Tacoma Pulls To The Right

Need some advice...

Started about 3 months ago

The truck was noticeably pulling to the right, I took it in to Firestone for an alignment. They got it into spec but the pull was still there. Long story short after a another visit to Firestone, then to Toyota rotating the tires 4 times then having a force balance on the tires and a bad shock in the rear left replaced the truck still pulls to the right. Its less noticeable but still there. I drive my wife's rav4 down the same roads and on the highway and it has no drift.

Ive even had the Toyota's shop foreman inspect and drive the truck. He said everything was good and couldn't get better than what it is.

Brakes don't seem to be an issue.

If Ive rotated the tires all 4 tires 4 times with the same result (pulls to the right) then they cant be the issue right?

I did my best to not be difficult with tech offing up to pay for whatever repairs they thought it needed with no fight on price or arguing. (still they said the truck was fine)

Ive since had my neighbor, wife and myself drive the truck all noticing the pull originally and now after the new shock and force balance (given that now after the new shock and force balance it is less noticeable but still there).

This is kinda driving me crazy, I purchased the truck at the end of January 22 6 days in got into a rear ending but since have had it repaired then ive taken it to two shops both looked at the truck say the frame is fine and that the hit i took couldn't of bent the frame.

Ive checked brakes they seem fine a little warped but not dragging, rotated all tires 4 times have had 4 alignments and have been told that the truck is fine... I drive alot on average 100 miles in some days 250 miles and I know its there.

So I'm left in pickle, do I spend 800-1000 bucks on new tires see if that solves the issue, go out of my way to replace upper and lower control arms myself or take the financial after my rear ending try and trade it in and get another tacoma?

what would you do?

ps: I know roads are crowned and are designed to push cars to the right for safety but like I said the truck is always pulling to the right even against high winds and in opposition to streets that crown inward to the left.

 

Did the same shop do all 4 alignments?
The cheapest solution might be to find a better/different or specialty alignment shop and have them compensate for the pull you feel.

 

If the front was aligned properly, then the rear is the problem. Have someone look at the suspension shackles that may have been damaged and bent enough to make the rear axle not aligned correctly. Or possibly the leafs. This could be the problem.

 

1. Did the truck ever drive normal?
2. Did the truck change after the wreck?

And, tires are important but a good alignment is more important.

 

While tire balance is important, it wont impact the pull you describe.

Post a printout of your last alignment numbers

 

No 2 were firestone and the other two was toyota

 

Try to find an actual independent alignment shop, not a do-it-all like Firestone or the dealer.
Call around to garages who work on high end cars in your area and ask who they use.
A good alignment has much more to do with the man operating the equipment than the actual equipment.

 

Haven't thought of that the toyota tech did replace a bad shock in the rear left where the truck was hit. They did that yesterday and it the pull lessened sop maybe you are on to something..
...

 

honestly i only drove it like 3 days before i got hit so i couldn't tell you. I was just excited to have a new truck. but i would like to say yes but cant be sure.

 

I agree here. I took my truck to one of those Truck Parts shops that specializes in oversize truck tires/lifts/equipment, and the alignment was superb-I've had many alignments over the years this one was in the top 1%. Point is they know how to make an alignment work and they have skilled techs not the entry level techs working the alignment machine. Find one of these shops near you and let them know that nobody has ever aligned your truck correctly, explain your pull, and ask them if they can do it. And make sure to get the print out of your alignment numbers--they'll give you before and after numbers for your reference.

 

I second having the alignment numbers posted for us to look at. I have a question, as I deal with alignments on a daily basis. A couple of questions:
1: When you say the vehicle pulls to the right, is this when you are essentially not holding the steering wheel at all? Or are you trying to center the steering wheel, and when you do, the vehicle pulls to the right?
2: When you had the tires rotated, did you move them front to back only, or was a cross rotation done?
3: Are all of the tire treads even in wear, or is one or more tires worn more than the others?
4: Do you have factory or oversized tires, and/or a lift or leveling kit installed?

 

I have a place like that near me ill give them a call!

 

Ill get the paper later today and post an image.

1- kinda both i can feel the wheel pull to the right slightly and once i let go the truck will pull more to the right.
2 - all kinds of configurations... just front the front back then in a cross pattern.
3 - no there is one that isnt the greatest but if i rotated the tires in all positions but still get pull to the right no matter what im not sure how that would be it..
4 - The truck is a TSS edition so they came with Tires are 265/70/17 Nitto Terra Grappler A/T

I'm starting to think it may be a rear axle misalignment or a leaf spring issue...

Once the toyota tech put on the new rear shock and the the force balance the issue was less noticeable, either that is remedying the issue or when it was in the shop they cranked the alignment to compensate for the pull. i don't see any tool marks on the alignment bolts so i doubt thats what they did...

 

I second this. I had a slight pull and my steering wheel was slightly off. Toyota did a free alignment check while I was in for service and they said everything was in spec even though the steering wheel was off and I told them I would gladly pay for an alignment if it needed to be done. I appreciate them trying to save money but there was something off. Took it to a dedicated alignment shop who had no problem taking my money and fixing my issue. When I was young I learned the hard way trusting a tire shop to properly align my vehicle.

 

What tires are you running? I have the same problem and am running Cooper Discoverer. S/T Maxx. Two different alignment shops couldn't get it to stop pulling. Rotated tires with no effect. Then started typing in the tires in Google and the first thing that popped up was other people in jeeps and Tacoma's having issues with pulling to the right with these tires. I think there's even a poll on this forum about it. Even if you have different tires, could be the problem.

 

My best guess is this is accident related. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, and if so disregard, but the truck was involved in an accident, I assume repairs were made, but they 'missed' the shock needing replaced? Makes me wonder the quality of the inspection/repairs concerning the accident.

Or the shock didn't need replaced at the time, but whatever your true issue is worsened the shock life, and because its now replaced, symptoms are a little better? I think we're all just guessing here, and idk how much pics would help, but maybe just snag some pics of all suspension components and upload them, and hopefully we can see something fishy.

 

So here is my input based solely on information provided and not actually looking at the truck or specifications: Tires may be chopping slightly due to the suspension issue of a shock needing replacement. Rotating them before the shock was replaced may have caused erratic chopping of the tires which can cause a pull. If multiple tires have been in that location during rotation for long enough, that could cause a pull condition. Not a 100% fact, but a possibility. Do you have a friend with a Tacoma? Perhaps swap tires/wheels for a quick drive to eliminate if tires are the cause?

As far as alignment..... It can be "within specs" and still cause a pull. Vehicles tend to pull towards a low caster angle and a high camber angle. For example look at the below numbers:
Left caster -2.0 Right caster -1.5
Left camber +1.0 Right camber +1.0
These would cause a slight pull to the left (-2.0 is lower than -1.5)

Left caster -2.0 Right caster .1.5
Left camber +1.0 Right camber +1.5
This would cause a straight down the road run. .5 left pull on caster, .5 right pull on camber, cancels each other out.

Now these numbers CAN be affected slightly due to thrust angle of the rear axle, but if done correctly there will be no pull, just a slight "dog-track" condition.

 

Ill do that today as well maybe you are right.

 

I'm starting to suspect a ball joint or a bushing can be bad somewhere in one of the control arms

 

If the alignment, and front end components have been checked to be good, usually its the frame then.