Calling all car guys....I need your opinion...

[mcvickj]

For a small while my car has been pulling to the right. Just before I left for Buffalo I had my car in the shop. They had to replace a tie rod end and they wanted to do a front end alignment. No problem.

Well the car still drifted to the right. So after I got back I went back and complained that my car was still drifting to the right and that they need to look at it again before I paid the remaining balance. They did the front end alignment again and it was still pulling to the right. For some crazy reason they decided to switch the front tires around. Low and behold the car now drifts to the left! ACK!

So they told me to take it back to the place I purchased the tires from and see what they had to say. Since the tires are only 5 months old I decided to. I went there last Saturday and explained what was going on. After they looked at the tires on the front I was told by the tech that one of my rims was bent. He showed me some tire diagnostic machine and showed me a few things and said the tire was fine but I have a bent rim. I should have asked him to physically show me the rim but I didn't think about it at that moment.

So I went to the junk yard today to pick up a rim and I head over to Discount Tire. The guy I talked to Saturday had the day off but I manged to talk to the Service Manager. So once again I told him my story and he just looked at me funny. He told me that if it was a bent rim I should feel a vibration. He said it sounded like the belt in the tire is off. Right about here I was about to pull the bat out of my trunk and have my way with someone.

So now I am waiting till Friday as that is when they will get their next tire shipment.

What do you guys think? Am I getting the shaft? When I go back to talk to the service manager I am going to see if I can get a new or slightly used tire for free to throw on the spare rim so I can have a full size spare instead of that useless doughnut.

 

[Candyman]

Sounds like a fair amount of runaround. But if switching tires causes the pull to change, it has to be the tire or wheel. I would think that if the wheel was bent your steering would shake or you'd have some sort of horrible vibration. My first thought was that they installed tires of different diameter. But that would be such an ass mistake. I would go back and make sure you see the sales manager and make him strip everything off both front wheels and start from scratch.

 

[Nitroaddict]

mcvickj - before u get to crazy, remember that u got an opinion from two seperate people, and people do make mistakes. Second, i will take a tech's advice over a Svc Mdr anyday. Svc Mgr's are usually techs that couldnt turn enough hours, so they moved them to a desk job. He is right though, that a bent rim will usually cause a vibration. also, no need to see the bent rim, as usually, it is so small a dent, that the naked eye cannot see it. If your car is pulling, 99% of the time, it is the tire not the rim. i would stick with the new/nearly new tire. that should fix the problem. Lemmi know if u need anymore help, my entire childhood was spent in a auto dealerships service dept.

 

[mcvickj]

Thanks for the opinions. I think the title service manager is just an honorary thing. The last 2 times I have been there he was in a bay working on a car along side the other guys. Both of the guys seemed to be confident in their answers. Needless to say I won't be leaving Friday until I am satisfied it is fixed. I also forgot to mention that I checked the air pressure in the tires before I started this whole process.

Can a bent rim be trued again? Or is it not worth the time and effort? The rim I purchased from the junk yard was only $25 bucks.

 

[Nitroaddict]

dont bother truing a rim. it takes about a half hour, which will cost u more in labor than the used rim u got.

 

[Error401]

You could check to see if the tires are the same by looking at the numbers on them. The fron't should be the same, and the backs should be the same, or all 4, but if they're different from side to side, it could pull it one way. I'd say it's definately something to do with the tires though. If I'm thinking about it right, the car would pull to the side with the smaller diameter tire.

 

[Nitroaddict]

actually, error, if u had mismatched sizes of tires on a car, it would pull so hard that it would damn near rip the wheel right out of your hand. Trust me, I've ridden in his car, it isnt that bad! lol. most likely, some minor cupping, or a belt coming loose.

 

[mcvickj]

Yeah. I am pretty positive they are all the same size.

You remember that rattling NA? It was my secondary cig lighter that was making the noise. It just needed to be tighten back up.

 

[Nitroaddict]

no kidding! man, i was trying to be quite, but it was driving me nutz! lol

 

[Error401]

Round these parts we call that picking gnat sh!t out of pepper.

 

[mcvickj]

Originally posted by Nitroaddict
no kidding! man, i was trying to be quite, but it was driving me nutz! lol

Trust me...you wasn't the only one going nuts. One of my buddies that I give a ride to once in a while was joking with me. He said that he would rather take the public transportation over my car.

 

[Nitroaddict]

naw - even after all this, your car is still far better than mine, lol.

 

[mcvickj]

hehe....If you still go to Hawaii I will pitty the fool you pawn your car off to.

 

[Nitroaddict]

me too - I'm selling it the day i leave, and i aint giving a forwarding address! lol

 

[robriguez]

Not that this will prove either point but its an interesting story. Guy at work buys one of the new Mercedes 240 2 door sports coupe peices of poop. Since day one it was one problem after another. Well the car starts pulling to the right. If you let go of the wheel at highway speed your in the next lane right quick. Anyway so since its brandie new he takes it back to the dealer. They gave him the same runaround. After 5 trips to the dealership, 5 4-wheel wheel alignments, 4 brand new tires, and tons of aggrevation it turns out that their alignment machine was out of calibration. Once they had it recalibrated, his car was the first to be aligned AGAIN and guess what? It was out by a few degrees in all three directions.

Moral of the story...it may not the the tire or the wheel.

 

[vtjvt]

I have worked as a mechanic for 15 years, a bent rim will cause a vibration, if they switched tires from side to side, and the pulling changed then it is the tire, that is all it can be.

 

[mcvickj]

OK. Well I got a call today to let me know that the tire was in. So I head down there after work to get it taken care of. Guess what? The car is still pulling to the right!!!! ARGH. So after I got home I gave Brian a call again and told him the car was still pulling to the right. He thinks that the left side might be pushing. Well since I have tomorrow off and it won't cost me anything I am going back to Discount Tire to have the front left tire replaced. If this doesn't solve the problem I will head straight to the alignment shop and raise hell with them. All I want my car to do is track straight. Is that too much to ask?

 

[StrechM]

Move the rears to the front and the front to the rears . You may get a better idea if it's that one particular tire and wheel.

 

[RaCinJason399]

Tire is bad I bet thats it

I'm almost positive thats the problem the right tire is bad

 

[mcvickj]

RacinJason - That is what they thought too. But they just replaced the front right today with a brand new tire. They are going to replace the front left tomorrow.