Help on this left pull...

[muddeprived]

I'm running out of ideas on this issue. My jeep pulls to the left on the highway. The PA roads are crowned to the right so it should be pulling in that direction slightly but something is making it pull to the left instead. I have to keep the steering wheel slightly to the right and if I let go it goes left.

Here's what I've done/checked so far:

Caster is the same on both sides
Wheelbase is the same on both sides
Rotated my new treadwright radial mudders to the opposite side
replaced both upper long arm joints and inspected lower joints (fine).
Ball joints are new on both sides.
Wheel bearings spin freely and no odd noises.
Steering components are not even 1 year old yet.
Alignment is set at 1/8" toe-in.
Tire pressure is the same all around
Height is even on both sides
Brakes are not dragging and appear to be the same temp after long drives (can hold finger on them for 2 seconds).

I have a 4.5" RC long arm kit on there if that means anything.

What could be causing this left hand pull?


Thanks

[rugidone]

Is the axle properly centred under the front? Might not be tracking properly?

[Mudderoy]

I was told to replace my calipers. I have left hand pull.

[ice_cold]

A dragging caliper would cause that...usually can hear that. Lift the front and give the tires a spin and listen for anything dragging. While it is up there look for the usual loose stuff and maybe a joint that has become elongated.

[muddeprived]

Yeah I mentioned that the brakes are not dragging. I tested them after the trip and a few times the past couple weeks. They don't get hot nor is there any drag or friction when spinning the tire. I drove 20 minutes to the mall, jacked it up (while it was running) and spun both fronts. They had no friction and spun freely. I did the temp check and both were pretty much at the same temperature, and not scorching hot like a bad caliper riding on a rotor would be. No abnormal wear on the pads or rotors either.

[muddeprived]

Is the axle properly centred under the front? Might not be tracking properly?

Yup I centered it with the tank-ish beefy trackbar that Andy made me.

[Mudderoy]

A dragging caliper would cause that...usually can hear that. Lift the front and give the tires a spin and listen for anything dragging. While it is up there look for the usual loose stuff and maybe a joint that has become elongated.

My assumption was that it wasn't clamping with the same force as the other side. A bad caliper doesn't have to mean it's dragging does it?

[muddeprived]

My assumption was that it wasn't clamping with the same force as the other side. A bad caliper doesn't have to mean it's dragging does it?

I've dealt with three bad caliper incidents with my TJ and once on my dakota. All three of them were noticeable when using the brakes. The caliper sticks and doesn't retract causing it to ride on the rotor and pull the jeep in another direction. When the brakes are applied, the jeep is pulled heavily in that direction. None of these symptoms are showing on my xj and the rotors/hubs are not getting hot so I kinda eliminated brakes as the culprit. I also remember that I replaced the calipers two years ago, fully bled the system, and installed new brakes/rotors. MY RC long arm kit also came with new brake lines so my buddy did the install, replaced my rusted out rear line, and also bled the system again. It was in the middle of winter so I had no place to work on it so the shop took care of it for me. The brakes work great and have been since.

[ice_cold]

No,it does not....glazed pads could do that as well. My understanding is that its happening when he is just driving along the highway.
It almost sounds like the front or rear axle are not square to each other.
I know you said you measured the wheel base, but if both axles are slightly shifted on one side,you would have a dog tracker. But it would not take alot for it to pull if its out even 1/8th of a inch.
When you measured, was it from spindle to hub? or from tire edge to tire edge?

[muddeprived]

No,it does not....glazed pads could do that as well. My understanding is that its happening when he is just driving along the highway.
It almost sounds like the front or rear axle are not square to each other.
I know you said you measured the wheel base, but if both axles are slightly shifted on one side,you would have a dog tracker. But it would not take alot for it to pull if its out even 1/8th of a inch.
When you measured, was it from spindle to hub? or from tire edge to tire edge?

I put zip ties tightly around the axle tube near the shock mounts on each side, as close to the drum as I could. I slipped the end of a tape measure (new one) under the zip tie and measured from there to the center of the lower ball joint stud. The zip ties were really tight and had no give so measurements were pretty accurate for a tape measure. Usually my gf helps but she wasn't around to hold the tape measure against the tube.

If my axles were not square as you mentioned and causing this pull, then it would mean the distance between the driver's side axles is shorter than the passenger side?

If you know of a better way to measure let me know and I'll try it. I'll try anything at this point.

[4.3LXJ]

Hey Chris.

