Yesterday I had my oil changed and tires rotated, which I do religiously to my 2001 Pontiac Grand Am (106,XXX miles). My tires were put on around 75,xxx miles, very good brand name, and if I remember right 40,xxx or 60,xxx life expectancy. When I dropped it off there was no pull, now it pulls to the right slightly. Is this a tire issue (worn belt in tire, as the Ford technician said) or is it an alignment issue? He recommended if after a week it still had the pull to switch the rear drivers with the front passengers, which would either fix the problem or result in a left pull. Which is correct?
Thanks!!!
2007-12-19 01:17:28 · 9 answers · asked by Pure_Citrus 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
The technicians rated my tires with 1/32 or above tire tread, green on the ford rating.
2007-12-19 01:19:25 · update #1
Scratchthat 1/32, 7/32' or greater
2007-12-19 01:21:20 · update #2
One more detail, I promise, front brakes 1/8th to 1/4th, rear ½ pad, recommended replacement.
2007-12-19 01:23:46 · update #3
Or before you even do all that just check the air pressure. A difference in air pressure can cause the car to pull. If the air pressure is fine then have them swap the two front tires and then drive it. If its a bad tire then it should pull the opposite way. If it is a bad tire then have them move it to the rear because this tire has what is called a radial pull. End of story.
2007-12-20 06:56:14 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check front tire pressures, make sure they are equal. This may solve the problem.
If above does not solve problem, then swap front tires/wheels, if pulls the opposite side then you have a tire OR a wheel problem. If it still pulls the same way then you need a new alignment. Why you would suddenly need a new alignment I don't know.
If the problem goes away after swapping the front wheels back and forth, then one of the front wheels was put on crocked. This can happen especially if some crude or rust chunks get behind the wheel while installing it.
If its a tire or wheel problem its hard to tell which it is. The tire may have a bad belt. Or the wheel may be damaged/bent or deformed straight from the factory. Getting new tires for the front is one way to solve the problem if its the tires. If new tires didn't help then its probably the wheel. I had a new car that had a bad wheel. I know.
2013-12-04 05:29:15 · answer #2 · answered by Prof_Knowitall 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes swapping the tires 1 at a time will tell you which tire is causing he problem but what is the fix buy a new tire?? this may not be necessary first you may just put the tires back and leave them there there was a study done and people that didn't have anything wrong with there car s that rotated tires and those that didn't found that people that rotated them spent more on the rotations than they saved on tire ware
also if you rotate and your car does develop a problem lets say your getting a cupping problem its harder for me to find the problem as i don't know where the tire was when the problem occurred
also tires have a normal wear pattern rear tires are usually flat wear fronts scrub the sides a little when you rotate the tires must wear to where they want to be i think this actually may cause the tires to wear quicker in my book
i drive a 4wd jeep i don't rotate and i get 5 to 8 years on my tires i am on my 3rd set of tires i have been driving it for 20 years as my work vehicle i drive around doing mobile auto repair
2007-12-19 01:41:05 · answer #3 · answered by mobile auto repair (mr fix it) 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have a bad tire that's causing the pull. It's unlikely that you need a tire alignment, since moving the tires changed the pulling condition. Your technician is right in thinking that it's simply a tire problem and rotating your tires front to back will probably eliminate the steering wheel pull. You'll need new tires at some point.
2007-12-19 01:32:37 · answer #4 · answered by bobweb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
Tire rotation resulting in pull, which was not noticeable previously.?
Yesterday I had my oil changed and tires rotated, which I do religiously to my 2001 Pontiac Grand Am (106,XXX miles). My tires were put on around 75,xxx miles, very good brand name, and if I remember right 40,xxx or 60,xxx life expectancy. When I dropped it off there was no pull, now it pulls to...
2015-08-18 04:53:52 · answer #5 · answered by Ladawn 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everything on your car is the same as before except:
1) new oil & filter -- has nothing to door with car pulling
2) tires in different position -- can affect pulling
It should be obvious that it's a tire issue, not an alignment issue.
Your technician was exactly right. Return to him in a week, and let him put the tires back to the original position. The pull should disappear at that point.
2007-12-19 02:08:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What Causes Radial Tire Pull
2017-01-15 07:18:27 · answer #7 · answered by pawlowicz 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They say typically that you don't want to switch sides with radial tires, it can cause problems, as I am sure you are aware of now. Go back and ask him how they rotated them, which tires went to which spot and from what spot they were moved. Then ask if that if the service manual recommended procedure, and ask to see the service manual he is using. Tire rotation is a preventative maintenance job, and should not result in worse drive-ability.
2007-12-19 01:30:13 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
You have a tire issue.You only need to remove the tires on the front and place them on a balance machine and you will see the problem tire.Why waste time swapping one tire here or there?View the tire straight on and look for it to wander right to left or bump up and down.Look closely !Trust me. You will see it.
2007-12-19 02:05:03 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'd have thought they'd have automatically re-aligned after the rotaton. It's always done by my mechanic.
2007-12-19 01:28:48 · answer #10 · answered by Patricia S 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