Tacoma pulling to the right but brakes is not my question...

Taco pulls right hard. Usually that is a sticky left caliper. I got that. Here is my question.

If my brakes are pulling shouldn't the steering wheel also move???

When i brake hard from about 45mph i will drift right 6 feet pretty fast but my steering wheel with light pressure stays centered. Am i missing something?

Truck just aligned. New upper & lower ball joints. New spindle bearings. New LCA bushings.

Thank you for the guidance.

 

Check tie rods Jack it up and wiggle the tire left to right, if it moves more than 1/8" they're bad

 

Will do.

Are you suggesting then that if it were the brakes that the steering wheel would also move?

 

No, if there is play in the tie rods when there is a force applied to the wheels such as braking it can cause the tie rods to pull, shutter, etc with minimal steering wheel pull or none, you should be able to feel it slightly though when it first starts pulling

 

one of your rear shoes is not adjusting like the other and when you apply the brakes the un-adjusted shoe does nothing and the truck pivots around the working rear brake. Find an empty stretch or road and get up to 45 mph and with your right hand twist the parking brake lever and slowly pull it out to confirm the suspicion.

 

My Dad's 95 had RH in inner tie rod that was really worn. Behaved somewhat similar in that just driving down the road, almost no drift or noticeable play in steering, and no wheel vibration. It did pull a little during braking, so we had just thought brake caliper. But he noticed the same thing, no pull in steering wheel.

Didn't react as bad as it sounds like yours, but he could notice it. Replaced and problem went away.

I like Glamisman's trick for checking for rear adjust. I am going to try to remember that one.

 

Thanks guys.

It sounds then like my confusion about the steering wheel was correct in that if it were the front brakes then the steering wheel would also move.

I get absolutely no other symptoms when driving. When i go over speed bumps i swear something is not right but i cant place it. This a all started after i replaced the front spindle assemblies. (2WD to 4WD conversion)
I replaced everything at that time except the tie rod ends and nothing on the UCA assembly. I will jack up the front end tonight and test for play. Possible all the other parts being new and tight has exposed something else.

 

It could also be worn out LCA bushings.

 

Just to rule it out, check tire pressures too.
I agree, it sounds like rear brakes.

 

@Glamisman. I ran this test and not the issue. At 45mph over three tests the truck does not even hint of a drift using the E-brake with hands off the wheel.

@RedManRocket. I think this is part of the problem. Both tie rods i detect minor relative motion when i hold both the tie rod and the spindle. These will now get replaced.

I need to correct a previous statement in that my LCA bushings and UCA's are new.

New info. When the truck is jacked up i have alot of motion left to right on both wheels together through the steering rack. Three observations.

1. When i steer things are pretty tight and responsive
2. When i rock one wheel both move through the steering rack.
3. Particularly on the passenger side there is alot of motion in the steering rack to the body in the rubber bushing that holds the rack on.

So new tie rod ends for sure but what should i be seeing at the steering rack?

Thanks

 

Ah yes, the bushings could be shot on the steering rack also, thatd make alot of sense why the wheel isn't moving at all.

 

Here's this for you, a thread I made on replacing the rack bushings
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/polyurethane-rack-bushing-install.435790/

 

Thanks. Nice write up. Sounds like i have another job to do... Why urethane over stock material?

 

They are just stiffer and allow less movement in the bushings which in turn makes the steering more precise

 

Kit ordered. I know what i am doing this weekend...

Anyone have any comment about Factory vs. aftermarket tie rod ends? Are MOOG units good enough?

 

I did some more testing today and noticed something that should have pointed out the steering rack being the issue.

Normally when i would brake and it would pull right i would just correct left and stop. Brakes are pulling. ya, ya, ya...

Now that i know the steering rack bushings are shot i did more testing today and finally noticed that after it pulled right hard and I let off the brakes while still above 20mph you could feel the truck correct left as the steering rack shifted back into place. Weird feeling.

anyways, steering rack and tie rods removed. Old bushings removed. New bushings arrive tomorrow and Saturday will get it all back together.

 

Well youre just jumpin right in, right on

 

Yup. Why put off to tomorrow. Mine came out alot easier than yours. Here is what i did.

First off to get better access i:
- Removed the sway bar completely. Easy to do.
- Disconnected the steering wheel shaft from the steering wheel rack. Harder than i thought it would be. Access is tight.
- Removed all of the steering rack bolts and suspended the steering rack on wire hangers to not stress the hydraulic lines.

That gave me a lot of room to work.

For the middle vertical bushing i cut off the rubber flange on the top with a razor blade. I then placed a 30mm socket on the top and drove the bushing out from the bottom with a "C" clamp. Really easy that way.

For the horizontal i cut off the rubber flange to the rear. I then used two super larger screw drivers on the front metal flange of the bushing and pried it out as far as i could. I was able to lever off of the steering rack to get it out about 1/2" I then used pair of channel locks around the rubber boot under the steel flange to rotate the bushing and side drive or ply the bushing out against the steering rack. It came out pretty fast that way.

Probably 30 minutes for the whole shebang.

Hope that helps someone in the future.

 

Right on

 

I had the same issues recently and replaced all tie rod ends last week. no more pulling or wandering all over the road.