Just bought a 1997 Tacoma. It pulls hard left, but the alignment shop says it is aligned. Tires are wearing evenly. The prior owner says it has been like this for the last several years. Does anyone have any idea what I should change out? I hate to start randomly throwing parts at it, but I just have no idea what it could be.

 

Just throwing out ideas here:

one soft tire?
one tire of a different diameter than others?
dragging brake?

 

Thanks for the ideas. I just got the truck so I will rotate the tires on my first day off and see what happens. I will also chek the brake pads for uneven wear. I'm still just grasping at straws at this point. Every other toyota I have had drives nice and straight. I hope to get this one there.

 

Worn tie rod ends, bad wheel bearings, tire not balanced..tons of stuff could contribute

Another opinion from a 2nd alignment shop

 

Hypothesis:
1. Former owner replaced one rotor and left other because it looked good.
2. Rear drums were turned for cleanup but at slightly different diameters.
3. One sticky caliper or one new one.

 

Could be any suspension part that is worn.

Really it could be quite a few things

 

Bad wheel bearing?

 

Thanks for all the input here. I will check out all these possibilities this weekend. Hopefully I can pinpoint it, I hate the idea of just throwing parts at it until I find the right one!

 

Does it pull all the time, or only when you brake?

 

I largely fixed my pulling problem by inflating the wheels to 40 psi. Toyota recommends 26 which seems low. My tires are rated to 50. What pressures to you guys run?

 

It is all the time, not just braking, but like I said in my prior post, pumping the tires up to 40 psi has really eliminated most of it. It tracks pretty straight now at least on city streets, I will try the freeway this evening.

 

Put your hand on each rear hub after driving for a while. If the right one is a good bit hotter than the left, there's your culprit!

(Don't burn yourself...)

 

Where did you get 26? Toyota recommends 29 front, 32 rear for both stock tire sizes. That's what I run. Any more and it's a harsh ride on my Trekmasters.

Or did you mean some numbnutz at the dealer?

 

I'm going by the placard on the drivers side door jamb which says 26 front and 29 rear...

 

The hubs are cool...

 

My bad. You have a Taco. I was thinking 4Runner. It does seem low, though.

 

It seems really low to me, and running the higher pressures has really solved the issue. It was pulling hard left with the front tires at about 25 psi where the previous owner had them. I filled them up to 40 and it rides better and the left turning tendency is so slight that I may just be imagining it. I'll get her up on jacks this weekend and check bearings and ball joints, but it seems good now. Thanks for all the input. I think I'll get better gas milage as well with the tires at 40.

I'm not sure if they are stock. The sticker calls for p225 r15s and these are 30.5 inch r 15s....

 

Always go by what the TIRE has on the sidewall as what pressure to use. Tires have different sizes and load ratings and different MAX PSI numbers. I go about 80% of max PSI unless I'm towing heavy.

 

Anyone ever figure this out? Ive been dealing with this for eons on my T100 and no one can figure it out.

 

I am still baffled by this. I can't find anything wrong with the truck. Adding air pressure just up to about 90% of the tire's max seemed to solve most of it although there is a slight left turn tendency. Have you had the problem through more than one set of tires? Mine need to go a ways before I can justify changing them. I had a friend suggest that it could be the tires or possibly water in one of the tires... Sorry no good answer yet.