Help Me Fix My Pulling 80

[jmvar]

My 80 pulls right and has done so for quiet a while. I have read tons of threads and I think I have tried everything that has been discussed.

I will list what I have done and hopefully some new ideas will come about.

- Rotated tires - no change
- inspected and repacked wheel bearings - no change
- adjusted e-brake - no change
- installed 4 remanufactured calipers and soft lines from C-dan - much better braking, still pulling
- checked front end using Landtank guidelines - no issues found
- adjusted e-brake again - no change
- put straight edge to tie and relay rods - look straight
- checked alignment - all within spec, caster at 2.6 deg both sides

Little more info; truck pulled prior to lift with old tires, and pulls with lift and toyos, castor is corrected via blue FOR bushings installed using landtank templates.

If I put the steering wheel straight the truck will change lanes in about 2 seconds going about 40 mph. If I make the truck go straight and let go of the steering wheel it will pull right. It will do this in any lane so I don't think it is the crown in the road.

I have tried many things so I am sure I missed something. If you guys can think of something else I could try please post.

TIA.

 

[Ebag333]

If I put the steering wheel straight the truck will change lanes in about 2 seconds going about 40 mph.

Check the sector shaft yet?

 

[jmvar]

Check the sector shaft yet?

I will take a look now. Do I have to pull the pitman arm off?

 

[Ebag333]

I will take a look now. Do I have to pull the pitman arm off?

You should have part of the thread exposed. That's the part that twists. It's tough to see, on mine there was hardly any thread visible, but you could see it was twisted.

 

[-Spike-]

Did the alignment measure camber? Did you check the trunnion bearings? Do you have play in the wheel at 6 and 12 o'clock?

I doubt a pull would come form any of the tie rods, sector shaft, pitman arm, relay rods, etc. unless something is binding. That stuff would cause misalignment of the steering wheel or loose steering, not pulling.

 

[NexusD]

My 80 pulls right and has done so for quiet a while. I have read tons of threads and I think I have tried everything that has been discussed.

I will list what I have done and hopefully some new ideas will come about.

- Rotated tires - no change
- inspected and repacked wheel bearings - no change
- adjusted e-brake - no change
- installed 4 remanufactured calipers and soft lines from C-dan - much better braking, still pulling
- checked front end using Landtank guidelines - no issues found
- adjusted e-brake again - no change
- put straight edge to tie and relay rods - look straight
- checked alignment - all within spec, caster at 2.6 deg both sides

Little more info; truck pulled prior to lift with old tires, and pulls with lift and toyos, castor is corrected via blue FOR bushings installed using landtank templates.

If I put the steering wheel straight the truck will change lanes in about 2 seconds going about 40 mph. If I make the truck go straight and let go of the steering wheel it will pull right. It will do this in any lane so I don't think it is the crown in the road.

I have tried many things so I am sure I missed something. If you guys can think of something else I could try please post.

TIA.

I have a 97 Lx450 with a 2.5 left with 33inch tires and ran the same testing that you did. I still pull to the right, I had the alignment checked out after a wheeling trip and rotated the tries. the shop that did the alignment stated that the issue may be the steering box? I know I read of others rebuilding the steering box after long use of running larger tires, but i myself am lazy and don't want to break open the steering box to track down a ghost. Plus I hear its pricy to have the steering box worked on.

so i just deal with it pulling to the right.

 

[tblume]

rear axle locating arm bent? WAG there but if it is not parallel to the front axle it would dogleg and maybe cause this? did you have a four wheel alignment done?

 

[anderaa13]

How do you rotate your tires? You might want to try swapping sides on the front tires. I've had this fix a pull on mine.

 

[jmvar]

Little more info:

Complete front axle rebuild did not fix the pull. All parts were Toyota from C-Dan.

