Camry pulls to the right - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Woodyg · 11-11-2011, 10:02 AM

The Camry in my sig was doing this when we got it in July. The wife finally took it to Sears for and Alignment. The front left and rear right tire were out a little.......The car still does the exact same thing. There is a significant pull to the right. it is not the crown on the road. The tires have less then 10k on them and they are less than 2 years old. I called Sears and they said to bring it back and they will look at it........I wanted to get some info before I bring it back.........Could the Brake caliper be sticking?.....Should I rotate the tires to see if it is a bad tire?.......if I needed front end parts wouldn't they have been unable to do the alignment?........Thoughts

71Corolla · 11-11-2011, 10:13 AM

Did they give you a print-out of the suspension specs before and after the alignment? That would be very helpful. I wouldn't rotate the tires until you find out exactly what is going on with the suspension, otherwise you will add another variable to the equation. After you verify the suspension is in good shape, if you still have the car pull to one side then it is a tire problem, rotating can help. I tend to put the problem tire(s) on the back and often they correct themselves over time.

I worked on a Camry this past weekend, replaced the ball joints and the tendency for the car to pull to right (and sometimes left) went away, so you may have the same problem.

- edit, if you have a dragging caliper, that side will get much hotter than the other, easy test put you hand (carefully!) near the wheel on each side, they should feel the same. A good shop will do at least a quick test to see if you have worn components, you can still do an alignment on the rack if you have a bad suspension, the alignment just won't stay that way as you drive.

***BMR*** · 11-11-2011, 10:39 AM

I might be Captain Obvious, but are all the tires inflated to the same pressure?

Woodyg · 11-11-2011, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 71Corolla

Did they give you a print-out of the suspension specs before and after the alignment? That would be very helpful. I wouldn't rotate the tires until you find out exactly what is going on with the suspension, otherwise you will add another variable to the equation. After you verify the suspension is in good shape, if you still have the car pull to one side then it is a tire problem, rotating can help. I tend to put the problem tire(s) on the back and often they correct themselves over time.

I worked on a Camry this past weekend, replaced the ball joints and the tendency for the car to pull to right (and sometimes left) went away, so you may have the same problem.

- edit, if you have a dragging caliper, that side will get much hotter than the other, easy test put you hand (carefully!) near the wheel on each side, they should feel the same. A good shop will do at least a quick test to see if you have worn components, you can still do an alignment on the rack if you have a bad suspension, the alignment just won't stay that way as you drive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMR

I might be Captain Obvious, but are all the tires inflated to the same pressure?

I checked the tires when I got the car. it did not solve the issue......here is the printout...The car is not aroundmuch and I don't drive it much... I will try and check the brakes tonight or tommorrow

Rowdyrod · 11-11-2011, 04:42 PM

My 97 honda accord pulled to the right for a long time after being correctly aligned, even though they switched the tires around to try to fix it. I just put two new Michelins on the front and the car tracks straight for the first time in years. Just had my Camry aligned and it too pulls to the right. I can't afford new tires right now. I bet tires will fix your troubles.

Woodyg · 11-12-2011, 08:11 AM

I just took it for a spin. I felt the rotors with the tip of my finger. I could hold my finger on the left front rotor for ever. I could not hold my finger on the right front for more than a 1/2 second. it was very hot........It looks like the brake is stuck.......I will pull it off and take a look.....Do you think it is most likely the sliding pins or could the piston on the caliper be frozen?

Woodyg · 11-12-2011, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rowdyrod

My 97 honda accord pulled to the right for a long time after being correctly aligned, even though they switched the tires around to try to fix it. I just put two new Michelins on the front and the car tracks straight for the first time in years. Just had my Camry aligned and it too pulls to the right. I can't afford new tires right now. I bet tires will fix your troubles.

I just pulled the brake caliper and everything with it was fine.

I guess I will bring it back to sears and see what they think.maybe rotate the tires........and I checked the tire pressure again it was fine...

