Steering issues after lower control arm replacement

[speedyspaghetti]

Hey everyone -

So I recently installed new Meyle control arms on the front of my 02S. I accidentally snapped the ball joint bolt on one of them and had to press it out... not fun. Anyway - I eventually got a new one on there and all bolted up. I replaced them to solve an annoying vibration issue, which is now gone! However, now the car pulls to the left at highway speeds and when I hit any sort of rough patch in a road, the steering wheel veers off in either direction.

Is this:
A - An alignment issue? I just did the fronts because I was under the impression that it would not require an alignment.
B - Something I messed up when I took the wheel carrier/knuckle off to press out the broken bolt?
C- Something else all together?

Car has 86k on the clock - new struts, tie rods (in/out), track arms, sway bar bushing, sway drop links, strut mounts all installed in past 500 miles.

[JamesD]

Have you had the front tracking/ alignment done? If not then it will be required. Some Meyle arms were found to be 6mm shorter than oem which makes this even more necessary. Did you tighten up the bolts that secure the bushings to the car/trailing arm once it was beck on thr ground and settled?

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by JamesD

Some Meyle arms were found to be 6mm shorter than oem which makes this even more necessary.

If this is the case with yours, then that would leave you with some serious toe out, and if it happened to be on just one side, even worse probably.

[speedyspaghetti]

Originally Posted by steved0x

If this is the case with yours, then that would leave you with some serious toe out, and if it happened to be on just one side, even worse probably.

Yeah that sounds about right - well off to the alignment shop then! Would it be worth it to do the rear LCAs as well since I'll need an alignment?

[speedyspaghetti]

Originally Posted by JamesD

Have you had the front tracking/ alignment done? If not then it will be required. Some Meyle arms were found to be 6mm shorter than oem which makes this even more necessary. Did you tighten up the bolts that secure the bushings to the car/trailing arm once it was beck on thr ground and settled?

I jacked up the wheel carrier and then tightened it - I couldn't figure out a good way to get a wrench in there with the car on the ground. Any suggestions? No, I have not had the alignment done.

[thstone]

Step 1 is to have the car professionally aligned.

Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, the alignment gets tweaked when changing out suspension components. The shop that does the alignment can also do a quick check to make sure that everything else is back together the way its supposed to be.

[speedyspaghetti]

Originally Posted by thstone

Step 1 is to have the car professionally aligned.

Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, the alignment gets tweaked when changing out suspension components. The shop that does the alignment can also do a quick check to make sure that everything else is back together the way its supposed to be.

Yeah and if the Meyle arms are indeed a bit shorter, this would all make sense. I'll probably do the rear LCAs since I'll need an alignment. Also, if the Meyle and Porsche parts are different then it's probably best to have them both Meyle.

[steved0x]

I've got 3 Meyle arms bought at different times and two oem Porsche arms, I'll check them.

Edit: I checked, all the same length.