Right Drift Corrected

8858 Views 92 Replies 34 Participants Last post by II kings 9:20, Oct 15, 2004

rdmac

Discussion Starter · Jul 7, 2004

Right Pull Continued

My 300C is a March build and it has the right pull but not super bad. It is very crown sensitive and will drift to the left if that is how the crown goes, also. The right drift is just more pronounced than the left. I'll tell you my last car was way worse. Any how my dealer has the machine to do it and had the TSB and the bolts. Just about to get it done and they sell the Chrysler part of the dealer to Jeep. Go to jeep and they say they do not have the machine and must find where to go. Find another Chrysler dealer in the area and they work a deal with the old place to sub it to them and use their machine. I remind all that the bolts are needed. Old dealer says not to worry they have some left. Drop car off, suppossed to be done today. I am told it was not done because the old dealer does not have the bolts because he had to send all back to Chrysler due to selling the business, now (opposite of what I was told). New dealer tells me bolts are on national back order and it will be a while - to do it right need the adjustment and the bolts. Any body hear of this national back order and how long.

Bob

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th59718

· #2 · Jul 7, 2004 (Edited)

Any body hear of this national back order and how long.

I took mine in a few weeks back with a slight drift to the right. Dealer was not able to align to newly revised specs (5/25 TSB) and had to back order the bolt kit. The Service Manager said 600 kits were on back order nationally. I don't know what that translates into timewise, but I haven't gotten a call yet saying they got the kit in -- it's been three or four weeks. I'm wondering how they make the fix at the assembly plant. Do they put the bolt kit in there? If so, I'm sure they'll get their bolt kits before anybody else.

According to the TSB, the kits provide only a few tenths of a degree additional adjustment (I'm not sure to what alignment spec). I want to understand this problem better before I give them a go ahead to retrofit the bolt kit. I guess I'm not convinced it's going to resolve the problem.

II kings 9:20

· #3 · Jul 8, 2004

Mine was built on 6/1 and follows the crown right or left only if I take my hand off the wheel It does seem to have a slight right proclivity when braking on bumpy pavement and I will have the specs checked at the first dealer svc probably early next year. It does not require any correction just a hand on the wheel to stay straight. The RX8 required a firm grip under braking on bumpy pavement to keep it in it's lane! Interestingly I tested the X5 with hands off (never tried this before) and it does the exact same thing as the C. The 300 seems more sensitive likely because the steering is much lighter than the X5 which will take some getting use to. I drove a buddy's C built in 3/04 and it requires a definite cocking of the steering wheel to keep it straight and I sent him the TSB and I would suggest that if your car pulls right or does not have a left drift in the left lane equal to the right you should get fixed. One thing about the C is the steering wheel "kickback" on bumpy pavement much like an old 911, that is the only minor complaint I have.

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FAME2002

· #4 · Jul 14, 2004

I have the regional director from chrysler coming into town on the 26th to loo kat my car and try to repai it one last time, otherwise they are going to have to buy the car back from me. I personally am sick of all the issues i have had with this car, especially the pull to the right, my car pulls bad. Becasue of all of this I do not even want the car anymore, i mean just imagine all the problems we will probably have after the car is 2-3 years old, this has put a very bad taste in my mouth with chrysler and i dont really want to own one. I should have never traded my dodge ram in, id like to buy another one but not even sure about that now because its the same company. We'll see how the rest of the process goes maybe they can turn it around.

rdmac

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 19, 2004

Well today is suppossed to be the day (for the third time - hey three times a charm). Any how brought it in, bolt kit is in, but.... the normal service manager was out and the kid there wasn't to swift. I called the place they were subbing it out to and they said they have done three and all the customers were very happy with the results (need the bolt kit though). Problem is they told me they were all booked up and were not expecting my car until tommorrow. Ahhh waiting another day. I guess I'll survive. The Pontiac Bonneville they gave me is not that bad. By the way if you are waiting for a bolt kit call Chrysler Customer service and they will expedite. I was told at least a month by the dealer but I got it in in two weeks.

Bob

FAME2002

· #6 · Jul 19, 2004

Dont expect too much with the bolt kit, I had it put in on mine and it didnt improve it a bit. I now have the regional director from chrysler coming next monday to oversee
the last repair attempt. I am now not sure what i should do because if they cannot fix my car its my choice of wether or not I want a new replacement car, or my money back. At this point im thinking of juts getting my money back and buying a truck again, not sure, but we'll see how the the process goes.

rdmac

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 19, 2004

Well my pull wasn't that bad to begin with. Sometimes I don't even notice it. With the correct alignment machine (that is key) and the bolt kit I have heard many success stories. We will see.

rdmac

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 19, 2004

Fame

If you feel this way why did you tell some one on another thread here to by the Hemi.

Bob

FAME2002

· #9 · Jul 20, 2004

rdmac said:
Fame

If you feel this way why did you tell some one on another thread here to by the Hemi.

Bob

I told someone to buy the hemi becuase if they are looking at buying a car like this they should. I personally love the car but have had nothing but problems, hopefully because I bought one of the first cars out. I still have the option to get another new 300c if they cannot fix my car, just dont know if its worth all of the frustrations I have had to go through, not to mention my service dept is full of idiots. If someone is able to get a new 300c without all the "little bugs" in it like mine has had it will be a hell of an experience. Because of all of the crap I have had to go through so far, I do not have the love for the car, or the compnay like I did before.

II kings 9:20

· #10 · Jul 20, 2004

LOTHP said:
I got mine back after a day, and the drift is gone! They outsourced it to a local alignment specialist, and now she's straight as an arrow!

