All went well until I tried to get in the driver's door. It would not open more than a few inches before it hit the front fender. I went to the passenger's door and it opened fine. When I tried to start the car, it sounded like the starter was misaligned-lots of grinding, but no cranking. How could I have twisted the car that much by just jacking it up and putting it down?
It has 83,000 miles on it, and it has been well taken care of. While the car was being raised and while it was in the air, I did not open any doors or the hood, or remove the T-Tops and the windows were up. I did have the hatch open while I was raising it and lowering it, though. Does anyone have any suggestion on what to do next?Darrell WolfePell City, Alabama
Ray T. Bohacz Responds:Many unibody vehicles do twist and bend quite easily, and it appears that you used an unorthodox jacking procedure. The fact is that whatever you did tweaked the body of the car. It may return to its natural position in a few days on its own, but then again it may not, and it may need to be examined by a frame shop. In the meantime, check the area of the front end where you placed the block of wood on the driver's side to see if anything got bent out of shape or hung up when the car was raised or lowered. Next, try pushing down and pulling up on the body at the four corners (like you would to test shocks in the old days), to possibly get the car to settle correctly.
In the future, always jack a vehicle under a support point, such as a framerail, and use a large piece of wood to distribute the load. I wish I could be of more help. Good luck.
Tire And Steering ProblemI have a '97 Trans Am with 91,000 miles. The problem is that when I have the tires set at factory pressure, any grooves in the road or bumps from trucks will throw the steering. My wife has even had the wheel jerked out of her hands. I have had one person tell me that there is something wrong in the front end, but my mechanic can't find anything. The tires are what are listed on the door: 245/50ZR16 mounted on 8-inch rims. The front end was aligned seven months ago. It is slowly getting to the point that you can't drive it without having to fight with the steering. Do you have any ideas how to make my T/A fun to drive again?Wayne NicholsSpringfield, Oregon
Ray T. Bohacz Responds:My response is going to be based on my assumption that you have owned the vehicle for some time and the irregular tracking was not an issue until recently.
Any vehicle with very wide low-profile tires will have a tendency to follow any grooves or ruts in the road more than a car with narrow tires. This is the price one pays for better performance at speed. So by design, a Trans Am will not track as well on a bad road as a Sunfire would with 70-series tires.
With this established, and assuming that your alignment shop is proficient, the only reason for your Pontiac's actions would be a tire that has a shifted internal ply or is simply too old and the rubber has become very hard. You make no mention of the age, mileage, or brand of tire on your car, so they are probably a few years old and have some mileage on them.
From the information provided, it is my opinion that the tires are the issue. When you buy new tires, check the date code to make sure the rubber is fresh. It will be stamped in the sidewall usually near the DOT identification number. It will be four digits that represent the week and year. Thus, 5106 would mean the tire was made during the 51st week of 2006.
Since certain tire sizes do not sell that well, it is very common for someone to buy an "old" new tire. I personally do not like to buy a tire that is more than eight months old if I can. I have seen some imported performance tires that were four years old when they were sold. By this time, the rubber has aged and the tire, though brand new, will notpossess the same longevity with regard to functionality and safety as a newer one.