Drifting Left / Right Within Lane On Highway! Scary!

[BBuncky2]

Ok guys here's another issue: my car, at highway speeds, will slightly drift from left to right (as if a strong wind is blowing) when I am simply holding the wheel straight. This freaks me out and worries me that something is seriously wrong. Would not getting an alignment after changing my upper control arm cause/contribute to this?

[bobbycos]

Ok guys here's another issue: my car, at highway speeds, will slightly drift from left to right (as if a strong wind is blowing) when I am simply holding the wheel straight. This freaks me out and worries me that something is seriously wrong. Would not getting an alignment after changing my upper control arm cause/contribute to this?

i think you look at the front end again and get an alignment now

[visualpoet]

It could cause this, so could bad tie rod ends, bad ball joints, over inflated tires, bad sway bar links. you can never be too safe when it comes to the front end of the car.

[Otto]

Seems steering problems and spark plug questions are the topics of the week.

Sounds just like the issue mine's had for well over a year now. Only things I haven't changed are the right upper control arm, the column U-joint, and the car itself
Already watching another thread on a steering issue, I'll be watching this thread, too.

[bobbycos]

i said in another thread regarding the front end

if you car has over 100k change

bearings
rotors
upper and lower ball joints
inner/outer tie rod ends
sway bar end links and bushings
and other related front end bushings
alignment

now your front end will be safe and tight

[Otto]

Mine has all that (except right upper joint. still tight, not spending more money chasing the problem), new steering rack with bushings, new axles, motor mounts tight, ride height set back to stock, different wheels/tires and pressure do make a small different but don't cure the problem, back end is tight, two alignments and two differtent shops checked it on multiple occasions.

Short story: I hate to see you spend money chasing a problem without troubleshooting. It was kinda nice to replace the original bushings and know things were knew, but I spent a lot of time and money.
But as bobbycos said, check the front end and get an alignment. It makes sense since you just did work that can affect the alignment. Depends how much time and money you wanna spend.

[gloryaccordy]

Blown shocks

My car had the same problem, went away after I changed my suspension

[mexicanVTEC]

been there

Mine had that same problem and it was cuz my tie rod ends had a lot of play, so if u r gona try to fix ur "drifting" problem I would recommend replacing ur tie rod ends.(jack up ur front end, shake the wheels from side to side to see if u have some play)

[wed3k]

Ok guys here's another issue: my car, at highway speeds, will slightly drift from left to right (as if a strong wind is blowing) when I am simply holding the wheel straight. This freaks me out and worries me that something is seriously wrong. Would not getting an alignment after changing my upper control arm cause/contribute to this?

what's your setup and repair history?

[Karl]

dont forget to check crossmember bolts and check them around suspension mounting points for tears.

[batever]

i think you look at the front end again and get an alignment now

you should be concerned, very concerned. look into it immediately.

from what I understand, not getting an alignment is most likely not the problem; if that were the problem you would be likely to have a consistent pull in one direction. I also don't think it's the sway bar. To me, it sounds like tie rod ends. I don't know how the ball joint would affect a drifting issue, but you just did the upper ball joint, right? So I would look at that as well, since you just did it. Also, look at the lower ball joint connection as you just undid that and refastened it.

Make sure the tires are inflated correctly.

I agree that you need to give a better history of the problem and your car so people can have more info to go on.

[BBuncky2]

you should be concerned, very concerned. look into it immediately.

from what I understand, not getting an alignment is most likely not the problem; if that were the problem you would be likely to have a consistent pull in one direction. I also don't think it's the sway bar. To me, it sounds like tie rod ends. I don't know how the ball joint would affect a drifting issue, but you just did the upper ball joint, right? So I would look at that as well, since you just did it. Also, look at the lower ball joint connection as you just undid that and refastened it.

Make sure the tires are inflated correctly.

I agree that you need to give a better history of the problem and your car so people can have more info to go on.

Ok here's the whole history (from my log) (I'm currently at 160k miles):

122732 Suspension Replaced both front sway bar links
130115 Suspension Replace right drive axle
141800 Suspension Replace left drive axle, Replace left upper ball joint
156687 Suspension Replace right front wheel bearing
157400 Suspension Replace left front wheel bearing
159000 Suspension Replaced right front upper control arm.

I had an alignment done at like 120,000 and that's it.

Looking at this, I think it's time for a fucking alignment.

[cp[mike]]

like Yaw said i would at least double check that your shocks are still in good shape.

[batever]

I agree, check the shocks as well as the tie rods. you didn't say in your list that you changed them. If you're at 160K miles and original tie rods, I'd think that would do it all alone.

[batever]

141800 Suspension Replace left drive axle, Replace left upper ball joint
.

I had an alignment done at like 120,000 and that's it.

Looking at this, I think it's time for a fucking alignment.

how about that upper ball joint? you just pressed one in instead of getting a new control arm on that side? I would be checking on that.