Does anyone else have poor steering wheel/tie rod alignment?

[brandonsmash]

Maybe you should consider seeking a 2nd opinion.

Maybe so. I did a drive with their senior tech today. First he said it was normal and how it came from the factory (which is false, because it didn't start happening until 7k miles), then he blamed it on the crown of the road (which is false, because when driving on the wrong side of the road it does the same thing), then he said that "maybe in 10 or 15 thousand more miles it'll wear in better," which seems unacceptable (at the rate I drive, that would put me somewhere in 2019).

What sucks is that from his attitude (which was fairly hostile) I'm guessing that Ford isn't paying for their discovery time. That's not cool.

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[robertwsimpson]

An alignment sheet would help rule that out. In spec doesn't mean "doesn't pull"

 

[Bluemustang]

Request the alignment sheet and post it on here. Maybe you have excessive cross camber going on.

The good thing about seeking a 2nd opinion- you can figure out whether Ford is just dumb or incompetent or if there is a real problem. I don't see how this problem could come out of nowhere like this, unless you hit something that did damage to components. Maybe you hit something on the road which damaged something, but I doubt that or else you would have remembered that.

A 2nd opinion would give you some peace of mind so you don't think you're going crazy. I'm sorry this is happening with your new car and I know the feeling.

 

[brandonsmash]

I forgot to grab the alignment sheet out of the car this morning, so I just e-mailed the service adviser asking for a copy. Maybe I should take it somewhere else. I really hate to abandon this shop, though, because their adviser has actually treated me with respect and courtesy throughout the process. Their tech was hostile, but the service writer is quite nice.

 

[MSMStannyl]

Wow. The saga continues! That definitely sucks. I've had some similar issues here and there. Over the last 1.5 years or so I've installed (among other parts):

- Steeda G-Trac brace.

- Steeda IRS braces.

I can't say for sure if this helped the issue or not but at least these braces, which aren't too costly, help keep everything locked in place. That being said, when I got my new tires at my buddies shop a few months ago, we also did an alignment. After the alignment I noticed that to go straight, my wheel was also a few degrees off. It was pretty minor but annoying enough to warrant getting it worked out.

I took it back to him and this time I actually sat in the car and held the wheel perfectly straight while they re-aligned it. That seemed to take care of it. Not sure if you'll be able to do this at a Ford dealer or Firestone for that matter, but it may be worth asking.

Hell, if anything, hold it a few degrees the other way so that once they're done, it'll be straight!

 

[brandonsmash]

[MENTION=25943]robertwsimpson[/MENTION] and [MENTION=19599]Bluemustang[/MENTION]:

Here's the alignment sheet. Nothing stands out at me as being out of the ordinary, but I'm still far more familiar with motorcycle suspension than car suspension so I could easily be missing something.

I guess here's another question: If the tech is so sure it's due to the crown of the road (which, as I've mentioned, doesn't matter: It still pulls the same way when the steering wheel is straight even on the wrong side of the road), why do none of my other vehicles display the same tendencies?

 

[robertwsimpson]

could be an alignment issue. you've got .6deg of cross camber in the front and .4deg in the rear, both in the same direction (left) and you've got a thrust angle of -.06deg. all of these measurements should be as close as possible to 0. There's not really any adjustment for camber or caster in the front, so I'm wondering if something is bent. Either way, in my unprofessional opinion, the alignment MIGHT be causing your symptom. I'll let others weigh in though.

 

[Bluemustang]

could be an alignment issue. you've got .6deg of cross camber in the front and .4deg in the rear, both in the same direction (left) and you've got a thrust angle of -.06deg. all of these measurements should be as close as possible to 0. There's not really any adjustment for camber or caster in the front, so I'm wondering if something is bent. Either way, in my unprofessional opinion, the alignment MIGHT be causing your symptom. I'll let others weigh in though.

Yeah I'm no expert either but you've got some definite cross camber there. Cross camber will/can cause the car to drift to one side. Sometimes it is done intentionally for cars to drive on the right side of the road and counteract the crown in the road. It will generally drift to the side with the least negative camber, which in your case - that's to the left.

Also I would zero that toe up front. The slight toe out (negative toe) you have will increase turn in response and steering sensitivity, which might be having an impact. Also, the OEM specs call for 0.23 total toe in the rear - you have .48. That seems like a lot. With toe, a little change can make a big difference.

From all the work they've done, I would think they would try to get your alignment more exact if anything to eliminate possible problems.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it is alignment related. I need to get mine dialed in as well, I'm just not sure what specs I want to go with.

 

[brandonsmash]

Thanks for the input! I'll pass it along to the service adviser and see if anything can be done.

For the record, I've never hit anything in the Mustang. No potholes, nothing. I did touch one of the factory wheels on a curb at <1mph (turning out of a parking space) and that left ~3" of rash on it, but that was 2,000 miles after I started experiencing these issues and didn't apparently contribute.

 

[Bluemustang]

I'm learning as much as anyone else here. By no means an expert. I'm just trying to help as much as I can because I know how it feels to want your car to be right. I hope it get straightened out for you.

 

[robertwsimpson]

I'm learning as much as anyone else here. By no means an expert. I'm just trying to help as much as I can because I know how it feels to want your car to be right. I hope it get straightened out for you.

pun intended!

 

[brandonsmash]

Ford has advised me to take the car to another dealer for a second opinion, and the rep who called me didn't seem to think it was normal that the steering wheel was misaligned.

I won't get a chance to pick up the car until tomorrow evening, so this will almost certainly push it to a third week.

 

[robertwsimpson]

Ford has advised me to take the car to another dealer for a second opinion, and the rep who called me didn't seem to think it was normal that the steering wheel was misaligned.

I won't get a chance to pick up the car until tomorrow evening, so this will almost certainly push it to a third week.

If I were you, I'd go to a highly rated alignment shop and have them take a look at it. I really think that might be the answer. At the very least, a perfect alignment will rule out the possibility of that being the reason.

I'd be willing to bet that is it though.

 

[Bluemustang]

Ford has advised me to take the car to another dealer for a second opinion, and the rep who called me didn't seem to think it was normal that the steering wheel was misaligned.

I won't get a chance to pick up the car until tomorrow evening, so this will almost certainly push it to a third week.

Why would they send you to another Ford dealer? That doesn't inspire confidence. I agree with robertwsimpson. Most likely an alignment issue.

 

[15GTBEN]

After a 4th time going back to the dealer my car still pulls to the left.
One thing they did change is now when I straighten my steering wheel the car actually goes straight instead of veering to the right; however, when I let go of the steering wheel my car still pulls to the left. I can actually change lanes to the left by letting go of the wheel, yet they say my allignment is perfect. They are now also saying they're out of ideas.

I'm starting to think there is a more complex issue going on than allignment.
It really throws the balance of the car out of wack.
I may jump ship if this issue can't be resolved.

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