Tech1984 · 11-12-2011, 10:42 AM

Lower control arm or rear bushings?

Woodyg · 11-12-2011, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tech1984

Lower control arm or rear bushings?

I just had it aligned. would they have been able to align it if those parts were bad?.........is the ball-joint and LCA one piece? what are rear bushings?

Tech1984 · 11-12-2011, 10:58 AM

You can align a car with worn parts to perfect specs. Then once on the road all those specs changed due to the worn parts.
The rear have leading and trailing arms. One is adjustable for toe. Any arm connected to the rear knuckle could make your car "dog track" if bushings were worn.
An example is like jumping out while in a turn.
Definitely swap the 2 front tires to see if the pull goes opposite way.

***JohnGD*** · 11-12-2011, 11:46 AM

If the right rotor is much hotter than the left and the car pulls right, then I'd say the right is sticking. If the left is not grabbing the car won't pull to the right with the brakes off.

How are the brake pads wearing between the inside and outside pads? Anchor pins are a problem with these caliper designs. How easy was it for you to move the anchor pins initially? With easy two-finger pressure? Once they started moving they'll remain free for a while, and then stick up again.

The real solution when anchor pins start to stick is to change out the dust boots, clean and *dry* the bores and pins leave no petro solvent to mess up the rubber and grease, and install new bushings with Permatex Ceramic Extreme grease (those dollar+ packets on some store counters).

You can also try to push the piston back in using a c-clamp - best done with clean brake fluid in the system or open the bleeder screw. It should be easy on the c-clamp with two-finger pressure as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woodyg

I just pulled the brake caliper and everything with it was fine.

I guess I will bring it back to sears and see what they think.maybe rotate the tires........and I checked the tire pressure again it was fine...

Woodyg · 11-27-2011, 07:16 AM

The wife took it back to Sears.....they checked all the front end parts and said they were fine. They did another alignment and double talked her. I am not sure what they said. they told her something about a bolt being loose. they rotated the tires. They charged her $15. I took it for a drive. it is a lot better but it still pulls to the right a little.thoughts?

Ted Striker · 11-27-2011, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woodyg

The wife took it back to Sears.....they checked all the front end parts and said they were fine. They did another alignment and double talked her. I am not sure what they said. they told her something about a bolt being loose. they rotated the tires. They charged her $15. I took it for a drive. it is a lot better but it still pulls to the right a little.thoughts?

Even a new tire can make a car pull, to prove this out if you swapped the rear tires right to left the car should now pull left. I suspect one of the rear tires is bad. It was worse on the front and moving it to the rear lessened the pull. You should be able to get some proration on the tire. Another good DIY check is take the suspect tire off set it on a level driveway or shop floor, if it has a conicity issue(shaped like a cone) it will lean to one side. You'll notice a good tire will not lean. You can do this without dismounting the tire btw.

Also you have a full sized spare you could try swapping it with one tire at a time to eliminate the pull. Do check its pressure first. Most people never check it.

pmesfun · 11-27-2011, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 71Corolla

I worked on a Camry this past weekend, replaced the ball joints and the tendency for the car to pull to right (and sometimes left) went away, so you may have the same problem.

+1. That worked for me, my car always pulled to the right before replacing the ball joints.

Woodyg · 11-27-2011, 01:23 PM

Ok I think it is figured out.......Yesterday they only rotated the passenger side tires. Front to back

Today they swapped the 2 front tires and discovered that the tire that had been on the left front is the bad tire. after the swap the car pulled to the left. They put the bad tire on the passenger side rear. The car does not seem to pull much if at all...I only drove about 4 miles. They said the steel belt proably moved and the way to solve it is to buy 2 new tires. The tires on the car now are 2.5 years old and only have 12k miles on them....The tires were purchased by Grandma when she owned the car........the tire size is 195 70 14. I have 4 virtually(1000 miles) new Toyo Observe tires in my garage. they are 185 65 15. if I got 15" rims would I be able to run them on this Camry..............Thanks for all the great help.it is appreciated!!!