Steering pulls left

[u/Slothuel]

Steering has always pulled left I suppose, I grew subconsciously used to it. Well long story short I had a wheel fall off after having adapters installed to fit different rims; so I replaced the ball joints on both sides. While the car handles way better over bumps, it now pulls considerably harder left. It's worth noting that the sway bar end link rod on the right side is not straight except in the middle, the top and bottom of it sit at vastly different angles.

Not sure if an alignment is due or what else to check. Get a lot of conflicting info, as small as sticking caliper and warped rotor, low power steering fluid and control arm bushings etc, to things like the wheel bearing, inner tie rod, steering rack.

I work full time 48 hours a week now so I have the funds to fire the parts cannon but not the time. I usually don't like paying others to work on my car (as I can do it myself, and cannot see how good of a job they did, as such dannot understand new problems). That being said I will gladly pay for an alignment

It's also worth noting that the steering wheel shakes at highway speeds, yet when I floored it to 70 off the highway it seemed perfectly fine. This car has sat off and on for periods of time and I just want to drive it to work everyday without the fear of leaving my son without a father lol

EDIT the car is a 1992 940 gle or GL with Regina, not sure how much that matters. New rims are aluminum, maybe threw a wheel weight when the tire fell off. Just looking for pointers. I'm admittedly a fool who loves cars, I can understand things once I realize what there is to understand. I have many tools and can make adjustments myself, just don't have time to start pulling things apart without a clear method to the madness to steer me through

[u/turbo_charged]

This is a tough call me because so many different parts are at play with tracking/alignment.

I’d lift it off its wheels and do a really good inspection:

Make sure the wheels spin freely, make sure the wheel bearings are properly adjusted and in good condition, make sure you’re not fighting collision damage (check strut tubes, strut towers, front control arms and subframe), make sure your tire pressure is set correctly, make sure tires are in good condition and extend this whole inspection to the rear axle/suspension as well.

Address anything that fails this inspection, then pay a reputable alignment shop for an alignment.

Bonus tip: if your alignment shop takes requests, ask them to make the front camber as negative as possible, evenly, at the right front and left front wheels. 240s have a wild factory amount of positive camber that tends to consume the outer edge of the front tires.

[u/Slothuel → u/turbo_charged]

Thanks, left side strut mount bump stop and boot and strut bearing have been replaced, haven't got to the left side yet; but did change the ball joint while at work today, which resulted in no more sketchy feeling over bumps but the wheel has to be considerably held more to the right to stop from pulling left now. How to adjust the wheel bearings? Maybe tomorrow while I check it ill swap the wheels around. I hope it's something as small as a sticking caliper or warped rotor, I work at a parts store and while I'd prefer to either upgrade or use genuine parts, my discount will land me a new rotor for as low as 35 I think

[u/turbo_charged → u/Slothuel]

Suspension repairs should be done by the axle, meaning if you are replacing any parts it needs to be done to the left and right side at the same time. Repairing just one side of the suspension is a recipe for poor alignment.

Wheel bearings: lift vehicle and grab wheel at 12:00 and 6:00 and see how much free play exists. There should be a small amount of play only. I would pull up a service manual that describes adjustment, as it takes some finesse and the ability to adjust by feel.

Don’t worry too much about genuine parts in this day and age. A lot of the parts sold through Volvo are from aftermarket suppliers in the first place. Being careful during the repair makes a bigger difference than the quality of the part, IMO

[u/Slothuel → u/turbo_charged]

Yea I agree, I did the driver side on my day off, decided to do some of the other at work. Thanks again. Ill post a pic of how bent the sway bar end links are on the right side later

[u/Slothuel → u/turbo_charged]

Would it be advisable to replace the wheel bearings if bad? I think I can get a bearing and hub for 37 bucks or so, it's from masterpro and I'm not sure if their quality. Have heard plenty bad about uro parts, iPd listed the strut mount and bearing as aftermarket and a uro parts box came. If it wasn't for the original mount plate being macked up I'd have thrown it back in. I think masterpro is of higher quality than uro though

[u/turbo_charged → u/Slothuel]

If you have any doubt about the wheel bearings, replace them. They are relatively cheap but super important. Especially if you’re on a journey to make your car track better down the road.

Also—the hub/knuckle on these typically does not get replaced unless it is damaged or bent. The wheel bearing kit includes all the necessary bits.