Front wheel drive car issue

[Stormwalker]

I know nothing about front wheel drive cars.

I have a 97 Saturn SL2, and lately it has begun pulling really hard to the right. It also shakes a little bit under acceleration, and when turning the car at lower speeds, I get some feedback through the steering wheel, kind of like driving a solid front axle truck with a U joint going bad. I don't hear any noise or anything when driving at any speed.

I'm going to take a look at it tonight. What kind of things should I do, and look for? Thanks for any advice.

[Fernanernie]

Things I'd look at: motor or trans mounts, CV shaft, hub/bearing assy, control arm bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints on the side it's pulling to

[mnstang]

check your tires. do you have a low tire or bad tire? in your case i would look at the right front. could be other mechanical things also, but i would definitely look at the tire first and go from there. which would be jacking up the front of the car and wiggling the wheel/tire, suspesnion to see if there is any loose balljoint, bushings, or wheel bearing. with it pulling that hard there should be something obvious if it's mechanical hard part.

check your lugnuts also, they could be loose even.

[RyanM]

Things I'd look at: motor or trans mounts, CV shaft, hub/bearing assy, control arm bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints on the side it's pulling to

so basically check the whole front end lol

[Stormwalker]

I have to admit, this started after I did a brake pad replacement a few weeks ago, and since I had the front tires off, I simply switched them around figuring I may as well do a half ass rotation. After that, it didn't drive so smooth, I just figured it was because I switched the tires around and it would wear in after a couple of days. Tire pressure is fine though, and the tires aren't terribly old and have good treadlife left.

The pulling to the right thing has gotten bad over the past few days though, along with the back and forth resistance in the steering wheel when making some turns (again, like a bad U joint if this was a Jeep), so I don't think it's tire. I'm thinking either/both the front axle shaft and the wheel bearing/hub should be checked. For the axle shaft, do I just turn the wheels to one side and spin the wheel and feel for resistance and listen for any noises? I presume the hub/bearing, I check for play like checking wheel bearings on anything else.

[mnstang]

yes the hub is just a wheel bearing inside there. just wiggle it around. belts can let go in tires and act just like this too, fyi.

[RyanM]

May have a stuck caliper or when you reinstalled the caliper the brake hose got twisted causing caliper to not release

[Stormwalker]

belts can let go in tires and act just like this too, fyi.

This thought had occurred to me as well. I'll probably rotate tires around and see if I notice a difference if I don't find anything obvious.

I'm not expecting anyone to guess what is wrong with it. I'm just looking for things to check tonight and how to go about checking them.

[mnstang]

jacking it up and jerking things around will go a long ways.

[CleanLX]

jacking it up and jerking things around will go a long ways.

[iamtheshaner]

My $ is on sticky brakes rh side

[Fernanernie]

so basically check the whole front end lol

Pretty much. Just giving him a list of things to check

[pubestripe]

You assemble my bike, I will fix your car

[Stormwalker]

You assemble my bike, I will fix your car

I like this offer. We'll see if the car is something simple or not. I'll still assemble your bike, whether you help with a car or not. Just let me know when you get it.

[Stormwalker]

My $ is on sticky brakes rh side

Maybe. I do remember on the passenger side, the dust boot or whatever around the piston looked a little weird when I compressed the piston. I was worried that it might spring a leak, and even checked for brake fluid leaks after everything was done.