Does it follow the crown with hands off the wheel or go straight like a front wheel drive car.

rdmac

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jul 20, 2004

I concurr. Finally had mine done today. Would have to say it is a success. My pull was not that bad to begin with. To tell the truth I did not notice it until I started reading all this stuff. Any how now if you are on flat road it goes straight, slight crown left or right and it slowly ventures that way (after first staying straight for a while), extreme crown either way and the car reacts more, center crown and car goes straight. The car is crown sensitive but very true now. Over the last few months have had a few rental cars. The Pacifica was not crown sensitive, Chevy cavilier a little, and Pontiac Bonneville more like the 300C. My last car quite honestly had a bad right pull but I did not think much about it.

In getting the car fixed the keys are 1) The right alignment machine, 2) Some one who knows what they are doing and 3) The bolt kit. If you expect your car to be on a noticably right crowned road and it will stay perfectly straight, you asking for something impossible.

I think we have here a combination of reality and hysteria. I am not trying to make light of a more serious problem others may have. I personally now feel I have over reacted to a few problems. IE my car really does not idle that rough, pulling to the right is fixed, the temp sensor was reset by the dealer and works fine now, a rattle was fixed, thunking in gear (I don't know - I really do not notice much anymore), the car hasn't surged in reverse for a while and it only did it when parked on an incline and it was sitting for a while.
And boy does this car fly, comfortable as hell, great sound system, and great looks. A few out of the gate hiccups maybe but you know what some of them nobody (drivers) in my family can notice but me. I think I'll keep her.

Bob

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smithlee

· #12 · Jul 27, 2004

Right Pull

I, too, had a fairly strong right pull. My dealer ordered the bolt out of Chrysler, saying Chrysler had just released it last week. One week later, they had the part, I showed up 3 days later for installation and it seems to have done MOST of the job. The car still seems inordinately crown-sensitive, but then, the last two vehicles I've owned (new) were a '96 Dodge 3/4Ton V10 pickup, follwed by an "02 3/Ton Avalanche (still have it), and neither of those vehicles is sensitive to anything but an onrushing semi. I have put almost no miles on the car since the fix, but a 40-mile drive home convinced me that it's much better now. The dealer's alignment man said, after a whole morning of work, that his machine showed only .54 degree difference, but it sure felt better. Dealer, astoundingly, was most helpful, cooperative and seemed to want to make it all right--imagine that!. In case anyone's interested, it's located in Canon City, Colorado.

mabergin

· #13 · Jul 28, 2004

Got my 300C back from the dealer today.It was one of those built before April 25th.It had a drift to the right.The service manager said they didn't use the bolts that were in the repair kit.They just moved the cradle over.The car now drives perfect.

FAME2002

· #14 · Jul 28, 2004

lucky you....I had the regional rep from chrysler in town today to look at my car.....they left me a message but they didnt say what the verdict was. I have a horrible pull to the right, and have already had an alignment, the engine cradle adjustment, and also the cambered bolt kit and NONE of these corrected the problem at all. Hopefully they will be giving me another car that doesnt have this problem, unless they fixed it today which I dont think is the case because they said the regional manager will be calling me. We'll see.

mspeasl

· #15 · Jul 28, 2004

Mine was done Monday

Gang,

My dealer installed the bolts that were back ordered for a month this past monday. I finally have netural steer, its great.

LWOOD

· #16 · Jul 28, 2004

I am glad that some of you are finally finding resolution to the pull issue. Now hopefully you will find happiness with the car.

FAME2002

· #17 · Jul 29, 2004

Wish I could find a resolution on mine.

mileshoover

· #18 · Jul 29, 2004

LWOOD said:
I am glad that some of you are finally finding resolution to the pull issue. Now hopefully you will find happiness with the car.

Made a very interesting discovery today. On the thread:

http://www.300cforums.com/showthread.php?p=6726=post6726

JonW pulled the info from the service manual and kindly gave us all a list of things to be reset after the battery is disconnected for a bit of time. One of those is a goodie which states that the steering wheel should be recentered and gives the procedure for doing that. (see the thread for this item -- it's a keeper that should be in everyone's LX glovebox).

Anyway, I reset mine yesterday because my steering wheel was offset to the right very slightly and it was irritating me. I like them to be perfectly straight under normal straight ahead travel.

Normally, to reset an offset steering wheel to centered, one must have the tie-rods adjusted as part of a front end alignment. Well, this procedure described in Jon'sexerpt is right on. My steering wheel is now dead centered.

So this made me think about all of you who are having "right drift" problems. Could it be that a slightly offset steering wheel (to the right) may be psychologically making you think the car is drifting right?

I'd appreciate if one of you would give this procedure a try and see if it helps. I know that I feel as if the car, now with a dead centered steering wheel, feels more directly going straight ahead. And I don't nor did have a drift problem.

Not trying to denigrate anyone truly having a drift problem, but am now wondering about this problem with a slightly offset steering wheel.

Someone please try it and lemme know if it helps... Thanks.

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FAME2002

· #19 · Jul 29, 2004

Miles Hoover did you disconnect the battery or anything when you did this? My sterring wheel has to be held to the left for the car to go straight. I tried to reset it but didnt get any results.

mileshoover

· #20 · Jul 29, 2004

No, I did not disconnect the battery. Just ran the reset procedures as in the URL given in the msg.

Question is -- when driving as normally as possible, does your steering wheel even remotely center (horizontal spokes horizontal and parallel to the speedomenter cluster)?

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