Pulling to the right

[mgw24]

I've been having an ongoing problem with my tundra pulling to the right. I've had it aligned several times by different shops. Alignment is in spec. Still pulls to the right. For other reasons, I recently had the steering rack replaced, and upper balljoints replaced. It still pulls to the right. Any ideas??

[PagalDesi4Life]

Have you tried driving on a completely flat surface to see if the car pulls to either side? If not, try that first and if the problem still persists, then I guess try taking it to the dealership and have them user thier Hunter alignment machine to see if that works.

[mattjensen]

ive also had this problem, ive had it aligned at least 6 differnet times. to Dj's specs, to factory specs, on differnt types alignment equitment. ive had the tires in every possible configuration, still pulls to the right. its not a terribly big deal to me just kinda anoying.

[Tim Smith]

Originally Posted by mgw24

I've been having an ongoing problem with my tundra pulling to the right. I've had it aligned several times by different shops. Alignment is in spec. Still pulls to the right. For other reasons, I recently had the steering rack replaced, and upper balljoints replaced. It still pulls to the right. Any ideas??

I had the same problem with my 2005 Tundra Doublecab. It was aligned 4 times by Toyota before they got it to stop pulling. According to the alignment guy, he had to play around with the caster angles (i.e., adjust a little, drive it, adjust and drive, etc.) until he corrected the problem. He says that the right side caster angle is just inside spec now. I don't have the exact figures. If I can get them I'll let you know.

[jpeepers]

I'm having the same problem with my 04 access cab. It's been aligned twice at the dealer and still pulls. Last week I went back in because it's driving nuts and I thought I heard a scaping sound coming from the front end.
Well, they said my right front brake cailper was dragging so they replaced the front cailapers and brake pads. The scaping noise went away but the truck still pulls to the right all the time.

On a side note, the dealer gave me a loaner for the day (a 05 tundra) and it pulled to the right also?

It's very annoying, wish they could figure it out.

JP

[DJ]

This topic is thoroughly discussed in the archives, if you care to search long enough. I suggest DJ's Alignment Setting Recommendations

The problem with Tundras is that they can be aligned "in spec", meaning within the limits that Toyota specifies, and still be VERY badly aligned. The results can be steering instability and/or a pull to the side.

Here is the pertinent excerpt from that thread:

So, what is caster for? Picture the left wheel and its spindle. If caster is positive, meaning the steering axis is leaned toward the rear, then the left wheel tends to steer itself to the right when it rolls along. The more it is steered to the left, the harder it tries to steer to the right. A similar thing happens with the right wheel, which tries to steer itself to the left.

These two wheels try to steer themselves toward each other. If caster is the same on both wheels, then the forces will be equal when the vehicle is rolling straight ahead. If you steer to the left, the force steering the left wheel to the right is greater than the force steering the right wheel to the left, and so the steering wheel centers itself if you let go of it. The higher the caster is, the stronger the forces are, and the harder the vehicle tries to steer itself straight ahead. This produces STEERING STABILITY.

If caster is reduced, the steering forces are reduced correspondingly. If caster is reduced enough, then the forces are too small and the steering system becomes unstable, meaning the wheels oscillate by steering left and right like a paint shaker.

So, how much is enough? It depends on LOTS of things and varies from vehicle to vehicle. On many Mercedes, the caster spec is as high as ten (10) degrees. On many pickups and such, it is commonly three to four degrees. My Tundra can be "in spec", according to Toyota, with caster at one-half (1/2) degree, which is blitheringly stupid of them -- it is UNSTABLE.

The specs I have recommended put camber and toe at quite reasonable values and put caster right at the upper end of the range recommended by Toyota. In my opinion, caster should be even higher than that. I WON'T recommend setting it higher than that because of the liability involved, and because Toyota has NO grounds for complaint at my recommendation, but it's your truck and you can set it how you like. (emphasis added)

If caster is not the same on both sides, then the vehicle will tend to pull toward the side with lower caster. So, it can be "in spec" and still pull to the side because the "tolerance" on caster is +/-0.75 degrees.

The most likely cure for a pull, assuming you have rotated and/or substituted tires and found no change in the pull, is not just to have it aligned, but to have it aligned WELL. That means ...

... to set camber and total toe DEAD ON the factory recommended specs
... to set caster right at the UPPER END of the range allowed by the factory specs
... to make sure caster is the SAME ON BOTH SIDES

Been there, done that.

[mgw24]

cool, thanks!

[Chevloray]

Beyond the fact that some pull is excessive, the norm is to have them "pull" a bit to the right to prevent your vehicle from veering into the oncoming traffic, in the event that the driver loses consciousness. If you consider that having to fight the wheel doesn't allow one to lose consciousness, then it's a moot point.

My '00 has a slight shimmy feel in the steering wheel, but not on all road surfaces. However, it's always at the same 55-65MPH range. I've had it aligned, it has new tires and I replaced the steering rack bushings with the polyurethane bushings from Off Road Warehouse. Steering is much tighter, but the intermittent shimmy has me buffaloed. Since it is only happening some of the time, I have to assume that it is more road-related, than vehicle sourced.