Hello all, how is everything. Anyhow, I just bought a 1991 firebird with a carbed 305. Well there was a really bad alignment and I had gotten it aligned, but I figured it wouldn't pull to the right anymore and the steering wheel would be centered, well I was wrong. The wheels no longer skip across the ground as they did when I first bought car, but the steering wheel needs to be held almost completely vertical (like I'm taking a good left turn) (if you guys understand what I mean) and it pulls to the right still pretty good when centered, I also noticed that the right wheel rubs up against the body when taking a sharp right turn, same size tire as the left, but I have no problems with the left wheel, the suspension also seems to dip, not sure if it seems to cause the steering problem, I haven't gotten a chance to check it but I thought I'd ask for opinions before I checked. Thanks everyone.

 

WOW.... I would be takin that one back to the alignment shop where I got it done. When you say that is "pulls" to one side, do you mean that while holding the wheel so the car goes down the road straight, that the wheel actually has pressure against your grip to turn the car in one direction, or do you mean that the steering wheel is off center??? Or both? Sounds like both. The shop you took it to may have done an inferior job of aligning your car. Ref the rubbing problem, have the shop recheck the caster adjustment on the car. Also, make sure the car hasn't been wrecked to where things would be twisted and torqued out of place.
All in all, sounds "mostly" like a bad alignment.....IMO

Edit - ref the pulling to one side issue, check the brakes. Sounds stupid, but if you have a caliper sticking it could do the same thing.

 

Feels more like the steering wheel is off center, 1 more thing, the car was side swiped 2 owners before...

 

As a note the firebirds have a smaller wheel opening than camaros. With this in mind, when the 16x8 rims were introduced in 1984, there has been a problem with some tire rub on the inner fenders. Both of my tires were close before I got 8.5" rims, now they rub, especially when in reverse.

Not sure what year, as it does not show in the parts catalog, they changed the fender liner to go on the inside of the fender rather than the outside inside the well. What this does it would allow a little mroe room for the tire as you turned the wheels, and it reduced the rubbing problem.

As for the car not steering correctly. I had a car that would dog track. If you measured the frame it was perfect, Finally we chased it down to where the located a hole for a trailing arm, it was off by 3/4 of an inch, and it caused my steering wheel to be off center. We welded up the hole, ground it off, and re-drilled the hole to match the other side and the car no longer dog tracks.


John

 

Thanks guys, keep them comming. I don't think that the owner before I had replaced the suspension on the side it was hit, so there could also be damaged steering components? He only repaired the exterior, with a new rim and that was about it. Also he replaced, the fender, bumper, door, i can tell the passenger side door rattles a little. The liner is attached by the wheel well.

 

If there was something bent I am surprised the alignment place did not catch it... Usually they take it for a drive...

John

 

Could it be possible to incorrectly attach a steering wheel but still have it usable?

 

The '91 Firebird got the 305 TBI.
Looks like a carb, but look inside thru the open airbox.
It's a Throttle Body Fuel Injection.
Unless someone changed something.

Just letting you know,

George

 

"usually"

 

I beleive there is a Key in the steering wheel where it attaches to the rod to make that difficult, unless you file down the key. You could still use it, but unfortunately my brain would try to compensate... and I would be driving in circles.

John

 

When getting an alignment, get a 4 wheel alignment, not just a front wheel alignment. The alignment shop can adjust the position of the steering wheel to be straight when the car is aligned. That's not a big deal. If the car was out of alignment and driven alot, the tires would have a wear pattern to them that when the alignment is done, the car will pull based on that wear.

My 03 Monte Carlo needed wheels balanced and rotated. After the rotation, the car pulled to the right. I had it rechecked and found that because of the inbalance, the tires wore uneven and now the rear worn tires are on the front.

 

Hmm, well the front left tire is worn pretty well according to the shop but would that cause a pull to the left or right? They called it a "Full Alignment" is what I paid for, cost something like 65 - 70. I appreciate it guys, keep the comments and advice comming. Another thing I've been paying more attention to the pulling... it also seems to be slightly unstable on the road, I would have to hold the steering wheel almost verticle and then it would suddenly swurve slightly to the left side and then I would have to correct my steering to keep it straight. A shop I also spoke with about this, said something about a the spring may need to be replaced because I also mentioned it dipping down on the right side where the tire also seems to rub?

 

4 Wheel alignment is not a bad idea, unfortunately to my knowledge there is nothing to adjust on our rear wheels. On Front wheel drive cars many of them have an Independant rear suspension (IRS) and there is usually something you can do. But with the solid axel the only thing I can concieve of is a bent leading arm, or pan hard bar... Unless I missed something when I took all that apart...

John

 

Something to be aware of also. The tires are wider than standard on these cars and the tires catch grooves in the road. Those grooves or truck tracks will cause a sudden pull. My wife used to complain about it all the time in MN, but doesn't seem to be a problem in FL.

I would find a reputable service center and have the front end checked. Places like Tires Plus, Meineke and other national service chains lure you in with cheap oil changes or something else and then give you a list of repairs that are needed. These repairs are usually not always accurate and are how they make money. A good shop, even the dealership, can give you a good idea of the repairs needed on the front end. Good Luck.