Need your 'expert' advice...truck pulls left. Brake/Abs issue?

So I've been trying to diagnose a pull to the left on my truck for a few months now. Though it's been pulling forever since the lift..it seems.
I've gone to two separate alignment shops and numbers look good with the numbers I specify.
It could be tires but they are wearing good.
How can I test if one of the calipers is stuck or if a sensor might be the issue? No lights on dash btw or weird errors ever.
Why i think it may be a brake problem is because: under no braking the truck pulls left...just when driving. It's a significant pull.
When I brake the truck tracks perfectly straight.
Wouldn't that make sense that it could be a brake issue then or am I thinking backward on this?
How can I test this more?
Turn off the truck in neutral while rolling and see if it pulls still? What if it's a mechanical problem on the brake/brake line or system rather than an electrical sensor issue...turning power off would not help correct?

Sorry to rant on, just looking for a direction to go.
Thanks

 

Ever since you lifted truck? How high did you go and did you check brake lines for a kink/crimp???
Park the truck on a level parking area where you can put the steering wheel straight as you can get it. Walk about 25 meters away and look at your front tires. Are they both pointing straight and are both perpendicular to the ground. If it was alignment you could see a problem with the wheels/tires not aligned if its pulling pretty good.

What about your E-brake cable?

 

Lift is just a 2.5" lift.
I've checked for kinks in lines but did not see anything..I will check again.
What should I look for on the E-brake...is there something visual I'll be able to notice?

 

I don't know ... try going slow and engaging the E-brake to stop and see what happens!

 

Theoretically...if the truck pulls left...the ebrake problem would be on the right side correct?

If the ebrake cable mechanism is on the left side then that's not the problem...amirite?

 

Try switching your front left tire out with your rear right. Let us know what kind of tires and psi you are running, and also your alignment numbers would be good to have. Some tires pull to one side even though they shouldn't according to the alignment (cooper maax....). You could try a caster split and that has worked for me in the past. I don't think this is brake related rather alignment... the super soft steering rack bushings don't help either.

 

im with you 100%

but why would it track straight (very straight) under braking?

the pull is very apparent even when just letting the truck idle and move down the street..it drifts very quickly.

 

Mine used to do the exact same thing except pulling to the right; if I let go of the steering wheel would be off the road in about 2 seconds. Alignment was perfect, and truck tracked straight under braking. 1/2 degree caster split finally fixed it. I think one reason, like I mentioned is the soft steering rack bushings, so when the techs have the truck up on the lift and they go to straighten out the steering wheel then turn the truck off it can put "preload" on the steering rack bushings, so even though the alignment numbers are perfect as soon as you drive off the lift you might be out to one site. Is your steering wheel perfectly centered?

 

like swissman said, rotate the tires, check tire pressure, maybe one of the front tires lost one of the weights for balancing, or possibly bad ball joint, suspension issues, ...start with the easy stuff and use process of elimination...

 

These are my numbers from my last alignment..after trying 4 other alignments.
As mentioned before I tried moving tires around no change..same pull to the left.

 

Two things, after all the other coverage you've gotten in this thread.
1. Pull and/or steering wheel return with no wonky tire wear indication sound like caster issues (assuming alignment is reasonably close to spec) as stated earlier. In the OP you mention the alignment looks good to "the numbers you specify". Does this mean they look good to what you're seeing in other tacomas, or are you telling them exactly what angles you want matched?

2. Have you measured out all the suspension ride height after the lift e.i. is the truck actually level? Not sure about what affect this would produce in ride, but it might be worth looking into. If they're having to tweak the alignment to compensate for some lean, I wonder if it would throw things off. -- Just a shot in the dark here.

 

Those alignment numbers look fine and I am positive this is a tire issue. I would try 0.5 degrees more caster on the left than right, bump it up to 3.9 and see if that makes a difference. It should fix your pull. This is assuming all your suspension components are in good shape and properly torqued etc.

 

numbers i specified meaning the numbers ive asked them to dial me in at...as recommended for tacomas with lifts here.
0,3+, 0 or as close to as possible.
truck is level at all 4 corners

 

Gotcha, only reason I was asking was that mine (icon 3") was set a bit lower and it drove fine.

This, up or down, make a change and see which way the problem changes.

 

It should pull towards the side with less caster so a caster split of half a degree or so often helps, very common on Ford trucks. So if you increase the caster on the left, it should "pull" to the right an cancel out your current pull to the left.

 

This is the correct answer. Tires.
Remember braking is different when coasting or accelerating.

 

I agree that it is probably the tires. Brakes would be hot as hell and that burnt brake odor would be obvious. Anything that would cause a drag enough to cause a pull would eventually burn up. Alignment looks good. Considering roads are crowned to the right, your pull must be pretty severe. Research tire conicity and it might lead you to a solution.

 

Thanks all. Appreciate the input