95 FZJ Pulling to the right (1 Viewer)

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ranma21

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Hi guys, my 95 80 is pulling to the right when cruising. It gets really bad especially when I brake. It feels like one of the caliper is not working properly or something. I had it aligned when I put a set of new tires on and it still pull, for some reason after I have installed the caster correction bushing it make it worse but the wandering problem is much better. Could this be the brake caliper problem? I kinda confuse because it pull when I am not braking too. I am thinking about alignment problem, may be the store didn't do a good job on it because after aligned my truck and drive for 2k miles, my new tires on the right started to cup and wear unevenly. Could this be the wheel or trunion bearing problem? Currently I have about 130k miles on it, going to do a birfield repack in 2 days. Please help :confused:
 
Cupping already on 2k worth of driving?? You've got a huge issue. To me, it sounds like you've got some loose parts - wheel bearing, trunion bearing, or the 4 bolts on the bottom of the knuckle are about to fall off. I'd think if things are that bad the alignment shop should pay for your tires as it's ridiculous to align a vehicle that's so badly loose without tell you. Can you shake the truck's right front tire back and forth?? If you don't know how to do that properly take it to someone who can. Sounds like it might be dangerous. If you're doing a repack, you'd better have new wheel bearings and trunion bearings on hand.

DougM
 
Thanks for your reply DoughM. I did try to jack up the truck and shake the tire back and forth and up and down, it is tight no play at all. I did inspect all the tie rod end and it is in good condition too. That leave me thinking that my alignment is off. That is what puzzle me, I will send the truck to another Firestone to do the alignment again and see if that is the problem. But alignment should not causes a hard pull when you brake right?!! :confused:
 
That's a tough one. Thing is, is that the only alignment you can do on these trucks is the toe. Caster, camber are all fixed. You can change the caster (which will affect the camber slightly) with the OME cc bushings or slee's plates.

Usually a pull like that is caused by tire pull, but you stated you have AT tires, so that makes it kinda strange. Try swapping the front tires side to side and see if the pull changes or is eliminated then post back.
 
I am having the same problem with my 97. I put in some OME 3" coils and Slee caster correction plates. I readjusted the drag link as well, however, my truck still pulls to the left although the steering wheel is straight again. The PS tire had a little wear on the outside, so I suspect I may be in for some bearing replacements. I just switch the tires this weekend, but it seemed to have a pretty negligible effect. I'm gonna see if this tire wears. At least this is an excuse for new (bigger) tires.
 
I'm opposite, pulling to the left slightly. Seems worse under acceleration, which has me confused... I accelerate, it pulls left, let off the gas and it seems like it settles back straight. Weird. My first guess was to check the toe-in, but havent gotten to that yet. It has an OME lift and caster bushing correction. Any ideas?
 
My truck pulled to the right on braking so I rebuilt the calipers, did a birf job, and replaced wheel and trunion bearings all in one shot. The calipers were most likely not the problem as the pistons were in good shape. Do the birf repack and repack/replace the wheel and trunion bearings and see where you're at before you worry about the calipers. It's as easy to do them independently of a birf job and you may find you don't need to.
 
concretejungle said:
That's a tough one. Thing is, is that the only alignment you can do on these trucks is the toe. Caster, camber are all fixed. You can change the caster (which will affect the camber slightly) with the OME cc bushings or slee's plates.

Usually a pull like that is caused by tire pull, but you stated you have AT tires, so that makes it kinda strange. Try swapping the front tires side to side and see if the pull changes or is eliminated then post back.

Hmm, I will try and swap the tire from side to side and see if that is the problem. But the thing is I have that problem before I put on the new tire. That was why I have my truck aligned at the same time I put on those new tire. That kinda tell me tire shouldn't be the problem. Will try it anyway and see what happen. :confused: Will let you guys know how it go, just gotta be patient huh :frown:
 
Could brake drag (if the piston is not fully returning) cause pull? I have right hand pull when braking but fairly straight when driving. Rear rotors look OK. Outside of the front look ok. I need to check the inner rotor surface more closely. All pads still had meat on them and are evenly worn.

What is the best way to check that calipers are working properly (fully returning)? Jack her up all four sides and watch while someone pumps the pedal? When I pull them to do the Birf's I will see if there movement is smooth.
 
If a caliper is dragging, most of the time there will be noticeable uneven pad wear. Grease and/or oil on the pad/rotor will cause brakes applied pulling.

