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Guys I need some knowledge. I have a 88 4Runner that is pulling to the right hard. I don't remember it doing this until I had some work done to it. The truck used to have 2in blocks lifting the rear and the torsion bars were turned up. I returned it to stock height, got some tie rod ends replaced, new ball joints, and a new pittman arm. The guys at the shop that did the alignment said that it aligned good, but still pulls to the right hard is both forward motion and reverse. Said that they have no clue as to why.
The guy told me that it could be the steering gear box. I have an old junker that I could get one off of, but does this sound right to you guys?
I just want this thing to drive straight so it doesn't wear me out driving. Any advice would be appreciated.
Check tire pressures are even.
check for brakes dragging, front or rear right.
lift the front wheels off the ground and run the engine at road speed. See if the steering turns right on it's own. That is the only way I can think to test the steering box.
Did you get a printed result of the last alignment? If so post it up so we can see what the numbers actually are.
Doesn't seem like the brakes are dragging. I can't feel any temperature difference between the right and left sides on the front or the rear and the brakes feel pretty normal.
I read somewhere that if the pittman arm isn't aligned up properly (looks like there should be some marks on it that should be lined up, but I haven't checked yet) that it could cause this. Does that sound right?
I always thought if the front end was aligned it should track straight.
I am going to check for those markings tonight and measure from the center of the front wheels to the center of the rears to see if something could be off kilter there.
I have some older I think 30x9.50 BFGs on the truck. The only visible issue with the tires is that one is slightly worn on the inside, but I have since rotated them and no change in the way that it drives.
In lieu of a printout, eyeball the truck from the front on a flat surface. The toe should be damn near 0 which means with the steering wheel pointing straight ahead, the sidewall of the front tire should line up with the sidewall of the rear tire. Does it? both sides?
You could also run a string around all 4 at the same height for reference.
Go to a different alignment shop. Period...... I go to a little bear shop that has the OLD, really old drive on pit system from pre historic times. You cannot line these trucks up with the new equipment, it just doesn't come out right.
I did some checking on this thing last night. Nothing dragging on any wheel. Everything seems to look pretty straight.
However I did some measuring and the distance between the wheels is 1 inch longer on the left side vs the right. Pretty dang sure that is going to be the issue.
The rear axle looks to be in about the same position on both sided within the fender well, but the front is a different story.
The driver side front wheel looks to be about an inch more to the front that the passenger side.
Is there anything that could cause this other than frame damage? Seems like I remember this starting after I hit a bad pot hole about a year back. (I do not drive this vehicle often as it is my woods/dog truck)
The impact of that pot hole did hit the front right wheel, wondering if it pushed something back out of spec.
Is it possible that I bent the control arm or something like that? If so is there an easy way to check it?
yeah its possible but i would think that would have to be an awful hit. Its also possible the first shop did nothing more than a toe adjustment and told you it was good. Alignment shops used to test drive cars afterward. Today they seem to give you a free second adjustment instead. Not a stated policy, but my experience. Sometimes the camber bolts are frozen and they are reluctant to take the time and effort to free them, hence the "toe and go". The easiest was would be to take it to a better alignment shop as stated above. and tell them what you know. And be sure they can give you a printout. Having data rules. I hope it works out.
10-4. I am going to jack it up, pull the front wheels off, and do some measuring on the control arms (just for my information), then I will take it to another shop to get a second opinion. I called the shop that did the work this morning and spoke with the owner (he is a friend of the family). He told me that he believed that the frame could be bent, but the guy that did the work says that he couldn't see anything that looked damaged.
I am 90% sure that it didn't start pulling until after I hit that hole. It was a pretty good jolt, but who knows. I will see if I can get a second opinion and go from there.
Success!!!!!! I took it to another shop and they claimed it was the pitman arm. I had my doubts, since there was hardly any play in anything, but I let them (Paid them is more like it) replace it and give her a new alignment. Looks like the numbers all came out good to me and she drives like a champ. before and after
Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to get a second opinion. I think my man has an outdated machine, or the guys working for him do not know how to use it.
Wow, your caster was really jacked up. That's where your pull came from. As an alignment tech in my younger days I would usually shoot for the left front to have a little higher camber and lower caster than the right side to help fight road crown (the road slopes off to help water run off and will cause your vehicle to drift to the right). Whoever did your first alignment either didn't check caster or didn't know what they were doing. You can hook the sensors to the wheels and set camber and toe really quick, but in order to get a caster reading you have to swing the steering right and left as prompted by the alignment machine, so it looks like he cranked your camber up a little on the left or lowered the right or both trying to compensate for the pull (a couple of tenths difference is plenty for road crown), then set the toe and sent you on your way. Were you given a reason that they didn't adjust the caster to specs? Adjusters frozen? maxed out to get camber in spec? Negative caster isn't desirable, but it's not going to wear your tires out. It will just steer a little harder and won't return to straight forward as well when you turn and then let go of the wheel.
I am not sure why he set it that way, but it drives good the way he has it set, so I am happy with it for now. It seems to be fairly easy to steer and still returns pretty well.
I'd stay away from the shop you originally went to. Any time tie rods get replaced or really any adjustable suspension component an alignment needs to be done. For a proper alignment the tech should always test drive before and after the alignment. The tech clearly didn't go on a test drive after wards. I'd go back to the shop. Take in your new alignment sheet and ask for a refund because they obviously sold you a service you didn't receive. Maybe check that the components they say they replaced in fact got replaced too.
I will still go to the first shop, just not for an alignment. The guys is a friend of the family and gives me more than enough break on my tire prices to make up for this. I am going to talk to him about his alignment machine. The guy who actually did the work did test drive it and told me about it still pulling to the right. He said that he could not get the caster right, but had the toe and camber perfect. Leads me to believe that his machine is defective.
I do thank everyone for their advice with this issue. I am just super happy that nothing major was wrong with my 4runner.
I will still go to the first shop, just not for an alignment. The guys is a friend of the family and gives me more than enough break on my tire prices to make up for this. I am going to talk to him about his alignment machine. The guy who actually did the work did test drive it and told me about it still pulling to the right. He said that he could not get the caster right, but had the toe and camber perfect. Leads me to believe that his machine is defective.
I do thank everyone for their advice with this issue. I am just super happy that nothing major was wrong with my 4runner.
That's cool! Everyone has a bad day or busted tools.
Glad its fixed. Sounds like a curb impact twisted things up. A good alignment shop is worth its weight in gold. In SoCal - Pruetts Precision Alignment in Redlands - Dude is a Scientist with Alignment. The Best.
10-26-2017, 07:41 AM
