civic_guy_386

i just got a 1st gen civic - it pulls to the right, what's the deal with this?

ezone

Quit listening to Rush Limbaugh.

ezone

Get it to a pro. Check all suspension. Check for tire pull.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

would someone just go thourgh the sign-up process just to ask a question like this?...

goddam. go to an alignment shop instead of playing in the internet!!!

rjones7755

Hahahaha exactly my thoughts

civic_guy_386

Thanks for the links (yes I'm a newbie).
I found a youtube video that showed how to do the thing with the two tape measures and how to adjust it to eliminate toe-in/out.
It's all good now.
I appreciate the help.

rjones7755

you know that doesn't take the place of a proper alignment right?

civic_guy_386

Not sure what do you mean by 'proper'.
As long as it ain't toe-in or toe-out I'm ok with it.
Why pay for displays of things that look like supercomputers operated by techs in white lab coats when all you gotta do is screw the thing in or out and make the wheels line up.

ezone

Don't be making fun of me....

rjones7755

Not a proper alignment meaning it doesn't touch camber/caster...lol ezone

ezone

What all do you think would be adjustable in the first place?

Probably only toe, front and rear.

Note: That was a guess.... I haven't even SEEN a 1st gen Civic since maybe the early or mid 80s? Rebuilt (fixed a LOT of crap on) an old CVCC car back then......

civic_guy_386

Sure, I suppose there are more ways a wheel could be out of alignment than toe-in vs toe-out.
But, as far as driving goes, as long as it stops pulling, I'm happy.
But yeah, if I could afford the white lab coat army with their wheel alignment supercomputers, sure - why not?
If nothing else, it would stimulate the economy

rjones7755

Not so much to adjust but to make sure everything's still in check, and the alignment rack i used ran on windows 2000

ezone

Ours JUST got updated (due to lightning strike) a month ago.....from Win95 to Win98.
Doesn't matter though. It works well. Dedicated tower, nothing else is on it.

I cut my teeth on a toe bar with scribe, and bubble levels and strings. I can make darn near anything do the job.

New systems are much faster though.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

OK, you posted an easy question after you went to the hassle of registering.
you then went and based on our responses of what to look for and actually searched for it.

then you went on and actually corrected your toe based on what you saw after you searched.

and then you came back and reported the results.
and you took all with a good mood even considering our not-so-polite-but-with-hidden-clues responses and you read then well.

you got me impressed.

welcome to the forum!

civic_guy_386

Not to go off-topic - but ...
Got a question for you guys.
They seem to be specifically designing cars to be 'black boxes' these days.
It's a term from electronics where you're not supposed to know what's going on inside a component, it either works perfectly or you get a new one.
Personally, I prefer older stuff that's end-user serviceable.
On one hand, newer cars are more reliable.
On the other hand, when something does go wrong, forget fixing it yourself without the army of white lab coats and their fancy, hi-tech supercomputer.
What do you guys think about this trend and what's at the end-point of this trajectory?

Stock 99

+1

BTW - Since this is your thread you can go as off topic as you want. Although I think this is a good question and it would get more views in a new thread in 'off topic'

If you look in my sig I drive a 31 year old bike. It's pretty much 2 carbs, 2 pistons, 4 valves and 2 exhausts. I can completely tear the bike down with the tool kit under the seat (no joke). The user manual is 92 pages and it tells you how to take it apart, aim your headlight, tune up procedure ,etc,etc,etc. The 'Kawasaki' logo on the tank is made out of metal and screwed to the tank, not plastic, not a sticker. That's what I look for in a vehicle....simple.

I never owned any thing other than a base model because there is just less to go wrong. I was pretty stunned when my base model 99 Civic came with airbags, power steering, ABS, air conditioning (my god, I never realized how much 'junk' A/C added to your car).....

I do disagree with you on the technology side of things because I'm also a bit of a geek and I have an OBD II scantool (nice one too). New cars are pretty much the opposite of a 'black box' mystery. Plug in an OBD II reader and it'll tell you exactly how everything in your car is functioning. My car hasn't thrown a code yet but I've done a couple of friends cars. One was an 04 Civic SI. I plugged it in and it told me his forward O2 sensor was failing in 10 seconds. That sure beats crawling under the car , revving the engine, listening for noises, making guesses, buying stuff you don't need.

Welcome to the forums BTW. It's always nice to see someone who is no BS and actually goes out and gets things done after asking questions.

civic_guy_386

Interesting comment about the OBD, Stock99.
The way everything keeps getting more computerized and automated, the more I think us drivers will end up like in the movie, 'Minority Report' where you just tell the car where to go and it does the rest.
I like having control over my car and the more automated they get, the less I feel in control.
I guess I just need to spend more time learning the new stuff - it's probably worth it.


>"Welcome to the forums BTW. It's always nice to see someone who is no BS >and actually goes out and gets things done after asking questions."

Thanks.
I like this forum - timely and useful answers to questions by people who obviously know their stuff.

Stock 99

so you see yourself as Will Smith in 'I Robot' then?

rjones7755

Yeah you dont want OBDI....just to even get the scan tool hooked up takes a few min...gotta run it to the battery...diagnostic port etc. then the sacn tool takes like 10 min. to test and wastes all your gas by revving the engine lol......technology is sometimes a good thing!

meezyack

eliminate toe in/toe out? what is that? i might have a slight pull to the side in my vehicle also so i was wondering if i can fix it myself too

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

play along with my ascii art... also pretend that toward the top is "forward" on the car

// \\ = toe in

\\ // = toe out

[] [] = happy tires


edit: I guess those can stand for camber (another possible alignment ailment), as well. Pretend you're looking at the tread of the tire in this case. Using my awesome ascii art, it'd represent negative camber, positive camber, and neutral, respectively.