The straight axle setup while very durable is a stoneage simple design. Most of our roads are crowned for water runoff, so most driving is done at a slight angle, the suspension will try to climb or fall off the hill. More complex suspension designs like IFS allow slightly different settings on each side to mask this, we don't have this option, so some slight pulling is expected. If the axle and suspension is in good condition the truck will be safely drivable, but no matter how much money you spend on it, it's never going to be a sportscar! :D
 
Tools R Us said:
If a caliper is dragging, most of the time there will be noticeable uneven pad wear. Grease and/or oil on the pad/rotor will cause brakes applied pulling.

The straight axle setup while very durable is a stoneage simple design. Most of our roads are crowned for water runoff, so most driving is done at a slight angle, the suspension will try to climb or fall off the hill. More complex suspension designs like IFS allow slightly different settings on each side to mask this, we don't have this option, so some slight pulling is expected. If the axle and suspension is in good condition the truck will be safely drivable, but no matter how much money you spend on it, it's never going to be a sportscar! :D

Thanks Tools for this repy. I suspected this was the cause for some of my drift, but it is good to hear someone else say it out loud. Down here in Tucson, the idea for storm water drainage is to get to the street, very few storm drains. Our streets like those of you guys a bit north, are sometime more like channels than streets. Thanks
:cheers:

Ross
 
Tools R Us said:
If a caliper is dragging, most of the time there will be noticeable uneven pad wear. Grease and/or oil on the pad/rotor will cause brakes applied pulling.

The straight axle setup while very durable is a stoneage simple design. Most of our roads are crowned for water runoff, so most driving is done at a slight angle, the suspension will try to climb or fall off the hill. More complex suspension designs like IFS allow slightly different settings on each side to mask this, we don't have this option, so some slight pulling is expected. If the axle and suspension is in good condition the truck will be safely drivable, but no matter how much money you spend on it, it's never going to be a sportscar! :D

I do realize and agree on this but the slight angle design on the road should not cause my truck to pull "HARD" instead of pull slightly though. It will pull to the right right away once I release my steering wheel, I have to correct it right away or else I will be off the road in seconds...... hopefully I can figure this out by thursday after I do the birsfield.
 
I'll disagree with Kevin's characterization of solid front axles wandering more than IFS. Solid front axles never change their angles relative to each other even when the suspension moves such as on a crowned road. Typical truck IFS front tires DO change their angles under the same conditions.

For instance, note that when you lift the front of an IFS truck off the ground the bottoms of the tires are closer together than the tops, and the reverse is also true. Lift a solid axle rig and the tires stay parallel.

So, don't accept a pull or wander simply because you have a solid axle. You have a problem and I think it would be unwise to decide "Oh well, it's because it's a solid axle." This is untrue.

DougM
 
Last edited:
ranma21 said:
I do realize and agree on this but the slight angle design on the road should not cause my truck to pull "HARD" instead of pull slightly though. It will pull to the right right away once I release my steering wheel, I have to correct it right away or else I will be off the road in seconds...... hopefully I can figure this out by thursday after I do the birsfield.

Agreed, if you have a hard pull something is wrong.
 
IdahoDoug said:
I'll disagree with Kevin's characterization of solid front axles wandering more than IFS. Solid front axles never change their angles relative to each other even when the suspension moves such as on a crowned road. Typical truck IFS front tires DO change their angles under the same conditions.

For instance, note that when you lift the front of an IFS truck off the ground the bottoms of the tires are closer together than the tops, and the reverse is also true. Lift a solid axle rig and the tires stay parallel.

So, don't accept a pull or wander simply because you have a solid axle. You have a problem and I think it would be unwise to decide "Oh well, it's because it's a solid axle." This is untrue.

DougM

Sorry Doug, it's a fact that independent suspension vehicles handle and ride better than solid axle ones. Features like unequal length arms allow the engineers to take advantage of changing suspension geometry to tailor it to changing road conditions. How many high speed race cars that aren't constrained by rules use straight axle? Independent suspensions are much more involved and expensive to install and maintain, but the payoff is they are more tunable. If straight axle suspensions handled better all indy, rally, offroad, sportscar, etc., race teams would just install a straight axle and a pair of leaf springs and call it good.

That said, an 80 series should not have a constant pull, shimmy or try to jerk the steering wheel out of your hands, those are problems that need to be addressed, but it will "misbehave" more than your average Camry. :D
 

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