[Mag]

I watched my alignment mechanic as he checked out why my RC was pulling slightly to the right. The alignment was just like it was the last time I had him check it. We thought it might be a radial pull so we switched the back tires to the front. The tires are brand spank'n new with no "cupping" or unusual tread wear. He had these things that go on the ball joints, they were pretty much off-set shims that you can turn to make it pull one way or the other....I didn't know if this was a good idea or not, so should I let him put them on since my alignment is good? What else could I try?

Mag

 

[macario]

Does it pull to the right when you are on the brake or off the brake? If your alignment checks out good, a possible problem could be a stuck caliper, assuming your vehicle is so equipped. Another possible is wheel bearings that are dragging. Jack up the right side wheel and try to turn it by hand. Compare to the left side. Just a few suggestions.

 

[Mag]

It pulls when you're just driving, no braking.....wheel bearings and hubs on the front are only about 5 months old...of course we checked them and ball joints for any play and there wasn't any.
I do have front discs, I didn't spin the tires but I've felt the calipers and rotors after driving for an hour and they aren't over heating, no excessive break dust on that side, and no smell of hot brake pads either.

 

[KEN-E]

Is your truck lifted some time that can be the prob.and the shims you are talking about work well. A friend had to put them on a accord that was eating tires weird they worked well for him but on the other hand an accord ain't no dodge!! I would try it they are pretty inexpensive.

 

[Mag]

yeah, it's lifted a little(2" in front, 4" in rear.) but never had the problem before...it's really no big deal since my alignment is good but I'm pretty picky about little stuff like that....yeah, I don't think one of them little shim things even costs a dollar.

 

[Evildriver-3]

Rear brakes adjusted properly, maybe try driving with them backed off, all tires have the same psi in them.
If the alignment is dead on balls perfect i would look elsewhere, check the steeering box every single steering joint for binding or play then grease everything

 

[macario]

Good suggestions. I don't think it is the shims based on what he has told us. To add, I would say also to check and tighten all fasteners, nuts, bolts, etc on the undercarriage and suspension/steering system. While this may not be the actual problem, often just the act of forcing yourself to look at each nut and bolt will pull your eyeballs to where the problem really is.

Rear brakes adjusted properly, maybe try driving with them backed off, all tires have the same psi in them.
If the alignment is dead on balls perfect i would look elsewhere, check the steeering box every single steering joint for binding or play then grease everything

 

[Trailduster_Rulz]

what is dead on? I do alignments at the shop were I work and sometimes the specs don't mean a thing. In all reality caster and camber standing straight up and equal on both sides are perfect. You can shange the caster to cause the vehicle to get a little pull thus in this case you could use the shims to adjust caster and get it to drive better. Couple other thoughts though. Have you changed tires from left to right to see if it changes and does it drive the same on all the road surfaces such as pavement versus concrete.

 

[Evildriver-3]

dead on would be perfect for all around conditions, and dead on would be both sides at say 4 degrees not 1 side at 3.6 caster camber on both sides equal, the toe correct.

 

[Mag]

I do alignments at the shop were I work and sometimes the specs don't mean a thing.

I don't get that statement at all. Maybe I'm ignorant about that

I'm taking it down to the shop today if he has time....I'm gonna spin all 4 wheels and see if theres more resistance on one side or the other...check my calipers/pistons and my rear drums. I've already greased everything and inspected the steering joints and box...looked good to me.
Since I've switched the front tires to the back and it still had the same amount of pull, I don't see how switching them left to right will make a difference.

And I don't understand the difference between driving on asphalt and concrete, they're both pretty smooth. The only concrete around here is on bridges and yes, it pulls on the bridges. I don't see why a truck would pull one way on asphalt and not concrete or vice versa...again, maybe I'm ignorant about this. But thanks for the suggestions.

I'll let ya know if I figure it out.

 

[luke9-1-1]

I'm w/ T R...........I've previously done alot of front end/alignment work as well. Let me try to put his statement another way; say [just guessing] the specs call for 5 deg positive camber each side with a tolerance of 1 deg plus or minus and 4 deg positive caster each side plus or minus 2 deg. For the sake of argument, they read as follows; R/S...........4.5 deg positive camber & 3.5 deg positive caster; L/S............4.2 deg positive camber & 4.5 deg positive caster. In theory, they are within tolerances. However, with the offsets all going right, the vehicle may want to pull that direction [1 deg caster off-set & 3/10 deg camber offset]. This is just an example; don't know what your actual numbers are. Point is, even if the numbers ' are in spec ', if you have large enough camber or caster offsets, or both, going in that direction, you may still get that pull. The rule of thumb we always went by w/ anything rear-wheel drive was camber offset as close to zero as possible and approx 1/2 deg caster offset going to the left, in theory, to compensate for any crown in the road. As far as the offset camber bushings on the upper ball joint; heck yeah, if your guy doesn't mind taking the time and you don't mind spending the money, great idea!!! They can tend to be a pain on the Dana's though. Also, with the tires, just one more suggestion; instead of back to front, try cross-rotating them [right to left, left to right]. Good luck!!!!!!!!!

 

[americanboytowing]

I watched my alignment mechanic as he checked out why my RC was pulling slightly to the right. The alignment was just like it was the last time I had him check it. We thought it might be a radial pull so we switched the back tires to the front. The tires are brand spank'n new with no "cupping" or unusual tread wear. He had these things that go on the ball joints, they were pretty much off-set shims that you can turn to make it pull one way or the other....I didn't know if this was a good idea or not, so should I let him put them on since my alignment is good? What else could I try?

Mag

Very big passenger?

 

[macario]

This is not so odd as it sounds. At one time my RC had a weird shimmy at about 50 mph but the trouble was it never did it when I had anyone else in the truck with me, and only did it once in a while even when I was driving alone. Turned out it was worn out upper control arm bushings.

I watched my alignment mechanic as he checked out why my RC was pulling slightly to the right. The alignment was just like it was the last time I had him check it. We thought it might be a radial pull so we switched the back tires to the front. The tires are brand spank'n new with no "cupping" or unusual tread wear. He had these things that go on the ball joints, they were pretty much off-set shims that you can turn to make it pull one way or the other....I didn't know if this was a good idea or not, so should I let him put them on since my alignment is good? What else could I try?

Mag

Very big passenger?