Gentlemen,

I have had a small problem with my truck pulling to the right. I took it in under warrantee for a wheel alignment and when I got it back. There was no difference. I called them and asked if they test drove the thing after the alignment and they said they did and that they did some changes/fixes. Well, it still pulls to the right. Not severely but enough to tick me off and I know that a 43 thousand dollar truck shouldnt do that with only 8400 miles on it. Have any of you guys had the same problem? I checked the air in the tires. That isnt the problem. Let me know if you guys got any suggestions. Thanks.

------------Chris

 

Cross the front tires from side to side and see if the truck goes straight or pulls the other direction. If it does either, it is a tire pull, which seems to be getting more common in modern tires. If it still pulls the same way, take it back to the Dealer for them to try again.

 

I havent drove a dodge that didnt do it yet. The only one that i have seen that stopped was one that the balljoints were replaced. I dont know what that does but it fixed it.

 

That is a common complaint about these trucks, many have this problem, mine included. The slope or crown on the highway seems to play a part in the slight drift to the right, i notice when driving in the middle lane of a multi lane highway that it stops pulling to the right, when in the fast lane it wants to go to the left but not as bad a pull as to the right. I have also noticed that it does not seem to affect tire wear, mine still have a nice even tread wear pattern with 25,000 miles, all highway.

rob

 

I have an '04' dually quad-cab with less than 2,000 miles, and I noticed the same thing... pulling to the right. But then I realized that other cars I've had did the same thing. So one day I decided to drive my dually on the left side of the road to try a little experiment, and it started pulling to the left. So it's true... the crown in the middle of the road will cause vehicles to pull to the right side of the road. Try driving your truck in an open flat parking lot and see if it still happens.

 

Guys , weve covered this before . Its the caster setting . First off caster wont wear tires . If you truck pulls to rt on the rt side of rd, and pulls left on the left side of road then you have perfectly ballanced caster setting and road crown is the culprit here. Dont mess with the alignment as some shops can mess up more then they fix. The right pull can be counteracted by 1/4 to 1/2 degree more positive caster on rt ft wheel then on left ft. This then gives your truck a little left pull ,just enough to counter road crown. But then over on the left side of the road you'll have bigger left pull. Check out both sides of the road . If you determine its the road crown, my advice is to live with it.

 

I just drive in the left lane now! I notice it with both of my trucks after I put on the bigger BFG's. I'd rather it pull to the ditch than the other way around.

 

Thanks for the replies. I have driven on the left side of the road and it still pulls to the right a little bit. I will try to change the tires from right to left. It is nothing I cant live with but it never did this before when it was brand new so why do it now? Anyway, I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Thanks again for all the input. Later.

-----------Chris

 

Exactly what I had, I only had the original tires on it for about 500 miles and noticed the pull after. I'm going to test drive a new one and see how it acts.

 

I don't know if this is bs but a maint. guy at dodge once told me they design that into the steering geometry so in the event you fall asleep at the wheel you won't go into oncoming traffic.

 

We usually set up the alignment so it actually pulls left slightly, to compensate for the road crown. On a 4x4, you are stuck with the caster setting they gave you, you can't adjust one side relative to the other side, because it is a solid axle. The most common cause for a pull on these trucks, besides tire pull, is thrust angle. In other words, the rear axle is not straight (in relation to the frame.) A good alignment shop will look for this during an alignment, but many overlook it.