Pull to the left

So the last snow storm I spun out doing about 30-40 and hit the RIGHT front tire. I took it in and found the alignment had been messed up. I got it fixed and moved the wheel to the rear because the wheel was slightly bent. I do plan on getting a new set of wheels and tires. My question is with my car pulling to the Left what is the most likely cause? I'm thinking replace the tie rods. What is the likely hood of the of it being the tie rods, or possibly the front control arms...or could it be something else?

swap tires in the front from one side to the other and report back

I would say you definitely should check the tie rod, its certainly possible it got bent when you curbed the tire

If you had the alignment done, I would be questioning the place as to why it's pulling.

Big-B wrote:If you had the alignment done, I would be questioning the place as to why it's pulling.

good catch Bernie! That would be the first place I checked lol

Big-B wrote:If you had the alignment done, I would be questioning the place as to why it's pulling.

may not be an alignment issue, he said he rotated the one bad rim to the rear, if the tires are worn at uneven rates it may be a tire pull

mjr46 wrote:

Big-B wrote:If you had the alignment done, I would be questioning the place as to why it's pulling.

may not be an alignment issue, he said he rotated the one bad rim to the rear, if the tires are worn at uneven rates it may be a tire pull

yes, could be, but if I had a car aligned, and it pulled, I would be asking why. They should have road tested after the alignment and should have noticed the pull. Mike, not everyone fixes cars like you and I. We would have both noticed this and informed the customer of the issue. Unless Nick is leaving out some info, I feel like the shop is at fault for not doing a complete analysis of the problem.

Nick, where did you have the alignment done?

good points and the consumer should always raise the BS flag when satisfaction is not done or provided for services rendered.  

I also wanted to mention at about 65-75mph on highways on a right curve in the road I have vibrations but not going straight or left curves

I also wanted to thank everyone for the replies, I have taken the car back to the shop and told them only to check and report what the issue is. IF it is tie rods which I'm thinking it might be I will get a new set at my job since with my pricing outter ones are only about 26

Big-B wrote:

mjr46 wrote:

Big-B wrote:If you had the alignment done, I would be questioning the place as to why it's pulling.

may not be an alignment issue, he said he rotated the one bad rim to the rear, if the tires are worn at uneven rates it may be a tire pull

yes, could be, but if I had a car aligned, and it pulled, I would be asking why. They should have road tested after the alignment and should have noticed the pull. Mike, not everyone fixes cars like you and I. We would have both noticed this and informed the customer of the issue. Unless Nick is leaving out some info, I feel like the shop is at fault for not doing a complete analysis of the problem.

Nick, where did you have the alignment done?

Before I forget I had it done at Graves Auto. They've been a great place that me and my family has been going to since early 1990.

nicholasa631 wrote:I also wanted to thank everyone for the replies, I have taken the car back to the shop and told them only to check and report what the issue is. IF it is tie rods which I'm thinking it might be I will get a new set at my job since with my pricing outter ones are only about 26

If they tell you  you need some front end part replaced, find another shop. All that should have been checked BEFORE doing an alignment. Can't wait to hear from you what they find.

Turns out it is the inner tie rods. They were asking 600 for the parts, install of 3 hours of labor and an anlignment. Told them to hang on asked what they were charging for parts and then proceeded to tell them that not only do I work at an auto parts store BUT both sides added up to what they were charging for one side. I went on to tell them that I wouldn't be able to pay that price. I then called one of the shops my store Advance Auto deals with and they said they'd charge me 250 for install, alignment and to check everything else out. I kinda wish this issue came up in a month from now since Iwill be doing this work in class.

Nick, did you ask why this wasn't found before doing the alignment. I have never done an alignment w/o first making sure ALL the front end parts were good. Sorry bro, but I have been a mechanic in this area for 30 years. All to often I have heard these stories coming out of Graeves. I'm willing to bet your family has been taken for a ride repeatedly over the years. Take it for what it's worth, but I know what happens there first hand. I had friends that worked there and left because of their practices.

http://www.yelp.com/not_recommended_reviews/bXKrywIQYyMETRR0_oBo7g
Now I'm sure you'll find happy reviews as well, but like I said, I know what happens there.  If you really want an honest job well done, contact Mike, MJR here on the forum.

I'm not going back to Graves again. Normally when I needed work done I take it to Iron Mike's Garage over in Rockville, but couldn't remember if his shop had an alignment machine also wanted to drop off the car before work. I wont be dealing with them again. I've taken pride in the fact I've done all work on my car myself, with the exception of a few things but learned how to do the work for future. I will keep him in mind for future work. Thank you very much. I did ask them and they had no answer and when I pushed further that the tie rods probably were damaged when I hit the curb and all they could say was your probably right and left it at that

I do this thing often for guys on the weekends at my shop at a discount rate, I just charge by the hour if ever interested pm for details we have a brand new rack "JOHN BEAN with all the cameras for angle measurements.......Thanks Bernie for the shout out!!

nicholasa631 wrote:I'm not going back to Graves again. Normally when I needed work done I take it to Iron Mike's Garage over in Rockville, but couldn't remember if his shop had an alignment machine also wanted to drop off the car before work. I wont be dealing with them again. I've taken pride in the fact I've done all work on my car myself, with the exception of a few things but learned how to do the work for future. I will keep him in mind for future work. Thank you very much. I did ask them and they had no answer and when I pushed further that the tie rods probably were damaged when I hit the curb and all they could say was your probably right and left it at that

That's pretty sad, but not surprised by it. Good luck bro, I hope they work it out for you.

I can vouch for Mike (mjr46), spent a couple weekends with him at his shop. he did my alignment on his new machine. Damn thing looks like something out of a tranformers movie. Also has done some work for other on this forum. All the info I have got from Bernie or Mike has been right on.

Silverstang wrote:I can vouch for Mike (mjr46), spent a couple weekends with him at his shop. he did my alignment on his new machine. Damn thing looks like something out of a tranformers movie. Also has done some work for other on this forum. All the info I have got from Bernie or Mike has been right on.

hey, how's it going Sean??  hope the winter isn't getting the best of you...lol

I need to get an alignment on my 2011 lowered GT where are you located in MD?

I am doing well Mike. The winter hasnt done me in yet. Can't wait for the spring though.

James, Mike's shop is in Frederick. Probably not far from you. He can probably give you better directions than I can thoough.

Great White wrote:I need to get an alignment on my 2011 lowered GT where are you located in MD?

in frederick, when I did Sean's /we lowered it here, he had a camber kit, which I did use because there was to much neg camber after lowering it, the bolt kit corrected it.

mjr46 wrote:

Great White wrote:I need to get an alignment on my 2011 lowered GT where are you located in MD?

in frederick, when I did Sean's /we lowered it here, he had a camber kit, which I did use because there was to much neg camber after lowering it, the bolt kit corrected it.

So I would need the camber bolts only, and not caster/camber plates. Mine is lowered with the Eibach pro kit, 1.5 rear drop and 1 inch up front. similar to Sean's.

http://www.americanmuscle.com/eibach-proalign-bolts-0512.html

That's all I used. Didn't need the caster/camber plates.

sweet! ordering them now.