Hard steering pull....

[negative123]

alrighty then....... got another question. seems my car is full of problems just now arising . my car was in horrible need of tie rods, so I put new tie rods on my 95 prelude type-s. then i took it to the shop to get it aligned, and they did it. but it came out worse than what it went in as. as i would shift between gears and let off the clutch, it would pull to the left really frickin' hard. then i took my hand off the wheel while going 60 mph to see if it did it while going a steady rpm, and it still pulled really hard. i knew i needed new front lower ball joints at the time as well, so i decided to replace those too, thinking that was the problem...... went and got it aligned AGAIN, and it still pulls really hard to the left. i need new tires too, but they are only 1 year old kuhmo ecstas, and for as hard as it pulls, i doubt it is only the tires causing this problem. there is a bulge on my rear driver side tire, on the inner sidewall, but would that alone really cause my car to drift this heavily? i'm out of money and need to wait to get paid and buy new tires, so i have to drive on it for another week, and i dont feel safe drivin it around..... any thoughts on what else could cause this???

[lilwhitelude]

Ok stupid question time...Does it feel like it is pulling or drifting,, if pulling, its a problem in the front end. If drifting, it may be a problem in the rear end of the vehicle. sometimes a failed rear wheel bearing or brake hanging up can cause drag and cause the car to drift some..Of course check the front calipers and wheel bearings to see if either are causing drag.
Also, on my prelude I had a similar problem that no alignment shop could figure out..The bolts to my steering rack had fell out.. Hard to explain what it felt like driving it, but it defenitely pulled. Some times my steering wheel would just stay half turned while I was going strait and sometimes it would be strait as hell. I don't know if it's a common thing or not, but I guess it happens.
Also,, since the front of these cars is wider than the back of the car, some old school alignment techs have trouble aligning them. Make sure that whoever does your alignment had new equipment and knows how to use it correctly.. The first time I had my car aligned, some idiot did it and had my rear tires pointing so far out it was stupid. I had to go to sears to get them to realign it.. I had to pay twice for an alignment and it sucked... Hope this helps

[negative123]

It definitly feels like a pull. i have newer calipers all around, so i dont think it is a brake problem.... It pulls all the time too, if im going slow, or fast, the steering wheel will just start turnin on its own... I took my car to belle tire, and they use that big laser guided computer to align it, and they printed of the results sheet, and it was perfect. but drove it away from the shop, and it still pulled. But i will look at my rack & pinion to see if anything is out of whack for sure... i think i may be convinced it is a tire.... maybe the belt snapped in one of em'.... thanks for the input!!

[absntmnd69]

ok....if the belts in the tire separated or broke....it would not pull...it would shake/hop. the problem is obviously not allignment, tie rod, or ball joint related. i think that u should check the rack and pinion like u said. that seems like the only other thing that could be wrong. unusual tire wear will cause a very very slight pull but not like u are saying. go with checking the rack and pinion

[negative123]

I actually replaced my 2 driver side tires today, and that was the problem. The front tire had a snapped belt, and the rear had a huge goose egg on it. it drives like new again. i really didnt think that the way it was pulling, it would be a tire alone, but it is all good now i also checked out my rack & pinion, and all looked good there as well. And just for the record , i would avoid buying kuhmo ecstas. i just replaced all 4 of them within the past 2 months, due to 2 blowouts while driving, and these 2 recent malfunctions. i dont race my car, i drive it very safely, and i have never burned out the tires. they just seem to fail, and i've had them for only a little over a year. the problems every time have originated from the inner and/or outer sidewalls on the tire too. just faulty design or somethin, or im very unlucky. the measurements are 205/40R17-80H, just in case anyone is tire shopping, i would personally not go with kuhmo ecstas. i went with the Firestone Fusions, and they are great so far, and i have heard nothing but good things about them, so hopefully i have better luck this time around. Thanks for all the help!