Topic: Front tires/steering wandering while driving straight - out of ideas

[Bigdaddy]

Hi guys,
I'm pretty much at a loss as to what could be possible wrong with my winter beater, its a 1999 toyota tercel
I have replaced lower control arms, ball joints, and outer tie rod ends, the main reason I replaced them was because the steering was kind of wandering a little and it felt like I was constantly making small adjustments back and forth to keep going straight down the road.
After replacing all those parts, I rotated my tires as well, just in case those were part of the problem.
The steering feels tight and fairly responsive for a 17 year old car.
After doing all that it still drives horrible, possibly worse than before, feels like I am all over the road and can't keep the car going straight.
The only thing I haven't done yet is shell out the money for a front wheel alignment, is it possible the alignment could be the culprit if it is totally out of whack?
Any other ideas of things to check for?
I'm completely at a loss and hoping someone could point me in the right direction.
Thanks

[Cord]

I would think that after replacing major suspension/steering components that a wheel alignment would be mandatory. Your symptoms sound exactly like what an alignment cures.

[ArticSteve]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuYsd7SUwTA

[ktm525]

you need some toe-in son. You can do an alignment yourself with string or laser lines if you are cheap!

[Bigdaddy]

So is it the toe in that would have the biggest effect in the way it drives or could the camber also effect the it somewhat?
I'd like to try and do it myself as I only paid 400 bucks for the car, and I don't really know for certain that it is the alignment that's causing it, I've just run out of parts to replace.
If I use the string technique to check and set the alignment will that get me close enough?
Thanks for all the replies

[ArticSteve]

If I use the string technique to check and set the alignment will that get me close enough?


Run the string and see how far out you are.  Then decide. Slight tow in.  Just enough so the string doesn't touch the front of the front tire.

[Bigdaddy]

Ok, thanks for all the replies, I will check with the string today and report back.
Thanks

[Bigdaddy]

Ok, so I just checked the alignment with the string method, each wheel is toed in about 1/2" on both sides, I will adjust the toe rods accordingly so there is only about an 1/16" of toe in on both sides.
Any idea what the camber should be? Almost level but slightly tilted in towards the car at the top?
Would excessive toe in cause the symptoms I am experiencing while driving?
thanks.

[blur911]

Ok, so I just checked the alignment with the string method, each wheel is toed in about 1/2" on both sides, I will adjust the toe rods accordingly so there is only about an 1/16" of toe in on both sides.
Any idea what the camber should be? Almost level but slightly tilted in towards the car at the top?
Would excessive toe in cause the symptoms I am experiencing while driving?
thanks.

That is a crazy amount of toe-in,   I'd adjust it for  just very slight toe-in as a front-wheel drive car will pull a bit of toe-in when driving, 1/16" might even be a  bit much. 

But, toe-in will usually give more stability and understeer than what  you are experiencing.  Toe-out in the rear will cause what you are experiencing though, have you checked the rear?
As for camber, very slight negative camber is good, so the top of the wheels should be just a bit closer together than the bottoms, but more important to get them even.

[Bigdaddy]

When I ran the string line across the wheels to check the alignment the rear wheels seemed pretty good, but as far as I know there isn't anyway to adjust toe in/camber on the rear as it is a solid rear axle and does not have independent suspension (unless i am missing something)
I will adjust the toe in later today and report back how it drives,  I am hoping that will fix the problem

[Bigdaddy]

Hi everyone,
So I adjustmented the alignment, I believe I got it fairly close, about an 1/8" in for both wheels, and very slight negative camber.
Still drives pretty poorly, the steering doesn't seem as responsive as it was before, and still wanders in the front end, its not too bad on dry pavement but as soon as I hit a little snow or ice I am all over the place to the point where it feels very unsafe, which is odd cause I have winter tires installed.
Any other ideas?
I am wondering if it is the tires/rims? I rotated them to see if it would make a difference but I'm thinking of maybe throwing a different set on to see if that could be the problem.
Open to any and all suggestions
Thanks

[rrocket]

Hi everyone,
So I adjustmented the alignment, I believe I got it fairly close, about an 1/8" in for both wheels, and very slight negative camber.
Still drives pretty poorly, the steering doesn't seem as responsive as it was before, and still wanders in the front end, its not too bad on dry pavement but as soon as I hit a little snow or ice I am all over the place to the point where it feels very unsafe, which is odd cause I have winter tires installed.
Any other ideas?
I am wondering if it is the tires/rims? I rotated them to see if it would make a difference but I'm thinking of maybe throwing a different set on to see if that could be the problem.
Open to any and all suggestions
Thanks

I haven't read the entire thread.  Any noticeable wear on the tires themselves?  Uneven wear?

[Solstice2006]

Hi everyone,
So I adjustmented the alignment, I believe I got it fairly close, about an 1/8" in for both wheels, and very slight negative camber.
Still drives pretty poorly, the steering doesn't seem as responsive as it was before, and still wanders in the front end, its not too bad on dry pavement but as soon as I hit a little snow or ice I am all over the place to the point where it feels very unsafe, which is odd cause I have winter tires installed.
Any other ideas?
I am wondering if it is the tires/rims? I rotated them to see if it would make a difference but I'm thinking of maybe throwing a different set on to see if that could be the problem.
Open to any and all suggestions
Thanks

I haven't read the entire thread.  Any noticeable wear on the tires themselves?  Uneven wear?

exactly what I was thinking.  I used to have this car about 7 years ago.  Hate to throw money at a problem your not sure, but the first step I would have done is change the rims and tires. 

[blur911]

Hi everyone,
So I adjustmented the alignment, I believe I got it fairly close, about an 1/8" in for both wheels, and very slight negative camber.
Still drives pretty poorly, the steering doesn't seem as responsive as it was before, and still wanders in the front end, its not too bad on dry pavement but as soon as I hit a little snow or ice I am all over the place to the point where it feels very unsafe, which is odd cause I have winter tires installed.
Any other ideas?
I am wondering if it is the tires/rims? I rotated them to see if it would make a difference but I'm thinking of maybe throwing a different set on to see if that could be the problem.
Open to any and all suggestions
Thanks

I haven't read the entire thread.  Any noticeable wear on the tires themselves?  Uneven wear?

With the previous 1/2" of toe-in I'd guess that it does have unevenly worn tires. 

Check suspension bushings, something might be moving.

[tortoise]

I know it's a 99 Tercel but it might be worth throwing money at a proper alignment.

For sure it's more accurate than your string method.

[blur911]

Check where the steering rack mounts, maybe it's loose/rusted.

[Arthur Dent]

Sometime radius arms can cause that issue

[EV-Light]

Mmm the fix might be more expensive than the car!


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[Cord]

Are the tires any good? I know you said you rotated them but maybe they're all bad. I've seen cars with internal belt separation that caused wandering.