Possible alignment fix for pulling to the right!!!

[mattadams]

OK not sure if any of you know of this already, but basically here's what I ahve found out (and i'll be testing it hopefully next weekend...).
As many of you know, if you measure the distance between the radius arm and the rear spring, the passenger side is suprisingly 3/4" shorter distance then the left! And we wonder why everyone complains of having the vehicle constantly pull to the right! Well I was speaking with my carquest buddy about my other steering issues,
CQ guy: Its probably the radius arm bushings... by the way, does it always pull to one side even before these problems?
Matt: yeah.
CQ guy: "the right?"
Matt: yeah, howd you know!
CQ guy: Well, it there is a company out there that makes a radius arm bushings that are designed to overcompensate for this ford problem. Parts for both sides are about $40.

Since I was going to change them anyway, I say shoot order me up a set! He did, and should have it this week. I'll try to change em next weekend and let everyone know how it goes!

[Edited by mattadams on 10-29-2000 at 11:46 AM]

 

[Cameron]

That’s very interesting. My 97 has always pulled a little to the right. Let us know if this fixes the problem.

Peace.

 

[Goober]

Yes, please let me know. I have taken this thing to numerous shops without any success to date. A few have told me to take it to a frame shop and have them pull the wheels til they are straight. But, how do you know if the back wheels are set straight and the front is off or vise-versa?

I take it the new bushings either push the right forward or pull the right back or a little of both. Though if you push the right forward too much, you won't have much thread left to bolt on.

Either way, please tell of the results and part number(s). Thanks.

 

[Reb]

Matt, i was given the same song and dance at a front
end shop,about the right side being 1/2 inch set back
and that until i got it fixed there would not be any
sense in getting the front end aligned.Thanks to a post
By Goober,he told me his right side was the same,I then
took my truck to another shop and had it aligned(toe in was
out bad)5000 miles later on a new set of tires and no wear.
But it still pulls to the right.Let us know if your repairs
help.Thanks

 

[mattadams]

well Reb, I measured, I know for sure it's off by that distance. I've had it aligned probably 10 times by different shops, many of them have tried it 4 or 5 times before finally saying "its as good as we can get it!". I'm not sure what exactly the bushing looks like but I'm hoping the bigger portion is the part on the right side that forces that axle forward. rather then pulling the left side back... I don't have enough threads on my radius arms if it works the other way around . I'll let everyone know how it goes!

 

[rpenner54]

Yep Matt your right. They are differn't sized radius arms too I think. I know that because in the Stupidlift instructions it tells you to measure one and put that on one side and then the other goes on the other. I think its just a ploy to make people have to pull their stearing wheel to the left all the time.

 

[mattadams]

Originally posted by rpenner54
Yep Matt your right. They are differn't sized radius arms too I think. I know that because in the Stupidlift instructions it tells you to measure one and put that on one side and then the other goes on the other. I think its just a ploy to make people have to pull their stearing wheel to the left all the time.

well I don't know... actually my carquest buddy has a non-lifted f-150 and he said his ford does the exact same thing, and I even recall mine doing it before I installed the left (though not as pronounced, but that could be because of the bigger tires, etc. as well). Ah well, we'll find out soon enough .

 

[Pendarus]

O.K. I remember this from a thread posted by Rick. The problem is caused by the camber split between the front tires. When the truck is aligned, there is no weight in the drivers seat. When you get in your weight causes the drivers side to dip slightly. This changes the camber split in the front end to give the passenger-side more positive camber. The truck then pulls to the side with the postive side of the split. I'm not sure how to calculate the split, but Rick said by aligning the truck with him in it solved the pull. This is on a TTB front end.

 

[mattadams]

tried that and it didn't work. Besides I weight 210 pounds, which I don't think is nearly enough to effect the alignment that bad.

 

[rpenner54]

Yeah my old F150 had that problem and so did the Explorer before I lifted it. I don't belive that you weight no 210 lbs either! LOL

I am just gonna trash that TTB eventually and go solid anyway. So I am not gonna waste any more money on it.

 

[mattadams]

Originally posted by rpenner54
Yeah my old F150 had that problem and so did the Explorer before I lifted it. I don't belive that you weight no 210 lbs either! LOL

Man you gotta see this gut I'm growing... it comes from sitting on my ass all day and not getting any exercise I think.

 

[rpenner54]

LOL I don't belive it! LOL LOL You haven't exercised in years anyway and you just now start growing? LOL I think your metabolism finnally caught up with you is what I think.

