GnatGoSplat Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 I forgot to mention this last month when I replaced the power steering lines on my 94 Cutlass convertible. The car always pulled to the left and to go straight, I had to keep the steering wheel turned to the right about 30-degrees. It was pretty severe. I had to drop the rear of the subframe to access the rack to change the power steering lines. When I lifted the subframe back up, I aligned it by inserting a 12" long 1/2" drive ratchet extension through the subframe alignment holes into the unibody. There is one on the rear close to the rear subframe bolt on the passenger side, and one on the front close to the front subframe bolt. It was WAY off. Now the car is perfectly aligned without having had an alignment! It tracks straight and when the steering wheel is turned straight ahead, the car goes straight ahead. Amazing what a difference subframe alignment makes. So before you pay $40+ to get your front wheels aligned, be sure to align the subframe first! Apparently they can get misaligned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godofthunder Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 I may be stupid, but can you post some pics sometime? Mine pulls to the side too, but not as bad as that. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian89gp Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 lifetime alignment at firestone That is interesting to know. I always figured it went up there and thats it. Never even considered that it could be aligned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 I may be stupid, but can you post some pics sometime? Mine pulls to the side too, but not as bad as that. Jon Next time I'm down there I'll get pics. It's too wet, cold, squishy, and snowy to get down there for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 My subframe got slightly misaligned while I was having the car towed. How are you able to align the frame like that? DO you loosen all 4 frame bolts and support it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89BuickRegalGS Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 SHAWN! Hey man, i had my car in for the recall for the subframe bolts and stuff, and it pulled to the left. after having my car aligned after a mishap with a curb, it still pulls to the left. could it be the subframe in this case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 Brian, Yeah, just loosen all the subframe bolts maybe 4-5 turns. Once it's loose stick a metal rod or something up through each alignment hole and keep it as perpendicular to the hole as possible. If it wants to go in crooked, just take the metal rod and pull until the rod can go perpendicular. You've got it aligned when the hole in the subframe and the hole in the unibody are perfectly inline with each other. Then do the same with the alignment holes in the front. It doesn't take a whole lot of muscle to move the subframe, I managed to do it with my muscles and they are puny. 89BuickRegalGS, It's possible the subframe is crooked, but I really have no idea what those suspension shops use as a reference. On my wife's '88, the wheel was still crooked after getting it aligned when it was fine before. She let it go without concern till after the alignment warranty lapsed. One day many months (or years) later, i pulled the steering wheel to access the cruise control switch since her cruise wasn't working. To my surprise, the steering wheel was put on crooked! When I put the steering wheel back on properly the car tracked straight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORBI Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 When i went to a dealer about the subframe bolts and they changed it, my car started going to the left side when i finally went to the mechanic he told me that it was only holding on 2 bolts (explains the bolt i found on a driveway and weird noises coming from under the hood) when he finally did it the right way my steering wheel was straight again. Mechanic told me that the dealer didnt change bolts only the bushings under the bolts, so since then i dont really trust dealers at all they have lied to me so many times about my Convertible i am glad it is over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGPilot Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 Hmmm...On my TGP there was just a clip in nut up in the hole for the bolts to go into. Are you saying to put a rod up in the hole to align those nuts?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 No, there are 2 alignment holes on the passenger side and both are close to the nut/bolt but are NOT the nut/bolt holes. They are empty holes about 1" in diameter. A 1/2" socket extension 12" long is about 3/4" diameter, but it was all I had and worked good enough. Take a look at the subframe bushings on the passenger side, then look for empty circle holes about 1" diameter near the bushings. They are not farther away than 2" from the bushings if I remember right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGPilot Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 Cool I will check that out... 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 4-5 whole turns? are you sure? I thought I remember it taking only 4 or 5 turns for the bolts to come out completely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 I dunno, 4-5 whole turns makes it looser, but it wasn't anywhere near completely out for me... it took almost 15-20 turns for it to come out completely. I know this because I read instructions on the PS line to loosen it 4-5 turns and I was real scared the subframe might fall completely out on the front end which I didn't have supported (I was only supporting the rear crossmember). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 I wonder if I can do this with the car on the ground. May take a little more force to align it, but I think I'll just need to align the front hole anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 I'm not sure whether you could or not, because the weight of the car on the wheels might prevent the subframe from moving. You can definitely check the alignment with the car on the ground though. I'd recommend checking alignment of the subframe to make sure it needs it before loosening anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismellrealbad Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 can you check the alignment of this with just a visual inspection? im guessing this is always the part of the car i use to jack up when i use the hydraulic jack. when i use the one in the trunk i always put it under the notch on the body like ur supposed to. There are 2 huge bars that are flat that kind of belly in twars the middle of the engine. on each side and twards the end twards the underside of the cabin is a big bolt with a stiff thick round rubber bushing around it. i guess this is what your referring to? i dont ever remember any other empty holes around there and its so cold im too lazy to check Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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