Sorry to bug you John G but

18 years ago

1996 taurus G.L. Had the front end aligned. The tech on the machine said the rear wheels were " at the maximum

allowable ". I said fix it. He said it didn't need it.i said fix it. I wasn't done. This car still pulls to the right and it seems that it wants to fish tail. You drive this car at all times. You don't let up for a second or your gone. Not realy but that is how it feels. My 95 was done by the same shop and it is perfect because i MADE him

do the back wheels. I can let go of the wheel on the 95

and go to the back seat and make a drink. Well not realy but you know what i mean. I don't have my notes but one of the fords has to be dead on for the alignment. Is this 96 one of them ? The tires are new and i fixed the V.S.P.S.

It doesn't go nuts when it hits black ice but it feels

weird comparied to the 95. The 95 is a G.L. with a 3.8.

4 wheel disk with A.B.S. Same as the 96. The 96 is 205/60/R15. The 95 is 205/65/R15. all suspension parts and

ball joints were replaced. Had to be done on both cars. The

96 is going back to the frontend shop next week. This car is going to the wife. If i don't like the way it drives she ain't gittin it.( yah i know ,boys, give her the car,

maybe i'm in her will ).L.O.L. What do your notes say, john? The only thing i didn't do was measure the deck hight. It does look low on the rear. I have not ruled out

sagging rear coils. As you know i've seen thicker cigars

than coils on the Taurus. It does seem that if you keep

driving it for about 1/2 hour or 30 miles it does seem to

" feel " better. Maybe the rack IS toast? Maybe i'm getting used to the car ? I don't find a problem with it in the city. Maybe it's me ? Open to all. Please chime it

all you good techs. As you all know you can never stop

learning. I've probably over looked something.

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Comments (6)

jemdandy
18 years ago
Your description of the handling of the '96 Tarus reminds me of a car I had long ago - it was Plymouth Valiant (rear wheel drive). That little beasty tracked true when all four tires were alike, but leave the fronts with all season tread and put snow tires on the rear and then it required constant attention to keep it in a driving lane. Let your attention wander a bit and you were headed off the road. It would wnader left or right - just didn't want to go straight. Apparently, this was due to differences in sideways flexibility between the front and rear tires. But from what I read from your post, you problem is different.

Your problem is similar to a vehicle that is 'dog-tracking' - the rear runs either to the left or right of center. Such a vehicle may feel a little weird when the brakes are applied on slippery surfaces.
mxyplx
18 years ago
You may just have a bad rig. Sometimes they can't be cured.

I've drove over 200 big trucks, lost count at 135, and 3-4 stand out in my memory as ones that steered terrible; couldn't be fixt. Mechanics and drivers all tried everything we could think of on both front and rear suspensions. These were 3-axle rigs with, of course, straight axle front ends with kingpins etc. We'd jack em up and try shims here and adjustments there reverse the springs change sides U name it with zero luck. Changed caster with shims on the axle. Bent the axle to change the camber.

One was so wild if you were directly behind a cop he woulda thot the driver was drunk. Another would just occasionally wander to another lane like it was floating - scare the hell out of you. I can still feel that happening - it was totally unreal. After a few miles and especially after having drove em now and then we got so they were under control -- sort of.

One had air power steering and it pulled to the right super bad. Dangerously. A moments lapse of attention and it would run right over onto the shoulder. Years later we learned that the front end of the drag link (I think) had to be centered exactly in its socket in the "brain" or it would pull right. Even the allignment shop didn't know that.
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kalining
Original Author
18 years ago
Nice forking tire shop. Went back to look at the two cars
again. There is something wrong. Sure enough. The 96 has
205/60/r15. the 95 has 205/65/r15. Well the 96 is supposed to have 215/65/r15 at 33 lbs. and the 95 is supposed to have 215/70/r15 at 35 lbs. I thought the deck hight was low
on both cars. It gets better. I checked the tire pressure on the 96. Right front 18,left front 30,right rear 27,left
rear31. That explains the left pull on the 96. what the hell is this industry coming to ? They replaced what was on the vehical and didn't even check to see if the car had the wrong tires. Do you take a safe off the same way as it went on ? NOT. If i pulled that stunt off in my early years i'd be out of a job faster than you could wipe out .2 on a tail light bulb change in a flat rate shop.
I just tore a new pie hole in the tech of the front end shop yesterday and sending the car back. Now i have to appologize to this poor men. ( car is going back anyway ).
Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the garage. Oh Yah. I finished the 30 day inspection on the old ladys 94 sunday and the right rear wheel cylinder is leaking. It wasn't leaking 30 days ago. When does it stop ? We've had 3 weeks of -30 with -42 wind chill. Maybe that has something to do with it. Yes the tires do freeze and form a flat spot over night. It goes away in about 1/2 mile and your down to about 6 miles to the gal. Normal winter up here. At $4.82 cents a gallon it gets a little pricey. You guys complain about $2.50 a gallon and it's Canadian gas! I feel so sorry for you it makes my laugh. Sorry guys. Not having a good day. I have 4 new tires that i can do nothing with. Oh well, i'll just put them in stock
you never know.Have a good weekend.
john_g
18 years ago
Umm,,, HI....umm

LOL

Guess I wan't the only one having a peach of a day. I swear four times I got ready to attempt a reply, and something urgent came up and I had to deal with that first. The last time (about 6:15 pm ) I just started to type and a call came in from a fellow in a panic because he couldn't steer his truck, litterally the steering shaft coupler is spinning free on the steering gear box. Oh well, my flat bed needed a nice long ride anyway, and after the day I had driving around in the tow truck was a lot easier on me.

Glad to see you made some progress but I'm still wondering just how much. Part of an alignment should be to set the tire pressures. Part of selling tires should be to check the vehicles recommended tire size, and not go by what is on the car. However, for every person that would appreciate being informed that the tires on the car are incorrect, I'll bet there are five that would walk out the door insisting the tech was clueless because "they know the tires they have on their car are just fine".

Well let us know how the next step goes, in the meantime I have to drive a Lincoln Continental for a reported handling condition that has already been looked at by three shops, two of which are alignment shops. All I know is if this thing has them puzzled, it's going to take some real digging to straighten it out.
jemdandy
18 years ago
Kalining:

Keep tabs on that 18 psi left front tire. It could be leaking. Maybe it didn't seal well to the rim.
kalining
Original Author
18 years ago
I think that tire might be toast,Jem. For the mileage it took to get it home i'll bet the belt got hot as a fire cracker and shifted. That is the luck i have. i'll split the side wall open and return it for road hazard warranty.
I did take the car out for a 40 mile hoot today with proper tire pressure and almost all the pull is gone. Gee, I wonder why? Still pulls to the right and the wheel is cocked to the right. It is a hell of a lot more controlable
It's still going back to the front end shop. Actually i'll
eat my warranty from the front end shop and take it to the
China man at the frame shop i use. This shop KNOWS what they are doing. all our body shops use this shop where there is possible frame damage and where there is a boby
integrity involved. They do Austin Minnies to Kenworths.
I still have to figure out how to get my flat head motors
home. guess i'll have to register my truck for a week.

Sorry to bug you John G but

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