Q: my car feel like it is going to the left on highway.I have done the alignment

asked by on March 08, 2018

the car has new outer tie rods few months back sig parts from ebay.-maybe not the best quality changed driver side ball joint few months back.-average brand.

However,even after alignment and new tires on front the car feels like it wants to go left on highway.also sometimes it feels like the front end is a bit loose..should i change the original strut assembly or inner tie rods ,or control arms or something else.

My car has 196000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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If the tires are new (and not defective) and have uniform air pressure (i.e., exactly the same pressure on left and right side of vehicle), a possibility is the wheel alignment is off with the specific issue possibly too much cross camber. If cross camber exceeds 0.5 degrees, most vehicles will pull or wander to one side. The vehicle thrust angle could be off as well. If you are dealing with a professional, highly competent alignment shop, they will not even be able to perform an alignment (i.e., it is technically impossible) if there are ANY deficiencies in the suspension, that is parts worn beyond allowed limits or suspension/frame damage. That’s a big "if", though, and in particular assumes that the technician doing the alignment will properly inspect the vehicle before "attempting" to align it. This fact about alignments though - that they can NOT be performed if the suspension is not "ready" - means that one option for you is to go to an alignment shop now, ask that the alignment be checked and that will necessarily include an inspection of the suspension. Be sure to ask for a print out of the current alignment specifications of your vehicle, that is its current settings as the car was presented (if they can’t do that, it’s not a professional shop and you should leave). If the alignment is found to be out of specification, and you agree to have the shop align it, ask that the alignment be set to the preferred factory settings, published in the Factory Service Manual, and not set just anywhere in the range of what is allowed (if they do not seem familiar with the concept of "preferred" settings, best to leave). Be sure to ask for a print-out of the vehicle alignment once the work is complete so that you can see what your new settings are in comparison to what they were. If you are getting an alignment, you can’t just go to any old shop. Not all of the equipment out there is calibrated (and thus is useless) and not all operators actually know how to use the equipment or are willing to follow instructions. So, you have to ask some initial questions of the shop staff and make your own evaluation of whether you will actually get the service that you are paying for. If the shop staff don’t love your questions, it is not likely they will be able to do a good job for you. If you want a certified mechanic from YourMechanic to inspect your car relative to this issue, and also assist you in getting the car properly aligned, if that turns out to be a necessary step, just request an inspection and the responding certified mechanic will assist you and get this resolved. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic because we want you to make the most of your repair dollars and help you to get the best possible results.

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