Help. Jst got alignment, still pulls left. Suggestions?

[CaliDreamin]

Title states it all. New alignment but still a slight pull to the left. Shop said its not enough to cause uneven wear but would like to have the old' girl shooting straight. Any help much appreciated. 93' cruiser 3x locked if that info is needed. All stock exept 285's put on new. Thanks!

 

[bmwjnky]

First double check all your tire pressures with cold tires and make sure they are even left to right. This should be step one at the alignment shop but I've seen lazy techs not do this before they do the alignment. Then try swapping the front tires left to right. If it goes straight or pulls to the right after that its a tire issue, if it still goes left I'd suspect either a worn suspension component allowing the suspension to move while the vehicle is driven or the alignment is off. Uneven caster left to right by more than about a 1/2 degree can also cause a pull while going down the road but won't wear tires. Can you scan and post the alignment sheet they should of given you after the alignment was completed?

 

[landroamer]

I agree, check tires, cross rotate front to rear though, I have seen rear tires cause a vehicle pull, feeling like a front end pull, put the left rear on the right front and vice versa, if this changes the pull, its in your tires, sadly half of the tire shops out there are lazy sometimes.

 

[CaliDreamin]

Thanks for the replies. All of the tires pressure has been checked and rotated already and also brake drag which is what leads me to think its a worn component issue. The truck has 235k so this wouldn't surprise me. Are there any areas that I should focus on checking out to troubleshoot. Dnt have too much experience with the steering/suspention components. Thanks guys!

 

[landtoy80]

I had a new tire that made the vehicle pull to one side. After swapping sides it pulled to the other side. Had to warranty out the tire.

 

[sdbrassfield]

Not sure you are trying to say it is happening on braking. If this pulling left on braking, you likely have a stuck caliper on left front...

 

[Bjohnston115]

Bent frame?

 

[CaliDreamin]

Not pulling on braking, just regular driving. Are there any bushings or rod ends or anything that might be worn and sloppy and making it pull. Anything at all anyone can think of besides the tires and brakes which I've checked already?

 

[jonheld]

Is this a true pull to one side or is the steering wheel just off center?
In other words, if you let go of the wheel, does she try to turn on her own and you need steering input to keep her straight?
Of does she track straight without steering input and the steering wheel is off to one side?

 

[CaliDreamin]

True pulling. Driving straight down flat road, constant speed, let go of steering wheel and pulls. Is this totally out of the norm? Took it to the shop for alignment and all checked out within specs they said. Just checked tire pressure again today and don't have any uneven wear. Should I try another shop or can I check myself? Just don't know what to check next. Is there a specific way to check the brake drag?

 

[landtank]

the likely suspects I look at for a pull are, tire, tie rod end, stuck caliper and wheel bearings.

 

[landtank]

if the caliper is releasing properly you should be able to slide it off the rotor by hand after removing the mounting bolts. In the past I've had to drive them off with a hammer, that's not good.

I've also found a bad Tie rod end after multiple shops had aligned the truck. They just don't always take the time to check the joints and that loose joint will move around while driving especially towards the right with the crown of the road.

 

[CaliDreamin]

Perfect. Thanks for the direction landtank. I will check out these possible culprits and hopefully find the problem. Thanks again everyone for their input. Really appreciate it all!

 

[Bud_Dude]

First double check all your tire pressures with cold tires and make sure they are even left to right. This should be step one at the alignment shop but I've seen lazy techs not do this before they do the alignment. Then try swapping the front tires left to right. If it goes straight or pulls to the right after that its a tire issue, if it still goes left I'd suspect either a worn suspension component allowing the suspension to move while the vehicle is driven or the alignment is off. Uneven caster left to right by more than about a 1/2 degree can also cause a pull while going down the road but won't wear tires. Can you scan and post the alignment sheet they should of given you after the alignment was completed?

Bingo! Thanks for the tip! Just put new 295/75 tires and wheels on that I found online here and noted my cruiser pulling to the left. I thought about checking the pressure before test driving, but didn't for some reason. The front right tire ended up having 40 psi in it (probably was the previous spare), and all the other tires had 28 psi. I adjusted all to 32 psi and voila... it tracks straight again. It never hurts to remind us all of the basics!