A few months ago I had a professional alignment done to the car. This was because I hit a curb in a parkinglot and the steering wheel had to held crooked to go straight. If I let go of the steering wheel with the car going straight, the car continued to drive straight. So after getting the alignment fixed, the car would go straight with the steering wheel held straight and also would go straight. [img]images/smilies/thumb-up.gif[/img]

But over time in a few thousand miles, I noticed I started having to put more and more correction into the wheel to go straight. I also noticed that if I let go of the wheel with the car going straight, the car veer. Yes, I tried this on both sides of the crown of the road.

So now my steering wheel is pointing just as crooked as it was prior to the alignment just to go straight...but this time it veers when letting go.

I jack up the car and adjusted both tie-rods. I placed tape on the tie-rods for reference. I then loosened the nut away from the piece the tie rod threads into. I rolled each tie-rod a 1/4 of a turn towards the front of the car and retightened the nut on each side of the car. Now the car drives straight with the wheel held straight but veers when I let go of the wheel (the wheel doesn't move, but the car doesn't go straight).

So, it has me wondering, what could cause this to happen? Is there another place to check to see if something is loose?

 

Need more data.
What wheel/tires are you running.
My MCS 2005 nudged a curb at 2 mph. and then started
wandering. After dealer tried the tie rod gambit, they
then recommended a BMW factory alignment. This was $146
and helped some, but was not as nice as factory new.
Took it to a local alignment shop, and upon getting it on the rack,
the tech showed me a damaged front wheel, only showing on the
inside/under car side of the wheel. They refused to align the MINI
until the wheel was replaced. This car has 17" S-lites and Pirelli
enfore run flats. It appears the MINI is sensitive to curbs and pot holes.

Currently replacing the wheel and tire for a road test of the tracking.
Suggest a through inspection of all wheels and tires, as alignment
may be compromised.

 

Thanks for the info. Then definately a bent rim can cause something like this.

 

Upon wheel off examination; tire cord blistered/bulged outward also.
New tire/wheel was instant solution. Now runs nice, again.

 

I have also learned the hard way that a few minutes making sure air pressures are equal can save an alignment as well.

 

Thanks for the tip! I have a hand held dial pressure indicator that's fairly accurate, so I know they're good to go.

A funny story 'bout tire pressures. I took delivery of a brand new 1994 Nissan Sentra. The next day I had a 430 mile round trip business trip. I noticed the car would always ver to the right. First the dealership (Vancouver Nissan, Vanc, WA) tried to blame it on the crest in the road. I countered with, I tested on both sides of the crest of the road and no matter which side I went on, it still pulled right. Then they tried to blame it on cross-winds. I told them I tested for that as well, by making test passes each direction on the road. Finally they gave in an took the new car back for a looksie. Many hours later I got the car back, with them stating it was fixed. I took the car for a quick test drive and then took it home. Once home I got out a pressure guage and checked the tires. Sure enough they over inflated the right front tire as their fix. I immediately took it back to them. The service advisor was flaberghasted to find out the only "fix" the tech did was to adjust tire pressure! He sent it back and had the lead tech look at it. Once up on the aligment rack, they discoved my car was, in fact, misaligned!! They showed me the numbers from the computerized aligment tool, and then promptly fixed the misalignment.