Steering Wheel Misaligned + Truck Pulls to Right

The steering wheel has been misaligned since I bought the truck new. The "12 o'clock" position is actually at the "1 o'clock" position.

I just had P265/75-16 Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires installed on my truck. I also had an alignment done. Check out the #'s below.

The steering wheel is still misaligned, and the truck pulls strongly to the right on crowned roads, and not quite as aggressively on flat roads.

Ideas?

 

First post, but I used to do alignments several years ago.

I don't see anything in either the before or after settings that would cause a pull. Toe was off, but does not cause pulling issues.

Did it pull before the new tires were installed? You only made clear the steering wheel(toe) position was off from the get go.

First thing I would suggest is to cross the front tires. See if it pulls the opposite way or eliminates the pull. That would isolate it to a tire issue. Also make sure the tire pressures are good.

If you can find a remote flat road and it has a pull. Turn around and drive the opposite way down the same lane. See if it still tries to pull the same way or not.

2 year old truck and new tires would lead me.to believe you put some miles on the truck? Another possible thing to look into would be the right front brake caliper. Could be causing drag and creating the pull. Dirty slides, sticky piston, restriction in fluid flow by a bad brake hose etc....

Hub bearing could cause it but you'd likey also have an audible signal as well, but not always.

Just a few quick suggestions off the top of my head that you can look into yourself or suggest the tire shop to look into. The cause can be tricky to narrow down and isolate.

As for the steering wheel position, that's all in toe settings but until the pull is rectified wouldn't be a priority.

 

Didn't know this - thanks for the heads up

 

See my responses in red. Thank you for the input & helpful first post! You'll be welcomed here warmly for being helpful .

 

Nate,

Have you fixed this issue yet?

I got new tire, 5100 @1.75, new alignments (twice) and the steering wheel is still slightly off to the Left while the truck tracks straight.

 

I've found that the steering wheel being "off" gives me the perception that the vehicle has a "pull" one way or another. The wheel can be sitting off center with the alignment dead-on; requires a bit of care during the process to center the wheel perfectly.

When I leveled my full-size Ford, I went through a lot of trouble to get the steering wheel back to center. Even the slightest bit off center and I "thought" the truck was pulling or drifting. Neither toe, nor camber was affected by the leveling process; caster was adjusted back in to spec using ball joint shims. Once I got the wheel centered by adjusting the drag link, the sensation disappeared.

Same with a recent Honda SUV alignment - the shop could not get the wheel centered despite having perfect alignment results. It used to sit a hair to the left and I always had the impression the truck was pulling because I'd hold the wheel a little bit further left on a crowned road to keep it in line. Took it back twice and they couldn't center it; I decided to live with it and vowed the shop wouldn't get any more of my business. The tires wore perfectly for 20K miles until I sold the truck.

 

I just installed some AT3's as well. Install went smoothly and I'm enjoying, sorry to hear you are having issues, to me they appear largely superior to BFG A/T's in every aspect. Sometimes even beand new tires are manufactured defectively and will cause radial tire pull. Which it somewhat sounds like you have. Try crossing the front two tires as suggested by another member. If you are driving on heavily cambered roads the issue may be the caster settings being to even, I also agree with that statement by the other member as well. Try the tires first as is the easier fix, if that does not change anything then look into your caster and having it adjusted again.

 

Thanks for the continued responses guys. Since I started this thread, I've just been living with the issue. I just rotated them the first time front to back, back to front, with no cross. I'll have to recheck to see if the same issue is present.

Yes I do drive on some heavy-cambered roads.

Thanks!

 

The camber of the roads is your problem. Get the caster fixed accordingly and the truck won't wander to the right as much.

 

I'll give it a shot the next time I'm close by the tire shop. I do all my own service and tire rotations, but I don't mess with alignment