Pulling problem with my FJ40 (1 Viewer)

[mrhondamech1]

Here's what I got, I bought this cruiser about 10 years ago, mods that it had at purchase were 33inch tires and a V-8, I've had several fj's with the 6cyl but not a V-8, and my problem was it pulls hard to the right, figured it was tires at first, one that had been filled up to much and it had streched, tape measured them and they were all good, the fenders were going to hit in the rear so I installed a 4 inch spring lift in it, springs were way stiffer then stock and figured it would help but it ended up the same, so I did some reading on this form and figured I need a track bar, fabed up one of those and it took care of about half of it, so then I thought my frame was bent and did alot of measuring and looked to me to be fine, took it to a alinement shop and they changed it alittle but it was only in the steering, so I figured the springs must still be flexing so I decided to put a 4 link in the rear, did that along with a soa and sr and seemed alittle better but its still there, did alot of measuring before the 4 link was added and again took to a different alinement shop after 4-link and he did a 4 wheel alinement on it and he did not change a thing, said it was perfect, this thing still pulls, does any of yours pull with V-8's? am I chasing some thing I can not fix? Any clues of what's going on? Thanks for any help

 

[White Stripe]

A slight pull to the right can be normal due to road crown. Have you checked the brakes? A sticky caliper or wheel cylinder can cause a pull. Post up your alignment specs. Also pics of the vehicle would be helpful.

 

[ErikinSC]

youve got a bunch going on there, friend. Good luck. Make sure the frame is 100% right first, then check and double check the alighnment.

 

[JohnnyC]

The motor mounts ok?

Does it have lockers?

Does it have drum brakes?

I am looking on an iPod so I don't see what year your cruiser is?

Check to see if any of the rims on the right are hotter than the left

 

[shawnfj40]

Your 40 should not pull v-8 or 4 cyl it should not pull. Caster and camber and tires are the biggest causes for a pull. If your alignment is on then have you eliminated the tires? What I have had to do is drive until the pull is present and then pull on a lift and spin each tire to see if I have a dragging brake. calipers, especially 4 piston calipers stick pretty often. If you find a wheel dragging then open the bleeder on that wheel. If the wheel spins freely after opening the bleeder then the caliper is alright and you need to check hoses etc... to find the faulty brake component. I have had a misadjusted booster rod wreck havoc.

 

[shelfboy1]

broken motor mount will cause a lot of pull and a broken spring leaf spring, also loose u bolts ,shackle bushings and probably a few other things

 

[POTATO LAUNCHER]

Motor makes no difference on rollout. Do one thing at a time so you don't over complicate the issue. Start simple, swap both tires left to right and drive it on the road you have issues with. Check your toe in, 1/8 is acceptable, how's caster, center link?

 

[mrhondamech1]

I have left out a few items, when I got it, it had 33's on it with allu rims, and this problem has been there since I got it, but now I have different rims and tires, when I did my soa I cut and turned axle and ended up with 2 degree caster which I know I wanted more like 6, guess my cheep gauge was off, so I know steering is a little funny on the road, don't really drive it a lot on road, this fj pulls even pulls on dirt, I also have put on disc brakes on rear with all new parts but that was several years ago, but again this was doing it before I did anything, I did not check front brakes though and that will be where I am going next, if there are sticky it can't be much cause I had all that off when I did soa and I put six shooter on with high steer, and always spin wheels when reinstall, I have 37" tires on it also and it is a 76, I have not checked motor mounts either, If the rubber was soft on the motor mounts would that be enough, I will look into that also, Thanks everyone for the tips

 

[POTATO LAUNCHER]

The motor mount would only cause issues under a load, ie hard acceleration or engine braking. How wide are your wheels? I have experienced wide wheels with a similar issue. Caster might well be the issue though.

 

[roma042987]

Shocked no one has mentioned this but your steering box can cause a pull or even steering dampner hell that'd be the first thing I'd look at. What kind of powee steering do you have?

 

[mrhondamech1]

Now that I think about it, it does go the other way on decell , wheels are 14" wide, remember this truck was stock other then motor and 33" tires and rims and it pulled then and I am sure castor was on from factory, if problem is motor mounts how does that make it pull? I really don"t think there broke cause you would think I would hear motor banging around but the rubber could be spongy and motor could be moving around a bit. You also mention center link, what is that?

 

[POTATO LAUNCHER]

I reread your first post and didn't see a mention of steering box. Stock or aftermarket powersteering? The center arm is on the frame at front left. The lateral pivot point from front back to left and right side. If this is loose it can cause pulling on a crowned road. 14"wide wheels are pretty wide on a 40, makes it almost square. Do you have access to a different set of tires with narrower wheels? You could eliminate the tire issue all tohether. Thats quite a bit of offset hanging out past the hubs.

 

[White Stripe]

Need alignment specs from the alignment you had done.

 

[mrhondamech1]

I have Saginaw P/S with hydro assist, I now have lockers front and rear, the last tires I had on were 33's and they were 10" wide, I'll dig up my alignment specks, haven't looked at the motor mounts yet as its pretty cold where I am here in Wi and no heat in garage but I really think you hit something with the mounts, if it gets above 10 degrees I'll check them out and let you know, If there not broke which I don't think they are, I am just going to change them