Need help guys!!!
Need help guys!!! Okay I bought my car about 4-5 months ago. I knew it had been wrecked when I bought it so I wasn't surprised when I found a little bit of damage on the drivers side under the hood. The problem I am having is this. When I am just driving normally and have control of the car, it feels fine, but as soon as I take my hands off of the steering wheel, it pulls to the right hardcore. It takes turns fine, except for earlier when I was turning around in a parking lot, and it felt like it didn't wanna turn to the left for a second. Also, there is a large amount of what seems to be brake dust collecting on the front rims. I assume it is brake dust, it's black and usually it takes about two weeks, give or take, after I wash the car to accumulate enough for it to be noticeable. Does anyone have any ideas? The car was hit on the drivers side and as far as I know, it was fixed. No cosmetic damage, that was all repaired. Also, the lid and filter seem to sit a little to the right of the engine itself, if you are looking down at it. The lid and maf sit fine, but it is still not straight.
dude the problem can range from suspension issues to brake issues and since it's been wrecked it could be frame damage i'd take it to get the alignment checked out and see if they can adjust it... but from the sounds of **** not looking straight i'd be ready for the worse if i was you g/l
Yeah, i'm scared that it's gonna be bad. I hope not, but I am sure I will find out. I'm just putting this post up, cuz I have already spent a little money on this car on bolt-ons, and am planning on spending more. I just don't want to invest in the stall and a new hood and rims and ****, if in the end the car is gonna fall apart anyway.
Your brake dust is a function of the pads you have installed. All pads will dust to some degree, but some are worse than others.
Pulling to the right is normal for properly aligned cars when you are driving on the right side of the road. The road surface has a crown on it to help rain water wash off. So, in North America, we are constantly driving on the side of a "little hill" built in to the roadway, which will cause the car to pull right. If you try driving with another like-sized car, you can judge the normal effect and see how your car matches up. (One other thing to note - all road surfaces are crowned but some more than others. So if you compare cars, you should do it on the same stretch of roadway.)
Pulling to the right is normal for properly aligned cars when you are driving on the right side of the road. The road surface has a crown on it to help rain water wash off. So, in North America, we are constantly driving on the side of a "little hill" built in to the roadway, which will cause the car to pull right. If you try driving with another like-sized car, you can judge the normal effect and see how your car matches up. (One other thing to note - all road surfaces are crowned but some more than others. So if you compare cars, you should do it on the same stretch of roadway.)
You need to have the alignment checked at a reputable shop. There are shops that specialize in frame straightening. Big hydraulic cages and they have a few dozen point they check the X,Y,Z axis locations of those points versus factory specs. They can tell you if the car is straight or not. If you are worried that one of the brake pads is dragging, drive it, shoot the wheel hub with a laser thermometer and see if that wheel is significantly hotter than the others. If it is bad you can check it with your bare hand...but it could be really hot, approach with caution.
It is entirely possible that the dust that gathers on my rims is from brakes as well as road grime and anything else I may pick up. I am going to get the alignment checked, and as soon as I can find a place I will have someone shoot a laser at my frame and make sure it is straight.
