Symptoms and Probable Causes
Symptom: Vehicle pulling right/leftCauses:
- Tire wear
- Needs alignment
- May need after market parts toadjust caniber or caster
- May need factory slogs removed to adjust alignment correctly
- Some Dodge trucks and Jeeps need adjustable upper balljoints
Causes:
- Bent wheel
- Bad U-joint
- Bent or out of balance driveshaft
- Needs alignment
- Bad tire - tire may not be round, etc.
- Tires need balancing
Causes:
- Low on coolant
- Thermostat malfunctioning
- Bad intake, leaking intake
- Coolant old, dirty
- Cracked block or head
- Blown head gasket
- Blocked heater core
Causes:
- Tired or bad battery (defective)
- Bad battery cables
- Battery cable ends
- Battery needs servicing - servicing is designed to remove battery draining coorission
- Alternator malfunctioning, sometimes cheap after-market alternator
- P.C.M.
- B.C.M.
- Wiring bad, broken wiring
- Animals getting into the wiring, living under the hood causing damage
- Trailer wiring, boat trailer wiring - wiring messed up from track to trailer
Causes:
- Lost or bad gas cap
- EGR system problejm
- Catalytic converter bad - if left unaddressed can cause damage to engine
- Vacuum leak
- Lean or rich burn (will cause more costly repairs)
- Notes: Diagnostics run about $70. Failed emissions about $70. Without doing a good diagnostic you are just guessing on the repair. You need to take the diagnostic code an d test the system to find the exact problem. A good diag is key. A code reader will only give you a could with (???) can cause you to replace parts that it might not need.
- A check engine light or ABS light being on all the time will not allow you to know if a more serious problem happens.
Causes:
- Spark plugs, coil, injectors, spark plug wires, distributos cap or rotor - all can cause misfire code and if left untreated will cost more the longer you let it go.
Causes:
- Lack of rotation is the most common cause for bad tire wear.
- Needs alignment - Camber, caster or toe problems
- Old or bad tires
- Mismatched tires