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Unexplained tire wear and pulling

6K views 21 replies 9 participants last post by  rsteve56 
#1 ·
Hello, all. I have a mystery issue with my 2005 Taurus SEL wagon I'm hoping someone can help me diagnose.

Last year a car ran a stop sign and I fairly solidly hit a curb with the right front tire to avoid a collision. I was going roughly 15mph when I hit the curb.

Here's what it's doing:
--pulls to the right at any speed
--if i accelerate hard from a stop it will immediately try to pull right
--the inside of both front tires wear the inner 1/3 of the tread heavily first
--if I firmly brake the car does not pull to either side and keeps a straight course
--the car does not shutter or shake at any speed and drives perfectly except for pulling to the right

I've taken the car for an alignment twice and both times was told it is perfectly aligned. I can't locate any damage in the front suspension and neither could the tire shop where it was aligned twice. Since I hit the curb I have also replaced both front springs/struts due to maintenance.

Any idea as to what could be causing the right pull and the fast inside tire wear?
 
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#2 ·
my 2006 Taurus pulls to the right a alot also. When i first got the car, i had a wheel alignment and it helped. After about a year, it was back to pulling to the right. I swapped the tires a few weeks ago and it helped alot, still pulls a little to the right, but only about 10% of what it did before I changed the tires. How old are your tires?
 
#3 ·
Find a reputable shop who knows what they are doing, not some tire store.

You likely have a bent control arm or other bent / damaged suspension component.
 
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#5 ·
I'll check and see if I can see any bent components. I'm tempted to replace the passenger side inner & outer tie rods and the control arm as I can do all of that for less than $75. But would bent suspension components on the passenger side cause the tires on both sides to wear like that?
 
#7 ·
Time for another alignment shop. I've been burnt by shops also, I don't have an alignment rack at home so I'm at their mercy BUT I spread the getting ripped off news far and wide when the ''imaginary'' alignment as been done.
 
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#8 ·
^ jt, I like your idea of replacing tie rods/lower control arm since you've already replaced the strut/coil assy. I just went through this on the youngest son's '16 Chevy Impala Limited. It took replacing the rf wheel bearing/hub assy., quickstrut and outer tierod end. In hindsight, I probably should have checked/replaced the inner tierod and lower control arm, but afterward, it "aligned perfectly", lol.
 
#10 ·
Autocheck/Carfax had mentioned the son's car had incurred a "minor" rf impact before he purchased it. At ~40k mi. rf hub/bearing assy. began to chirp. I replaced it with Moog. Front tire wear accelerated. Firestone told him it couldn't be aligned w/o replacing the quickstrut and outer tierod. I did the work and you could visibly see the "minor" bend/curve in the old quickstrut, lol.
 
#13 · (Edited)
You cannot be "aligned" and have inner wear on both tires...simply not possible. I agree...find another shop for alignment. I agree....bent control arm, or bent tie rod on the right...but you can check this visually without replacing. One other possibility is a bent rack...had this happen on my '96 wagon...still bent to this day...just not worth fixing. Also, if the alignment shop adjusted the fittings on the right to compensate for the bend (huge adjustment, I would imagine), that could be the cause of the inner wear on both sides. Also, one other suggestion that helped me in the past....jack the car up in the front middle under the front cradle (sub-frame). As the front wheels lift off (hopefully together).... watch carefully to see how much they move in or out, and which direction. The wheels should slightly "toe in" as the weight comes off of them, and the degree should be equal on both sides. Then observe how they "hang" in respect to each other.
 
#15 ·
Once again, bent parts DO NOT cause an acceleration pull. I owned a tire and alignment shop for over a decade, and have seen this problem on different makes and models at least 50 times. It's a common problem, and is usually associated with a significant impact. Moreover, bent parts are easily detected with an alignment machine. Based on the fact that he has had it aligned, and been back multiple times for the expressed purpose of looking for bent parts, the odds are simply overwhelming that he has no bent parts. Any good alignment shop should immediately recognize the problem. And while their alignments may be first rate, he should nevertheless seek out a different shop for the simple reason that the one he went to was unable to diagnosis such a simple, rudimentary issue.


Acceleration pulls are ALWAYS in the axle . . . ALWAYS!




.
 
#14 ·
Besides parts being bent or halfshaft damaged try to jack a car and check for arm bushings. My 2000 Bull showed same symptoms along with tire wear and jerking with a right rear lower arm bushing being torn...
You'll never figure it out while on the ground - jack it and play with a wheel or a lower arm for a while - you'll see if it's moving right away with un-tensioned suspension.
 

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#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
With all due respect: disregard Jimmydafreak's diagnosis. My 50 years of experience tells me your control arm is bent! You should also inspect the cradle alignment to body as it may have shifted. Jimmy: never say always!

A bent part does not, cannot, and never will cause an acceleration pull . . . period. If a part is bent, it will pull 100% of the time, NOT strictly upon acceleration.



A shifting cradle can cause alignment issues but, again, it does not, cannot, and never will cause an acceleration pull.



mod edit: please play nice...or don't play
 
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