pulling to one side/steering wheel cocked!

I believe my mom need an front in alignment!! when I test drove the car for her...the car drove fine and shift good bit I've noticed the steering wheel cocked and it pulled to the right...so I just assumed she needs a front end alignment...she going to the Gateway here in Memphis....but if anyone know what else it could be,let me know!! she only paid $2800 for da sxt...so I think $50 wouldn't be bad for an alignment!!

Before they align it they will inspect the suspension and bring any worn items to your attention. Outer tie rod ends and ball joints are fairly common. If you let go of the wheel and it pulls hard it could be a condition called radial pull, which is the fault of the front tires not the alignment. If its a light pull than the alignment is off. They (the alignment shop) will inform you of everything.

Our 97 Neon 4 door will steer slightly to the left when I push on the accelerator, will steer back to the right when I go to coasting. This is holding the steering wheel without turning at all. I also have the slight jiggling from the front end between 30-45 mph, is if there were a wheel out of round. Then it runs very smooth till we get a little vibration when the car is going just above 70 mph.
The slight shake above 70 mpg doesnt bother me, but the low speed jiggline does, as does the slight change in direction when going from coasting to accelerating.
I have stared up at all of the front suspension joints when I had the car up on ramps, and I dont see anything the looks loose. For the time being I am waiting for it to get enough worse that I will be able to see something that is 'loose'.

.........Or should I start changing ball joints and tie rod ends now?
The car has 150k miles on it, 50k while we have owned it.

Check the lower contol arm bushings.

The pull while accelerating could be a condition known as torque steer. There is nothing that can be done about that.

The vibration could be tire balance or a separated tire.

You can not tell if a front end part is worn by looking at it. Unless it is completely broken off it will look no different.

The front end needs to be shaken down. This is done on this vehicle with the front wheels off the ground and no load (no jack or stands) under the lower control arms. The tire is they grabbed at the 9 and 3 or the 12 and 6 position and pushed or pulled to see if anything will move. If its not loose than there is no need to spend the money to replace.

If you are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with how to check the front end the alignment shop will do this before they align the vehicle and inform you of any worn out parts. The front end needs to be tight to do an accurate alignment and there is no sense aligning a vehicle with worn out parts so they will let you know!

shodid,your problem is more than likely a tire.if you can switch the front tires side to side this will confirm.

Airjer You are r (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=551337)ight , however, if you raise it using the LC arms you will not be able to tell if the bushings are worn.

Thats what I said "no load (jack stands or jack) under the control arms". Meaning jack up the car and let the lower control arms hang. Do not put the jack underneath them or set them on jack stands!

Sorry! I just read your post to quickly.

I'm glad you mentioned it. It is really important to have the jack in the right place in order to check worn front end parts. The way I worded it was a little hard to follow. As long as the right proceedure comes accros in the end then its all good!!!

Airjer_: Thanks for reminding me about wiggling the wheels with the front end in the air. I found a bad outer tie-rod-end on the passenger side, plus a tire on the driver's side that wasnt all that round anymore - being well worn. I replaced the tie-rod end and the tire, and the slow speed wobble is gone; so is the steering-to-the-left with acceleration. Luckily all of the rubber bushings look okay, so it was an easy fix.

Awesome! Glad you got it squared away. And thank you for letting us know.

you didnt say but did you keep your appointment.you always want to align the car after replacing front end parts.

Airjer_: Thanks for reminding me about wiggling the wheels with the front end in the air. I found a bad outer tie-rod-end on the passenger side, plus a tire on the driver's side that wasnt all that round anymore - being well worn. I replaced the tie-rod end and the tire, and the slow speed wobble is gone; so is the steering-to-the-left with acceleration. Luckily all of the rubber bushings look okay, so it was an easy fix.

And your having it aligned after replacing the tie rod end, right? :grinyes:

I normally do that myself; have been doing it for years, for all of my vehicles; cars, trucks & motorhomes, modern & antique. And I did it after I replaced the rod end on the Neon, yes; checked the toe-in.
To me a good indicator of alignment is if the tires wear evenly across the tread, even after tens of thousands of miles -- and wear slowly of course.

P.S. I wish there were more salvage yards near where I live like U-Pull-R Parts, in Rosemount, MN.