08 GX pulls Left. Need Help!

[Mute916]

Hi All,

Here is what's going on. When I bought my 08, it drove nice in factory config. The lift came and I had a mechanic install it along with new 285/70R17 Kenda Klever Tires.

This is the day it all started. Here us the lift specs.

Dobinsons IMS 3" hard front
Dobinsons IMS 2" medium rear
SPC UCA's

When accelerating, it pulls left. When braking, it pulls left. I've tried almost everything to correct this. Here is what I've done so far to try and fix this.

No accidents on record
Replace both front complete lower control arms
Replaced both rear lower and upper control arms
Replaced both F/R swaybar bushings
Replaced Panhard bar
Welded in an Eimkieth PCK
Front swaybar drop/relocation bracket

I think I'm down to 2 options but need your advice. Here's what I'm thinking.

1. Tire rotation to see if I got a bad tire. It should pull right if I rotate and it's bad right?

2. New inner/outer tie rods. It's the only thing left I can think of.

What am I missing?

 

[Mute916]

Oh, yes, I have had 3 alignments since the lift in feburary trying to solve it. It's only under accelerating and brake.

 

[Toyoland66]

What are your SPC UCAs set to and what are you alignment numbers? The UCAs are definitely a variable since they are adjustable.

Have you ruled out a sticking brake caliper piston?

Another possibility, although remote, is a bent spindle/ knuckle.

 

[Mute916]

What are your SPC UCAs set to and what are you alignment numbers? The UCAs are definitely a variable since they are adjustable.

Have you ruled out a sticking brake caliper piston?

Another possibility, although remote, is a bent spindle/ knuckle.

Oh interesting. I'll look into the spindle thing. I believe the SPCs are set at E to move them forward just a bit to accommodate 35s. But not on 35s right now.

I don't have the alignment sheet in front of me but he said he got them near spot on to factory. It tracks straight when cruising though.

Is there any way to tell if your caliper is sticking without pulling the wheel/pads? They don't get hot when driving or put off the burning smell.

 

[Toyoland66]

Uneven brake pad wear. Sticking pistons are a relatively common issue on this gen 4runner and GX.

I had a bent spindle on my driver side from a minor fender bender (before we got the car) that I didn’t even know about until an alignment tech pointed it out. It was apparent by putting a hand between the back side of the tire and stock UCA, you could feel the difference in gap between the passenger and driver side. Your adjustable UCAs could make this harder to detect.

 

[Rednexus]

This could easily be a tire issue. My Mazda (which has 60K on the tires) started pulling left when I did a tire rotation, I got it aligned and the tech had the alignment perfect but it still pulled due to the tire. An easy diagnosis would be to swap the front tires L to R and see if it either stops pulling or if it pulls to the other direction.

Regarding the calipers, you could also swap them left to right and see what happens to the pull. This is not a hard job but would require bleeding the brakes....at which point it might be easier just to install new or reman calipers to avoid having to bleed the brakes twice if it ends up being a caliper.

 

[Toyoland66]

This could easily be a tire issue. My Mazda (which has 60K on the tires) started pulling left when I did a tire rotation, I got it aligned and the tech had the alignment perfect but it still pulled due to the tire. An easy diagnosis would be to swap the front tires L to R and see if it either stops pulling or if it pulls to the other direction.

Regarding the calipers, you could also swap them left to right and see what happens to the pull. This is not a hard job but would require bleeding the brakes....at which point it might be easier just to install new or reman calipers to avoid having to bleed the brakes twice if it ends up being a caliper.

Can’t swap calipers left to right, hard lines won’t bolt up and bleeders would point down - wouldn’t be able to bleed the air out.

 

[Rednexus]

Can’t swap calipers left to right, hard lines won’t bolt up and bleeders would point down - wouldn’t be able to bleed the air out.

My bad, I checked online and didn't note two part numbers for the L and R calipers.

 

[imDougie]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but did you ever figure out the pulling issue?