Here are all of the alignment numbers:

Left front:
Camber .5 deg
Caster 2.9 deg
toe .04 deg

Right front:
Camber -0.1 deg
Caster 2.7 deg
Toe .04 deg

Front Total toe .08 deg
Front Steer ahead 0.00 deg

Left rear:
camber -.1 deg
toe .15 deg

Right rear:
Camber -.2 deg
Toe 0.00 deg

Rear total toe rear: .15 deg
Rear Thrust angle: .07 deg

The tech stated that the right front camber was out of spec but not enough to cause a pull. I don't have too much faith in them though, they didn't seem too knowledgeable about solid axle trucks.

The splines on my sector shaft look good to my untrained eye.

The only thing I can really think of is a bent spindle on the right side causing the out of spec camber on the right front wheel. It is .4 deg out of spec because the spec calls for .3 deg to 1.8 deg. With such a large window for the spec I doubt my .4 deg difference would cause this. Am I out of line in my assumption?

 

[jmvar]

How do you rotate your tires? You might want to try swapping sides on the front tires. I've had this fix a pull on mine.

I believe I did what the FSM shows which calls for rear tires going to the front or some variation.

The truck is up on jack stands now because I was checking for play at 12 and 6 o'clock and found none.

I will try switching the front wheels side to side.

PS, first thing I checked was tire pressure.

 

[azTony]

I am interested in finding out the cause as I have a similar issue with mine after ALL parts were replaced. It wonders on the road and does not have the feel it used to.

 

[-Spike-]

The tech stated that the right front camber was out of spec but not enough to cause a pull. I don't have too much faith in them though, they didn't seem too knowledgeable about solid axle trucks.

The splines on my sector shaft look good to my untrained eye.

The only thing I can really think of is a bent spindle on the right side causing the out of spec camber on the right front wheel. It is .4 deg out of spec because the spec calls for .3 deg to 1.8 deg. With such a large window for the spec I doubt my .4 deg difference would cause this. Am I out of line in my assumption?

The combination of the two camber specs might be the culprit. You might have a bent axle housing. I'd guess that would bend before the spindle. You might check the steering dampner too- maybe remove it and see how it drives.

I am by no means an alignment specialist, so don't freak on my 'bent axle housing' guess.

 

[jmvar]

The combination of the two camber specs might be the culprit. You might have a bent axle housing. I'd guess that would bend before the spindle. You might check the steering dampner too- maybe remove it and see how it drives.

I am by no means an alignment specialist, so don't freak on my 'bent axle housing' guess.

Steering dampener is relatively new and the truck pulled before it was put on.

I had a thought about it being a bent axle housing or bent spindle but I don't ever remember the truck taking a hit big enough to do this type of damage.

Especially because the pull appeared when the truck had s***ty street tires on it. Any hit that would bend an axle would blow out a thin street tire wouldn't it?

 

[Ebag333]

Steering dampener is relatively new and the truck pulled before it was put on.

I had a thought about it being a bent axle housing or bent spindle but I don't ever remember the truck taking a hit big enough to do this type of damage.

Especially because the pull appeared when the truck had s***ty street tires on it. Any hit that would bend an axle would blow out a thin street tire wouldn't it?

Nicolas (the guy taking his 80 around the world) bent his axle housing by driving in a ditch at around 20-30ish MPH and hitting an object (rock or log, I forget). Also bent his control arm. No damage to tires.

It takes surprisingly little force to bend an axle housing if the conditions are right (wrong).

 

[jmvar]

Nicolas (the guy taking his 80 around the world) bent his axle housing by driving in a ditch at around 20-30ish MPH and hitting an object (rock or log, I forget). Also bent his control arm. No damage to tires.

It takes surprisingly little force to bend an axle housing if the conditions are right (wrong).

How can I confirm/rule out a bent axle housing?

 

[landtank]

you said that when you put the steering wheel at 12:00 o'clock it changes lanes. That doesn't mean there is a pull. Usually a pull is when the truck changes lanes on it's own with your hands off the wheel. What you stated could be a miss aligned steering wheel.

I had a truck brought to me with a pull after two alignment shops looked at it. It was from a bad TRE. They adjust the toe, however the joint would shift under load and subsequently cause a pull. Once the TRE was replaced and toe set everything was OK.

