Occasional Pulling

So, I've recently been having this issue where sometimes my car will pull to the right. Sometimes it's mild, and sometimes it pulls pretty hard. Sometimes it drives perfectly straight.

I had an alignment at the beginning of the summer since I put struts on last fall and parked it shortly after.

My initial thought was one of my calipers could be hanging up, but I've felt my wheels after driving with the issue going on, and none of them feel hot. It brakes normal.

Other thought was possibly super worn control arm bushings? They're original as far as I know...

Thoughts?

Thanks!

I just changed my control are and they were really worn, but I didn't have any pulling. Can you see any visible tears or damage in the control arm bushings? Have you checked for any play in the wheels or inspected the tie rods and sway bar links? Are the tires in good condition. If they are questionable swap them and see if there is any change.

My buddy had a weird pulling problem, sounds similar to your issues. It would pull to the left sometimes to the right especially after he drove it hard, yet sometimes it was fine. (it was an 01' lesabre) turned out to be the subframe bushings. They were rusted and the rubber was old and dry rotted and cracked, so after driving as the cars weight would shift from left to right front to back the subframe would shift causing alignment issues. But i mean the car was a heap and he beat the ever living out of it so in your case there's a good chance its something else, but none the less its a possibility.

RvieraRider wrote:

Have you checked for any play in the wheels or inspected the tie rods and sway bar links? Are the tires in good condition.

^^^This, specifically the inner tie rods and tie rod ends. Also, check for loose lower ball joints. Sway bar links shouldn't cause the car to pull, and bad/under-inflated tires usually will pull only to one side, which could indicate an alignment issue.

Tip: if this turns out to be any part related to alignment (tie rod, ball joint, control arm), you will need to have the car aligned. If you take the car in for alignment first, the tech should find any issue with the car on the lift, and should tell you before performing the alignment. This is a free inspection of sorts. Be sure use a shop you trust - else you could end up with an alignment on the car with worn suspension parts!

AA wrote:

else you could end up with an alignment on the car with broken suspension parts!

THIS. gurmblegrumble wobbly wheel bearing grumblegrumble 3 alignments grumblegrumble....

I'd seriously look for a new shop after that. Or buy the unlimited alignment package.

I've only found one shop that I trust, and they don't have an alignment rack. 

The shop I had do my alignment and put on new tires left a sour taste in my mouth. Tires were uneven pressure when I picked the car up, my rims were super dirty, and they just treated me like I was an idiot or something.