Wheel alignment issues

[retromadness123]

Hello guys need some help, I recently had my wheel alignment done on the hunter hawk eye 4 wheel alignment and after driving it the car was still pulling to the left, I know the road goes to the left because of the drainage but this is more worser and makes me pull the steering to the right abit, I took it back to the garage and they say that it could be because one of my wheels are buckled , could this be a cause of the car going to the left also they mentioned to check the springs as a broken spring could also contribute to the car going to the left, the car is a old mercedes and I did cut the springs on it, could the wheel buckled and springs cut cause the wheel alignment to still be out, all help is greatly appreciated in advance

[ballbagbagins]

You can go to a tyre place to get you wheels checked. I had a buckled wheel which made the steering wheel shake past 60 mph, not pull to the side.

[Rich]

A bucked wheel won’t cause a car to pull. Contrary to popular belief, tracking won’t cause a car to pull to one side either, as the wheels will still self centre regardless of the toe in/out, all that that can cause is wandering and a vague feel that could be mistaken for a pull. Have your geometry checked, which is more than a 4 wheel alignment. Lots of factors CAN cause pulling to one side and a geo check should highlight it.

[colnerov]

Hi, Tyre pressures could be another cause.

Colin

[retromadness123]

Thanks guys, would the different height of springs cause pulling to one side only reason I ask is that I cut the springs so if by mistake one is slightly shorter than the other would that cause the issue of the pull, I attached a picture of the screen when the 4 wheel alignment was done.

[Rich]

Jul 5, 2021 19:55:17 GMT retromadness123 said:

Thanks guys, would the different height of springs cause pulling to one side only reason I ask is that I cut the springs so if by mistake one is slightly shorter than the other would that cause the issue of the pull, I attached a picture of the screen when the 4 wheel alignment was done.

Unlikely unless you can see a fairly substantial difference in ride height between sides. Try swapping about the wheels. Sometimes a mix of certain tyre tread types can cause issues, it's not unheard of but quite rare.

[ferny]

Another rare cause is a dragging brake.

[kevins]

Try swapping the wheels from side to side, tyres can be slightly conical, this can pull to one side or the other, if this changes the side it pulls on try turning the tyre round on the wheel if they are not directional.

[retromadness123]

Thanks guys, I will get the fronts measured and see if there's any difference and also swap the wheels over, I spoke to someone that goes alignments and he thinking although the bars are showing green that's just a guide line and ideally the operator should of manually selected some measurements, also taking in to consideration thats there car has cut springs and not to just go by the specs on the machine. They also used oxy/acy, on a tie rod so he said if they made an adjustment when hot it could of not been correct as when the metal would expand when hot and contracts again when cold, it would of changed the reading, It's just so annoying but hopefully see where the issue is.

[89mustang]

What vehicle is it? Can you post a picture of your readings? Just to see what they are. Low caster or camber on near side can cause pull/drift left along with tyre issues as others have said.