Don't have any real wisdom here, but my Jeep always pulled to the right. I aligned it the other day and now it doesn't pull, even though the castor is different by 1.5°. Go figure. What is different though is a generous amount of castor I didn't have before.

[muddeprived]

Ok i re-measured using a bob as a reference point. I used the front leaf spring bolt to hang the bob from. Here are the measurements:

Driver's side:

Front axle tube to bob: 76 1/2
Rear axle tube to bob: 21 3/16

Passenger side:

Front axle tube to bob: 76 1/2
Rear axle tube to bob: 21 1/4

The passenger side rear axle is just a hair less than 1/16" further from the bob than the driver's side. Would THAT cause a strong left pull?

I also checked front and rear brakes with tires off. The front brakes have no resistance at all when spinning them BUT the inner rotor surface is starting to wear out on both sides. You can see the rotor surface gone on some spots but not completely. I'm gonna have to replace the rotors. Both sides are evenly worn.

When spinning the rear brakes, the driver's side has a little bit of resistance on one section of the drum, about 1/4 of the way around but the rest is smooth. The resistance is not strong and I can still spin them through it without much muscle. The passenger side has no resistance. I plan to loosen the driver's side rear adjuster so there's no resistance but not sure if that will make any difference.

I measured the front axle placement using my sliders as refence point. Both stick out just to the end of the sliders on both sides so the axle is centered.

All my steering joints are tight and I doubled checked em. I DID notice something funny with the steering today when stopping as sister's house. I pulled over to the side of the road and parked it to drop something off. Then i came back, started it up, and had to turn left to pull out from behind her tracker. When turning the steering wheel to the left from a complete stop, it would squeak pretty bad and I could feel it through the steering wheel. When the tire was done turning (still stopped) I could feel a slight clunk or thump in the steering. It kinda felt like there was some slop in the gears that when you stop it falls back into the gear. It only does that when turning the steering wheel quickly and stopping the turn suddenly (when at a standstill). I just replaced my box with a reman about two years ago and also the power steering pump. Now I'm wondering if the box is bad and causing the pull?

[ice_cold]

Dont we have a issue with frame cracks? Might want to check that the box is secure to the frame. If turning at a stand still, it could be torquing and thats the sound/feel you get.
1/16th of a inch could if running wider tires, affect steering. But it would be one of those slow drifts, nothing that a couple ponds of air in the opposite tire would not fix.

As a thought, try varying the front tire pressures to see if that makes any difference.Lower the passenger by say 5 pounds over the drivers.

[muddeprived]

I went out and checked everything while the gf turned the wheel back and forth. I noticed this stuff:

The steering box hoses move around when turning back and forth quickly. I'm sure this is the fluid going back and forth

When turning fully to the left or right, it squeaks bad and power steering pump runs really hard. Do you think there is air in the PS pump or steering box causing it to squeak like it does when turning hard left or right at a standstill?

There is no movement in the box at all. It's braced on both sides by c-rok and detours bracing.

There is a noticeable clunk when the pitman arm changes direction and it seems to be coming from the pitman arm tie rod joint. There's no left/right movement in the joint but it pops in and out just a fraction of an inch during the direction change.

I have about 1/4" movement in both upper and lower trackbar bushings but the bolts are tight. The bushings seem to be "soft" and allowing this play. I don't think this contributes to the pull though.

[4.3LXJ]

Chris

I don't think 1/16' would cause the pull. Try this. Jack up the front axle so both wheels are barely off the ground. Start the engine and center the steering wheel and let go and see if it moves.

[muddeprived]

Chris

I don't think 1/16' would cause the pull. Try this. Jack up the front axle so both wheels are barely off the ground. Start the engine and center the steering wheel and let go and see if it moves.

LOL someone just recommended that on naxja and I tried it but the steering did not move on it's own. It stayed put.

[4.3LXJ]

LOL someone just recommended that on naxja and I tried it but the steering did not move on it's own. It stayed put.

Yeah, I saw that after I posted.:rotfl2:

[ice_cold]

silly question but does it do it when in 4 wheel drive? or just 2 wheel drive?

[muddeprived]

silly question but does it do it when in 4 wheel drive? or just 2 wheel drive?

I've only tested it in 2wd cuz I can't use 4wd on pavement. It's really only noticeable on the highway or during high speed (45+).

[ice_cold]

Over 45mph?, thats a clue

[muddeprived]

Over 45mph?, thats a clue

Yeah most of the roads here are 25, 45, 55, or 65. I don't notice it at 25 but I start noticing it at 45 and it sucks at 55+.