 

[tdavis]

Well, I just got back from the frame shop with my Mazda.

It no longer pulls to the right!

Yea!

Ok, so before you all ask what the fix was, let's see if it holds!

 

[mattadams]

hey tdavis, I Remember you recommended taking it to a frame shop. I took it to supposedly one of the best frame shops in Denver, and after aligning it it came back worse then before! I took it back and they got it better, but still pretty bad. Oh well, I'm still waiting on the bushings, I'll see how well they work out...

 

[tdavis]

Hey matt, my alignment kept getting worse, and worse.. Along with the damn TTB notching out the d35 pumpkin.

So I had them reset the drop brackets (that's bending them straight), and then pin the bracket holding the passenger side TTB back to the frame.

I also had torn/bent the driver side radius arm bushing mount, so they replaced that too!

They did that, and re-aligned it.

No pull to the right, and plenty of clearance now between the TTB's.

Now to see if it holds!

I can't help if the frame shops in Colorado can't do alignments - the shop I took it to does semis! (along with 4x4's, vintage cars, and everything else..) It's a crazy place to visit. I just drool over everything there!

 

[mattadams]

picked up my bushings today (actually only got one side, the other side is still being ordered). They are made of neoprene which I'd never heard of but I'd heard it was kind of a good combination of rubber and polyurethane. Basically the way it works is both sides have adjustable bushings, pretty good instructions and all but i'll probably be taking it to a pro...I'm sure I'll try it myself . Basically the degree to which you rotate the bushing while installing it will dictate the width of the bushing. Here's the pics:
Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed

Wish my luck as I'll probably be having it done this week. I oughtta just sign over my paycheck for the new couple of months and say "you know what, just fix everything!" LOL

 

[tONYB]

I was planning on taking my Truck in to get my alignment done. But I see that will do me no good Another helpful hint of the day Let me know how things go. If so ill be doing the same thing.

 

[Cameron]

Let us know how it works out.

 

[ExploreMinnesota]

Hi Everyone!

It's been a few months since I've been to this site. Glad to see it's still going strong.

My 91 Explorer developed a pull to the right over the first year or two of it's life. It bugged the heck out of me, but I finally figured out what was causing it. The Replacement bushing picture Matt posted confirms what I found on my truck.

The problem has to do with the caster angles being out of spec. I was told by an alignment guy at Tires Plus that a wheel with the greater castor angle will roll easier. He said the caster angle difference between the two sides of my Explorer was great enough to cause the truck to pull to the right. He gave me a printout of the exact angles. I took that information and began examining the suspension to figure out what had changed to cause the caster angles to change.

What I found was the driver's side suspension had sagged just a bit more than the passenger's side. It appeared to have sagged 5/8 of an inch below the passenger's side.

Next, measuring the length of the radius arm on the driver's side and applying a little trigonometry, I found that I would have to raise the drivers side of the vehicle .622 inches to correct the difference in caster angles. That confirmed my 5/8 measurement I had made earlier.

The fix I made was to remove the driver's side spring and reinstall it with a 5/8 inch piece of steal under it. Both sides now sat at the same height.

When I brought it back in for an alignment the next day, the castor angles were exactly the same . . . AND, the pull to the right was gone . . . completely!

The replacement bushings that Matt posted show the hole is a little off center. That suggests to be that when they are installed, one radius arm is held higher than the other (I'm guessing the driver's side will be higher) thereby changing the caster angle on one or both sides. The pull to the right will be gone, but if it is caused by a sagging spring, the driver's side will still be sagging down a bit. Check yours out to see if it sags.

It's been two years since I made that fix, and . . . sorry to say it is starting to pull to the right again. I suspect the driver's side spring has sag's a little more (not surprising since it sagged to begin with). I'll have to go get the alignment checked and see what the caster angles are now.

Good luck in solving this problem on your explorer!

 

[Frisckey1]

OK...Can I ask this...?

What is it when your truck pulls in whatever direction you turn the wheel. I mean the slightest adjustment in either direction will send my truck clear into another lane. Also when going straight down the road, my steering wheel is ****ed a little to the left.

My fiance says its my driving that makes him sick, (he acutally gets car sick in my truck) but I swear that am having to constantly correct the wandering wheels...and my tires are all inflated to the same pressure...I checked that first. Anything else...or just one of those unsolvable things? I know you all are gonna raise your eyebrows at this one and call me crazy!

PS...the worst pull is to the left on my truck...