This month's technical tip concerns a front end pulling problem with the

Oldsmobile, founded in 1897 by Ransom E. Olds, was one of the most venerated marquees in the automotive industry. They were one of the first manufacturers to offer an automatic transmission and a curved dashboard. With the success of the Cutlass® and Eighty-Eight® models in 1985, U.S. sales peaked at over 1.1 million units that year.

Remember the advertising phrase, It's not your father's Oldsmobile? General Motors invested approximately $5 billion to repackage the Oldsmobile lineup over the past five years. In an effort to make their cars more appealing to younger buyers, Oldsmobile introduced the smaller Alero® and the Aurora® models.

In December 2000, General Motors Corporation announced that they would pull the plug on the 103-year-old Oldsmobile brand due to soft sales figures. This move, most industry marketing experts say, came about 10 years too late. I, for one, mourn the loss of any car line that has propagated the highways of America for so long and helped create so many memories. Please pardon my reflection. Now, let's get to that tech tip.

Some owners of 1991-96 Oldsmobile® Ninety-Eight® and 1992-98 Oldsmobile® Eighty-Eight®, LSS® and Regency® models may comment that the vehicle "pulls or leads" left or right. More than likely, the owner probably has taken this vehicle to other shops and those shops couldn't fix it because the alignment specifications were within limits and the tires looked fine. Then what might be causing this condition? you ask. It's something called strut spring side load.

Strut spring side load occurs when the strut spring is turning or twisting the strut relative to the strut mount. This could be a result of either the strut assembly being mounted off-center from the steering knuckle, uneven height between the two strut towers, or a combination of the two conditions.

Inspection
Start by road testing the vehicle for a sufficient distance on a known smooth road surface to duplicate the condition. This should be done after a tire break-in of at least 10 miles (16 km) at 45 mph (73 km/h) or greater to eliminate any possible tire flat spotting.
1. Inspect the alignment to be sure the vehicle is within specification.
2. Verify "cold" tire pressure, per the label located on the tires.
3. Check the condition of the tires.
4. Confirm that condition is not torque steer, memory steer, bias steering rack characteristics or brake drag.

Note: When you've exhausted all of the above possibilities, go to the repair procedure.

Repair Procedure
Note: DO NOT try to correct this condition by shimming the strut mount.

1. Remove both strut assemblies. Both struts need to be done for optimum results.
2. In order to compress the spring in the strut assembly, install the strut into a strut compressor tool.
3. Mark the orientation of the spring relative to the strut.
4. Adjust the strut compressor tool until the spring compresses enough so that the upper spring seat can be rotated.
Note: Take care to avoid chipping or cracking the spring coating when handling the front suspension coil spring. Failure to do so may result in spring breakage.

5. For "lead or pull" conditions to the right: Rotate upper spring seat clockwise 20 to 25 degrees, or about 2.5
cm (1 in.). (See Figure 2)
6. For "lead or pull" conditions to the left: Rotate upper spring seat counter-clockwise 20 to 25 degrees, or about 2.5 cm (1 in.). (See figure 2)
Important: Do not exceed the 25 degrees, or about 2.5 cm (1 in.) when rotating the upper spring seat.

7. Loosen the strut compressor tool and remove the pressure on the strut spring.
8. Install the strut assembies on the vehicle.

Charge enough in your estimate to complete this job. The spring adjusting procedure pays approximately 2.0 hours to do both sides. Also, allow enough time for checking the alignment before and after the repairs. I'm sure the owner will be elated that you were able to find a problem that eluded the other shops. Make sure you take the time to do the job properly. Remember: the car you fix today just might have been your father's Oldsmobile.