My truck pulls to the right...

Every place I have brought it to for an alignment says its within specs...

I asked them to adjust caster to the max spec anyway to see if that would help and no it didn't.

I installed a 2" leveling kit and although it was pulling before it is now more exagerated. My question is: with the 2" lift, and a stock panard bar (hope that's right) could that be throwing my truck out of alignment? I was thinking with that bar the same length and the axel now 2" below where the factory put it, could that be forcing the axel to sit off center enough to cause a pull?

Just a thought, hope it makes enough sense to you guys. Any help or ideas would be great.

 

Are your tires the same size on front as the back? If so, swap them to see if it's a tire issue. I say this because you said the issue was there before the lift. It may be too late now, but I would have fixed the pull before adding a lift.

 

Yeah I know... the tires are all the same I have rotated front to back and left to right to see if it made any difference and it has not... I don't have any strange wear patterns on my tires. They are wearing true... Which is why I am so confused... I would expect to see some feathering or one side of the tire wearing more than the other...

I did the same tests with the original tires before the lift and new tires... The only reason I did the lift an new tires, I really needed new tires and I wasn't going to spent the money on a new set and then more on a new set after it was fixed... or wait till those wore out...

If I am on the left side of the road with the crown the truck tracks straight... It takes 45 seconds or more to shift out of a lane... Which is what it's supposed to do on the right side of the crown...

It's almost like my truck was set up to drive on a left crowned road instead of right... Maybe I got a truck that was supposed to go to England??? hahaha...

 

My 99 actually has a "shim" on the pass front which goes on and over the lugs prior to the wheel. From what I've read this was something Dodge did to overcome pull to the right. Not sure if this exist w/your model?

 

The only thing like that that I had was the "shim" or "clip" that held the rotor inplace during manufacturing... I had them on all 4 wheels, and removed them and threw them away when I turned my rotors for a brake job...

Anyone else here of this?

 

hi
is this pulling during driving or brake ing ?

in eather case drive the truck first thing in the morning for about 5-8 mi then pull over where it is safe and get out and check each wheel for temp.

a wheel that is hotter than the others indacates a problem /pulling , dragging brake/ parking brake , wheel cyl , improperly installed return springs ,bearing ect.

one of those temp guns would be nice for this /

 

I never thought about that... and now that you mention it here is what happened the other day...

I was washing my truck down at the local car wash... then drove home (about 5 miles) to clean the brake dust off my rims and clean up the tires some more...

When I sprayed water on the Passenger wheel the rotor put off quite a bit of steam and obviously hot... and now I truely can't recall the drivers side doing the same thing!

I actually don't have any patients tomorrow, so it will be a good day to check that out...

New question: If I take the wheel off and spin it, and don't have any drag from the brake system, would I be looking at new bearings and races as the culprit? Also while I'm that deep into it, would it be in my best interest to go ahead with new axel seals and the like??? Driver and passenger side???

It's probably an obvious answer to my question, but I figured I would ask...

And thanks!!!

 

Oh... and it's pulling during driving...

When I hit the brakes I don't recall it pulling harder either way...

 

hi
to check the bearings raise 1 wheel and grab it top and bottom and wiggle it in and out < top in bottom out and bottom in and top out >

this will show any play in bearings , they should have verry little to none !
less is better .

rotating the wheel while it is up will tell you if the bearing is bad if you feel any rough ness.

smooth and no play is what you want .

axel seals are a bit of a pain to replace look it up in a search.
they are delicut so be gentil if you take the hub/bearing off .

also a brake hose can swell shout just enough to cause a caliper to drag

 

Yeah... I tried to brake test to see if I got any pull or drag during braking...

None... I tried lite brake to see if it exagerated the pull, normal breaking to see if it pulled and slammed on the brakes and the truck tracked straight under all tests...

I am going to look at the hub this weekend, just got too busy....

 

Sounds like a sticking caliper to me- the right brake doesn't release fully and if you apply pressure on the brake pedal the left caliper starts to brake until the truck tracks true- when you increase the pressure the pads on both sides get pressed on harder, but with the same pressure so it stays true.

The rotting brake hose syndrome (hose plugged inside and acting as a one way valve) isn't out of question even though your truck is a little young for it. You can easily verify it by using a piece of hose over the bleed bolt, prefill with brake fluid and have a helper apply the brake and get off the pedal before you open the bleed bolt. If the fluid level in the hose rises quickly (kind of jerk up in the level) and the hub can be turned freely afterwards it's usually the brake hose.

Since brakes are safety parts I do not suggest that you do anything to your brakes where you aren't positive that you do it completely right.


AlpineRAM

 

Ok... just to make sure I got this right...

attach a clear hose (say about half filed with fluid) to the bleed valve.

apply the brake and release.

Then open valve and see if the fluid in the hose rises.

That small rise in fluid level would be the little amount of fluid needed to fully retract the pad. That should be going back into the hose.

Now... If this is the case would it just be the flex hose comming from the frame to the caliper or is this a sign of the entire line that would need to be changed?

And thanks for helping me track this...

Update, after driving a few miles the hub on both the front wheels are pretty much the same temp, the rotors (without having a thermometor) are both hot... as for which one burned my hand the most it's kinda close to call. Hahaha... But the bearings seem ok... I didn't feel any play and even put a pry bar between the tire and the ground to get better leverage, and still didn't see and play...

So now I will do the fluid check and see where that leads...

 

The fluid rise is as you described. Usually it's only the flexible hose that "rots" shut.
You can easily check for sticking brakes on a stretch of road where you can drive for some minutes and not apply the brakes and you can let the truck roll to standstill. All 4 brakes should be only hand warm then.
Do not forget the rear brakes. They can also induce a pull to one side.

HTH

AlpineRAM

 

You may have a brake pad worn to a taper. Remove them and mic them front to back. This allows the piston to rock in the bore.
I've seen it a couple of times.
Once in an late night on highway repair, I simply swapped pads from left to right calipers and it was fine till /i got home.

 

i'm having the same problems. the complete front rakes rotors calipers, pads and seals have been replaced with good quality parts. the problem still exists. oh yeah the brake hoses are new too. if i hit the pedal medium to heavy, the truck pulls hard to the left. ???