 

[Ebag333]

How can I confirm/rule out a bent axle housing?

I've heard that the big rig truck places can check it out, and possibly even bend it back if it is bent.

Otherwise I'd just get a long straight edge.

you said that when you put the steering wheel at 12:00 o'clock it changes lanes. That doesn't mean there is a pull. Usually a pull is when the truck changes lanes on it's own with your hands off the wheel. What you stated could be a miss aligned steering wheel.

I think there's two separate problems here. One is that the steering wheel is off. The other is that there is a pull.

They may be related, but may not be as well.

 

[mikeprince]

First off, let's get a clear diagnosis. Driving in a straight line on a flat road (ignoring where the steering wheel position is, it may be off and that's ok) remove your hands from the wheel and see if the truck continues in a straight line. Do it on several roads/areas just to make sure you get consistent results.

If after removing your hand the trucks pulls to one side, then there is a problem. If it was simply that your steering wheel is not lined up at 12 o'clock then that is a different problem, and easy to fix.

Assuming your truck does pull, and you have done all the repairs correctly that you described, then I'd confirm the alignment specs again.

I had a friend whose truck was pulling, and after running alignment checks the shop gave us the heads up the frame was bent. Sure enough, you could actually see it, but lesser bends right require doing some measurements on the flat floor from known frame points to the ground.

If it's a bent frame, most can be pulled back into shape by a good shop. Of course I hope this is not your problem, but wanted to throw out another idea. Good luck with the fix.

 

[anderaa13]

I don't think the camber is a problem. I also don't think your axle housing is bent. If it had taken a big hit at some point wouldn't the left side be more likely to have negative camber?

I still guess tires...fsm does not recommend switching sides, but in my experience this can cause a pull over time.

 

[jmvar]

Thanks for all the replies and guidance.

I just took the truck out again and this is exactly what happens;

When I am driving down a straight road and I let go of the wheel, the truck will change lanes on its own. I did this on several roads just to try and rule out any inconsistencies on any one road. This is ignoring where the steering wheel is at.

Taking into account where the steering wheel is, when I am driving down the road in a straight line, the wheel is cocked to the left or counterclockwise to about 8 and 3 o'clock (if you imagine a horizontal line across the steering wheel). When I let go of the wheel the truck will change lanes towards the right and the steering wheel will turn on its own to 9 and 3 o'clock like it wants to return to center.

I had a truck brought to me with a pull after two alignment shops looked at it. It was from a bad TRE. They adjust the toe, however the joint would shift under load and subsequently cause a pull. Once the TRE was replaced and toe set everything was OK.

LT, when this truck was brought to you did you take it through your front end check? I ran through the check again today by jacking up each wheel independently and pulling/pushing at 3 and 9 o'clock. Everything felt pretty solid.

Where all of the rod ends replaced on both the tie and relay rod or just the tie rod?

First off, let's get a clear diagnosis. Driving in a straight line on a flat road (ignoring where the steering wheel position is, it may be off and that's ok) remove your hands from the wheel and see if the truck continues in a straight line. Do it on several roads/areas just to make sure you get consistent results.

Mike, I hope the above description of the issue makes sense. I know you said to ignore the position of the steering wheel. However I found it peculiar that the wheel wanted to return to center on its own so I figured I should share as much information with the forum as I could to try and resolve this.

There was a time a long time ago (2007) when the truck drove straight. It was completely stock and I took it on some very mild wheeling trips. I don't remember ever taking a hit at speed or forcing the steering wheel while the steering system was bound up.

The only thing I can think of is my girlfriend going through a bunch of mud pits. I asked her if she ever remembers hitting anything while driving through the pits and she gave me the answer I expected...."Huhh?" She had no idea. To her credit it was a long time and many wheeling trips ago.

Sometime in late 2007 to 2008 I remember the pull appearing. I was so busy baselining the truck that I figured it just needed an alignment so I ignored it.