97 Taurus with shimmy and poor alignment, what is the deal?

Question

So...

I have a 97 Taurus GL that is having some alignment issues.

While driving, if I let go of the wheel it pulls left. We tried adjusting the alignment and it seemed to help, but not as much as I would like.

The front drivers side tire is wearing heavily to the inside of the tire. So much that it has about 1/4 inch of tread on the outside and is down to the steel on the inside. I imagine this has much to do with the alignment, and am going to replace the tire after we get the alignment correct. I just wanted to give as many details as I could.

But, THIS is the main issue...

The car has a tendency to shimmy as well. It doesn't seem to be affected by the adjustment we made to the alignment.

The previous owner had hit a parked car on the passenger side. Though there are no signs of damage to the frame, and the impact looks like wasn't much more than 5-10 mph.

Could the shimmy be from the tires wearing unevenly? or is it most likely something deeper?

Oh, I forgot to mention that the previous owner said that he had it aligned previously, and it would not stay in alignment.

I imagine it is the shimmy that causes the car to come out of alignment... But I don't know for sure.

Answer 1

It sounds like the tire has had a belt shift in it. That would cause the shimmy. The tire wear is likely due to the accident, and you need to take it to a good alignment shop. They would be able to tell easily if parts are bent, as they would never be able to bring it into spec on the alignment. Once the tire is replaced and the rim checked, if the shimmy continues, check the inner tie rod ends, as this could cause a shimmy as well.

Answer 2

Get those front bearing checked out.
While they have the tire off make sure the caliper is working right and that the rotor is not warped.
I developed a bad vibration and wheel pull on my SHO and both of there things were needing replaced.