Topic: Steering pulls to the right?? please help

[victor89]

I have a 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with 120,000km on it. For the past 4 years now, I have noticed that the steering pulls to the right. I thought it was just poor alignment because the front right tire had a lower tread than the front left tire. I decided to change tires and align then at the same time. I now have 4 new tires all aligned and balanced. BUT THE PROBLEM IS NOT GONE! :O The car does not track straightly and it is very annoying.
On the highway/street if I put the steering wheel straight, the car will start going to the right.
Tires are brand new,
balanced, and aligned. Tire pressure is correct.

Please help
thanks

[Cord]

Find another alignment shop to check it again. Also, virtually all roads are crowned in the centre which makes most cars drift to the right with no steering input.

[victor89]

well i tested this everywhere, on all streets, and parking lots. It just drifts to the right, and with my old tires, the right front tire was more worn than the rest 
Also, when the car is rolling, and i let go of the steering wheel it moves to the right for some reason, and i have to pull the wheel to the left to keep the car going straight.
Its not the tires for sure, they are brand new g/y Triple treds.

[barrie1]

I would have the ball jounts checked as well as the rest of the front end on this car as any worn parts in the steering can also cause this behavior as well. It will keep pulling to the right and causes excess wear on the right front tires as well. 

[safristi]

Have U owned it from NEW...or do you have a twisted chassis..and the car too.....   any major fender Benders............chassis "true" can be checked.........

[planethax]

This is if Alignment shop did actually check the alignment.
1, Wont be twisted chassis
2, Wont be tires if they were replaced and its still the same
3, Possible brake calipers hanging up, but, by your description I doubt that.
4,Most Very Likelyit is the Strut bearings siezing up not allowing steering to return to straight ahead.
This is very common on these cars. Not to much to repair but the struts do have to come out.

Contact me if you want to come into my shop and I will check it out for you and give you a complete vehicle inspectio for NO CHARGE!

[victor89]

I have owned the car since day 1, I bought it new from the dealer. The only major fender bender i had was when another car hit mine on the front bumper. The bumper was cracked and we had to replace it. But I didnt notice anything weird about the steering. This was about 5-6 years ago.

How would the strut bearing affect the steering? please explain.
I changed the struts in the back about 2 years ago because the car just "sank". The back of the car was like 5 inches lower than the front.

[barrie1]

The strut bearings can wear and then it  will pull to one side which is what I beleive he is referring to. I am changing out the struts and the same bearings on my 91 Fleetwood on Monday as they are rattling but haven't started to pull yet and the struts are starting to get weak with double bouncing. Monroes are very good and generally the cheapest ones to replace then with as I have them already sitting in stock here for this purpose. 

[planethax]

The Strut bearings allow the steering to return to Straight ahead, when the get corroded and old the will stick.
We also call this memory steer. (when you turn wheel to the left then let go, it will not return back all the way, giving you a pull to the left)

I have owned the car since day 1, I bought it new from the dealer. The only major fender bender i had was when another car hit mine on the front bumper. The bumper was cracked and we had to replace it. But I didnt notice anything weird about the steering. This was about 5-6 years ago.

How would the strut bearing affect the steering? please explain.
I changed the struts in the back about 2 years ago because the car just "sank". The back of the car was like 5 inches lower than the front.

[PJungnitsch]

On my truck it was the calipers dragging a bit on the one side, causing the steering to drift right. Either they were not retracting quite enough or not sliding easily on the pins. Was never a big deal though, no tire wear.

Eventually the caliper did seize on the pins on the one side, changed them out with rebuilt last year and the slight drift problem was gone also.

[victor89]

At first I thought it was the caliper because the right front wheel had 100x more break dust than the rest of the wheels. But the break dust seemed to stop some time ago.

I am planning on going to the dealer to inspect and do some maintenance on the brakes. I had that done on my 2003 GMC savana, and the brakes are much better than before.
Also, Im gonna have the steering checked, along with the struts and strut bearings.

The disc and rotor that i know are not in very good condition is the back left. For some reason, the parking break always sticks and it doesnt release the brake, so i some times drive with the parking break 'mildly on'. Its not really stopping the car, but after about 1-2 kilometers it starts to make that burning smell 
The disc is warped and rewarped lol. Now when I push the brake, it sometimes makes the noise that..a warped disc makes. Those brakes are totally fried. This has happened to me about 3-4 times. Smokes comes out of the wheel.

I also have to change the bushings in the back suspension. When it rains, the car squeaks.
I think i need a new car 

I guess thats what i get for buying GM.

[victor89]

I found a page that describes my problem with my olds. Its supposedly called strut spring side load.
Heres the link http://www.alldata.com/service_provider/techrx/2005/20050119.html
Could that be it?

[barrie1]

Victor even the imports you would have had some problems with by now as the vehicle is 10 years old. No make or model is going to be perfect for ever as it just dosen't happen at all. AS far as the rear rubber bushings squeeking I would spray them with Air Conditioning oil which can be bought quite cheaply from most dealers. Spray the bushings with it to lube then back up again as it does work quite well. It will shut them up. 

[victor89]

Thank you. I will be sure to pass by the dealership. Its one of my top priorities right now