Steering pulls left and right

[Das Delfin]

Heyo, this weekend I installed new tie rod assemblies and H&R springs. Along with new spring pads and lemfeorkjqder upper bearings. Everything's great, except now when I turn either direction, the car pulls harder the more I turn it. As in it's fine going straight, but if I let go of the wheel the car may veer off a bit, but instead of going off slowly at a constant rate, the rack speeds up and turns very sharply.

Another way of putting it is my power steering pump is going out and only works at low pressure, which is kinda nice because it's halfway in between power steering and no power steering, but once I turn the wheel in either direction past about 45 degrees, the front wheels turn as if it had fully functioning power steering. As in really fast. Like they want to turn the more you turn them. The fluid level is full.

I've looked it up a bit and most people say they have this problem after lowering their car. But sometimes it shows up at random. So what can you do to fix it? Besides learn to deal with it. Is it because of my power steering? This seems like kind of a safety thing so I would like it to feel normal again. Is there anything I should double check? I used my old tie rods to get an approximate alignment. Any way I can DIY a proper alignment without paying for one? I need to get new tires but I want to get new wheels first and would like to save money by getting an alignment with the tires but I'm not sure when the wheels are going to happen, so if there's something cheap and good enough for now, that'd be the best. Thanks!

Car is a 6/1987 325ic

[ELVA164]

Sounds like toe out, assuming nothing other than the tie rods were touched. Lowering would change the toe a little compared to where it was, aside from the high possibility your new tie rods are different lengths than the old ones. You should get a proper alignment. You can do it yourself (string method, for example) but I think it's worth it to know it's 100%.

[agent]

An alignment should have been part of your budget when you replaced the suspension components. Go get one.

[AndrewBird]

Definitely sounds like a toe issue. Toe-out will cause the car to feel unstable and dart from side to side like you describe.

[Das Delfin]

^ Nice that's good to know. I will be learning the string method and if that doesn't change anything I'll pony up for the proper alignment. They go for 100+ out here which is outrageous for only adjusting two bolts. Like I said I'm trying to to some detective work so throwing money at it isn't always the best idea. So I'll start with the diy. Thanks

edit: Forgot to mention, the tie rods I bought (from bavauto) are the worst. They rub against the inside of my 14"ers at more than one turn. I was hoping to get larger wheels but not this early...

Firestone has a lifetime alignment for 180, which sounds like a good idea (ugh) seeing as how I may swap out the tie rods for something better from pelican

[ELVA164]

Which brand tie rods?

[Das Delfin]

I think they are JL Germany (yeah, I know...) I bought them like six months ago. They're not even on the website anymore. I was thinking of reusing the old tie rod ends because the ball joints are still good... at least until I can throw on some new wheels

[ELVA164]

Like I said, the old tie rods are probably stretched and/or squished from many years of jolts. It'd be best to get a new pair of TRW(which I used) or Lemforder tie rod ends and install those. Do it once, do it right etc. etc. As a bonus, you won't need new wheels. If you still do need new wheels after installing them, something else is wrong.

[Das Delfin]

Just wanted to let everyone know that an alignment fixed my problem. Turns out the front wheels were way, WAY out of alignment. And I was able to turn the tie rods up and out of the way of the inner lip of the wheel. So maybe the old ones were like this and I never noticed? Either way it's working now and I'm happy. Thanks guys!