96 lumina pulls to the right

[dannylumina]

I'm not sure when it started, but I noticed that one day pulling out
of the drive way, the car was pulling to the right. I was kind of bewildered. Before that, alignment seemed perfect and I was pleased. I don't recall hitting a pot hole or curb or anything.

In order to go straight, I have to aim / hold the steering wheel
a little to the left (and it feels slightly heavy, not like power steering
use one finger type of deal).

the only other issue was that around a certain MPH, 65 to 72 mph i'd get some shake and it would go away at once I got a little higher than that.
I figured it was probably wheel balance and since I don't drive that speed
very often I just kept it at a lower speed for better mileage anyway.

What kinds of things can cause the right pull? Just want to know all the
possibilities of what to expect when i take it to a shop. I remember a long
time ago pep boys would do free diagnosis, hopefully they still do

TIA

- Danny

[Scrapper]

i would have front tires switched put right on on left and left on right side this will rual out a bad tire it can pull to the left afterwords and if it don't it might drive strait when doing this. and if it does its a bad tire. if not you may have it aligned again may have bent strut.you may want to check front brakes to incase one of calapers are sticking.

[jeffcoslacker]

Originally Posted by scrapper1

i would have front tires switched put right on on left and left on right side this will rual out a bad tire it can pull to the left afterwords and if it don't it might drive strait when doing this. and if it does its a bad tire. if not you may have it aligned again may have bent strut.you may want to check front brakes to incase one of calapers are sticking.

I agree with everything you said, except I'd just do a straight front to rear rotation of the tires and see if it changes...some radials don't take well to having their rotation direction reversed (as is the case with a side to side swap)

As light caliper drag is a possibility, but more than likely it would build so much heat it would warp that rotor and the brake pulsation would become worse the farther you drove...it would shudder like hell when you hit the brakes coming off the highway, etc...

Lotta stuff can cause a slight pull...with the heaviness you describe, I wouldn't rule out a forzen strut bearing plate that is not allowing the coil spring to turn easily with the strut when you steer...this causes the spring to "wind up" when the steering is turned, and can create a slight directional pull and steering wheel misalignment...it will also make the coil spring fail from fatigue pretty quick...

Word of advice...you probably aren't going to get a real educated diagnosis at Pep Boys....places like that tend to overlook anything but the glaringly obvious and common causes...then they simple align it to compensate, which compounds the problem eventually...

[kusterd]

4 out of 5 times on a fwd in my expirience it's a worn tie rod end. If it clunks occasionally I would say the lower ball joint. Thats if the tread looks good and the pressure is good first of all.

[DnaProRacing]

ball joint is a common issue with early 90's luminas. i wouldnt rule it out. definately get that checked out...