suspension in the same relative position that it would be in while you are driving. (you don't want the wheel "hanging") Now have someone grab the tire and try "steering" it left and right while you look at all the steering parts. Worn or loose parts will be apparent.

Next have the helper put a large crow bar between the tire and floor, and lift up and down while you look at all suspension joints. Again loose or worn parts will be apparent. If all these parts look tight but you can still feel "play" while steering the tire, the problem may be with the wheel bearings. Check both sides. Don't forget to use jack stands under the frame for safety. Let us know what you find.

sorry man, 96 monte carlo z34, and ill get lookin at it tmrw.. jus happend out of no where, but thats for some input

Good advice from Almost Stock. Lots of front end components can cause such problems.

Also, look at these 2 areas as well:

1. I suspect the bearings or bearing plates at the top of the front struts are worn/seized/rusty/broken.

When this happens the top of the struts are no longer centered and can move around noisily, especially on turns. Their movement and shift effectively changes your alignmnet, making the car pull to one side.

2. Another possibility is the front subframe cradle is not properly bolted to the car's chassis. Look for broken, missing or rusty bolts and chassis mounting points. You can wedge a pry bar between the chassis and subframe, pull on it firmly and look for movement.

yea.. its more like a loud bang, come to think of it. and it also happend after i took a kinda sharp left turn out of the store, its crazy im going to have someone look at it monday, i dont have any jacks or anything. but i was trying to get ideas as to what it could be. so ill let you guys know asap. thanks

When this happens the top of the struts are no longer centered and can move around noisily, especially on turns. Their movement and shift effectively changes your alignmnet, making the car pull to one side.


Well it only shifts to one side over 35 mph

When this happens the top of the struts are no longer centered and can move around noisily, especially on turns. Their movement and shift effectively changes your alignmnet, making the car pull to one side.


Well it only shifts to one side over 35 mph

Hello

It sounds like you need a strut mount replaced. This requires a spring compressor, and other tools.

Regards

Dan

Another thought... this one happened to me. Lower control arm bolts. If they're loose, they can let the control arm clunk in and out changing alignment and making the problem you speak of. If its loose, it works on the bolt and it may have broken.

lol my chevy truck did that once and it was pretty obvious, a couple bolts snapped that held the power steering box to the side of the frame, and so it would pivot and not turn the wheels until it hit the side of the left fender well. now thats a pretty big dead spot lol

yeah, well it went to the shop today and im getting a few things done since its there, brakes, rotors and a belt. and wutever that problem is.. ill let u guys kno as soon as they give me a call.. but thanks again

well heres what they said.. the tranny fell ... could that make my car do this. cuz my trans felt 100 % fine .. there putting a used one in so it cost me only 1300.00 with my brakes done because we kno the guy. but does this sound like it could be true.. if not im sure they will take it for a test drive before they give it back

Define "fell." How did it fall?

i have no clue.. thats what they said so i guess it just fell off?? i have no idea, he said it was no good and hes putting a used one in now. thats why its 1300.00 .. i really dont see if it fell why i wuld need a new one. it felt like it worked fine.. so could it really fall out of place and make my car do that, to me what my car is doing seems more like a front end thing

This sounds suspicious to me. Before they start work, demand a better explaination of the failure with their showing you how a 'fallen transmission' actually can make these problems occur.
Then, take it to another mechanic and get a second opinion.

I knew a crooked mechanic whose customer blew a transmission cooler line in a Ford Tempo.
He told the customer she needed a new trans, but could put in a used one at a big discount and charger her $800.

What he actually did was wash the trans, fix the cooler line, make some yellow grease pencil scribbles on the side and collect $800........after all, he told her the new used trans was clean with marks from the wrecking yard...........

If this shop has done the work, ask to see your old trans removed from your car after the swap and verify it's actually yours. Do not accept BS about a 'core' to be returned to the scrap yard. Demand to see the packing slip/invoice for your trans from the wrecking yard that supplied it.

yea i dont know.. this guy is a "good" friend of my uncles, my uncle is a manager for foreign autoparts.. so he deals with these guys all the time. and hes talking to him not me.. it does piss me off alot because my trans was fine! not one problem and someone tell me how a falling trans makes me need a new one if it was fine. anyway i really dont see how this makes this happen to my car altho like i said it seems like after i go over 35 mph, wich is like 2nd gear? it shifts. and it just pulls to the right. he DID say tho that he would charge 1300.00 flat and he said something along the lines of if thats not the problem it will still be 1300.00 im going to call them tom. and ask some questions.

i just thought of this, my left front strut has been making a squeaking noise for awhile... soo.. i dont know ill be calling tmrw im kinda mad

yeah by "fell" he means it went out. i dont have any clue how it would pull to one side due to a tranny though... Then again i only have worked on my old chevy truck and yours might be designed entirely different. i.e. front wheel drive that i dont know anything about lol.

i did have a car have a worn lower control arm bushing pull to the left when the trans shifted to overdrive and not before. as far as having the trans "fell" my question is if you are in the south... some of us country boys pronounce "fail" as "fell" lol