I recently had four corner struts and mounts redone on my 2000 @ 182k with kyb parts from rockauto. I reused the OEM springs on the back, and had the autoshop take apart sensen front quick struts installed by previous owner to reuse the coil springs so ride height wouldn't change. The shop also said the right inner and outer tie rod had some play so I had those replaced with aftermarket parts prior to final alignment. Now have issues with the car pulling left with the steering wheel held straight. I've taken car back to the shop a few times to get the alignment redone but the problem seems to keep coming back on its own. Any thoughts as to what could be the problem?

 

Could be a tire issue. Rotate them and see if that changes the pulling. Do you have the alignment specs that dialed in? Post those up.

 

Also, check your brake calipers for any stuck slide pins, sometimes the rear calipers could be lacking grease and hard to move.

 

Maybe it's the tie rods on the left side. The outer should be easy to check, and I'll assume it looked good. But the inner ones are usually tougher to check.

It's not uncommon, when you've got suspension problems, for the car to be aligned straight and perfect, and then once you drive, it is off. The reason is that when you're driving there are loads on the wheels that are not there when it is sitting on the alignment rack. If you're driving straight down a level road, with rear wheel drive, the front wheels will have a force pushing them back toward the rear of the vehicle. This can make a loose suspension move. Even a tight suspension will flex, and that is designed into the alignment specs.

If something is loose, it can move, pointing the wheels in the wrong direction, and causing a pull or tire wear. So you can't blame the alignment shop for not aligning it straight - maybe they are, and the loose suspension component(s) have not been found yet.

(this is pretty much general info, but it might help in thinking about what could be wrong, in general)

 

Front Lower Control Arms

 

Thanks for all replies. Alignment report shows everything within specs. Front lower control arms have been replaced 6 months ago... Will ask them to take another look at left tie rods, some issue like that does make more sense than anything else at this point. Will report back!!

 

Just for fun, I think I would do an old school alignment and make sure the shop got it right. Here is a link on how to do it.

 

I have the same problem on my 1998. The car pulls to the left especially above 40 mph. I had the car aligned at Toyota recently after installing a new steering rack and tie rod ends. Please let me know your findings along with anyone else. I'll update if I solve the issue.

 

Comes back sound scary!. Uneven tire wear or bad tire can make car pull strange , feel tires for uneven wear and Swap tires around. Exchange for premium brand if needed.
I align or check alignment myself with the wire method mainly. Tightened string along length of car and measure distance to edge of rims for toe in carefully to sub mm and do the adding and subtracting. Found explanation to tire wear was 3 times too large toe in in rear which I adjusted with instruction in shop manual.

 

Can you post the before after alignment settings? May be in "spec" though that doesn't necessarily translate so the car going straight. Tire pressure even? If the diameter of one tire or more are slightly smaller or larger this may also cause the car to pull as well. How many miles on this set of tires?

 

The first thing I was told to check is tire pressure on all four tires. I did and they are all the same. I'm not sure this is a tire issue more than it is something with steering or suspension. It is an annoyance but hopefully I can find a permanent solution.

 

The shop adjusted the steering center on the car to fix the problem. I don't know if this is a routine part of normal alignment or what that entails (not a mechanic), but it seems to drive straighter now. Tie rod on the left "creaks" but no play. There is a CV boot leak suggesting steering rack may need to be replaced but I'm not gonna bother with that. I did have the engine mounts changed to OEM today and a lot more quiet with starting and driving. Thanks for all input, I'll try to post up alignment specs when I find em. Tires are Pirelli Cinturato P7s on LS430 wheels with less than 15k on them, normal pressure etc.

 

Their alignment table may be slightly off. No matter how they adjust if they aren't right yours won't be either. I had one shop align another car multiple times and it consistency did the same thing regardless what the before-after was. It indicated that the car should drive straight but it didn't. The tech would say I might need to replace ____. Took it to another shop and it was solved.

Other suggestion: once the alignment is dialed in, don't change it unless there seems to be something off after an incident or suspension parts change.

 

I second this, worth a look! things dry or stick over time

 

You may have been right. I had my tires rotated and front tires balanced. The car doesn't pull like before and the car handles and rides much better. It is always a good idea to balance the tires on these cars especially if you drive the car hard.