2001 LS 25K Geezer Miles

[Cougo]

Hi. New here. Last Oct.(2010) I bought a white with dark charcoal interior GM LS with 25,200 miles on it from the estate of an elderly gent who passed away. I looked real hard inside and could not find any evidence that it had ever been used, I mean there was not so much as a scuff on anything. It's got the "Caif./Hawaii" LS pkg. which I think means that a few little options are standard.
Its a great car EXCEPT that I hate driving it because of the constant corrections necessary to keep it going straight. Nothing loose,not the alignment,baffled and very disappointed.
Paid $5,500 which seemed like a good deal for a car that seemed virtually brand new in every way.- Cougo-

[watchdog]

Very nice Merc. As for the small corrections, when I got my first whale the steering was tighter then any of the boxes or areos I have had in the past and I had to just get used to it.

Two things I would check though, make sure your tires are inflated properly. A low tire, even just slightly low can cause it to pull to one side or the other. Also check to see that you don't have caliper dragging. Otherwise drive it and have fun.

[Cougo]

Very nice Merc. As for the small corrections, when I got my first whale the steering was tighter then any of the boxes or areos I have had in the past and I had to just get used to it.

Two things I would check though, make sure your tires are inflated properly. A low tire, even just slightly low can cause it to pull to one side or the other. Also check to see that you don't have caliper dragging. Otherwise drive it and have fun.

OK,Thanks. It doesn't pull to either side it just seems to need a correction every couple of seconds. I did notice that if I run 40psi in the tires it is better (but the ride suffers) so I do. I was hoping that I would get used to it but 10 months and I still hate driving it. You can't relax for a second really,too much effort.-Cougo-

[sly]

sounds like the alignment may be out just a bit, but not enough to really "be out of alignment". My 88 is "within spec" but will still pull to the right without any encouragement. It's quite annoying. I'm going to have to take it back and get them to fix it right.

[Cougo]

Well, I did take it into an alignment shop for a computerized 4-wheel alignment and they test drove it,checked all of the suspension parts for wear/damage and then aligned it. Some of the settings were off a bit but it didn't help.
When I bought this car it had the original 10 year old tires with most of their tread but I went out and replaced them the first day with OEM Michelin Symmetry. It might be that these tires just don't have the sidewall stiffness necessary. I don't know. I AM getting used to the problem somewhat, sort of like getting used to a bum knee. Walks just aren't that much "fun" anymore. I have a pickup that is 42 years old with 200K miles and the original untouched steering system and it does not have this problem. I sure wish I knew what to do with this thing. This is my 1st decent car I've ever had too.(story of my life)-Cougo-

Edit: I have the factory CDs for this year and it suggests that excessive total toe will cause "wander" so maybe I will experiment with the toe settings on my own.

[SVT98t]

Welcome to the Party!!

-ryan s.

[Cougo]

Here's what I have:

[79lincolnlover]

Welcome to GMN.