Truck was pulling hard to the right. Took it in and got the alignment done, they told me front right was worn and would still pull slight right. When I drove it, still pulled just as hard. Took it back and had tires rotated, they test drove it multiple times and made small adjustments then told me it was good to go. Drove to work today and still pulling. Not quite as bad but definitely more than a slight pull. What’s my next step? What else could cause this?
front right WHAT was worn? They had to be more specific than that.
Take it to a competent alignment shop, this one is not competent.
Front right tire. So they put it to the back today. I took it to Firestone.
More info needs to be known. You say the RF tire was worn. Was it worn on the inner or outer edges, both, etc?
What kind of vehicle and how many miles on it?
Pulling can be caused by alignment, wear in a suspension/steering component, component bent, dragging brake, tire bias, worn tires, etc.
If you got a printout of the alignment specs you should look at the caster and camber specs carefully and make sure they’re reasonably close although some variance is fine.
If a badly worn tire is still in place a pull can be caused by that even if it has been rotated.
Sorry, Firestone is not a high quality shop. Just my opinion.
What year, model truck? how may miles? rear drive or all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive?
Paperwork said camber wear on inside of tire. It’s an 08 Ford F-150. 4x4.
About 100k miles
But looking at the tires i don’t see a noticeable difference in the tread. Any and all advice is appreciated.
I suggest finding a better shop. The mechanic’s dog must have eaten his homework that night.
Wear on the inside edge points to too much negative camber. Out a little could be due to miles and settling of the suspension. Out a fair amount or quite a bit usually means something is bent or worn. With the latter that’s generally ball joints or control arm bushings.
It’s difficult to peg this due to so many unknowns. Does the paperwork show they made adjustments on the camber? Generally speaking, a little more neg. camber is desired on the RF as that will compensate for road crown and tend to push the car left.
Did they do a 4 wheel alignment, check track, and so on? I call it track; some call it thrust angle, others refer to it as crabbing, etc.
Just wondering about an axle (front or rear) being a bit askew.
Caster should be close also with a little more positive caster on the RF.
You might consider taking a tape measure and measuring from the front edge of a rear wheel rim to the rear edge of the front wheel rim on the same side. Repeat this on the other side.
The meaurements should be very close to each other. If not, then something is cockeyed.
They did make adjustments to Everything of what you just mentioned according to the paperwork I received and got it all back into within manufacturers specs. I will try measuring with a tape thanks for the idea.
Clearly this shop isn’t capable of fixing it and they lack the integrity to even bother trying. No shop should return this to you without test driving and confirming that it’s fixed.
You need a new shop. It’s that simple. We could list a whole bunch of possible causes, including a dragging brake or a bearing seizing, but someone competent is going to have to look hands-on.
Come you regulars!! How many times do I have to tell you what the procedure should be?
Swap the front tires side to side.
If the pull completely reverses, it is only the tires.
If the pull doesn’t change, it is something in the vehicle - usually alignment.
If the pull disappears or only changes a little, it is both the vehicle and the tire .
And in this case, I am betting it is the last one.
And the way to deal with the tires is to replace them. The problem is that the wear is causing the pull - and that was caused by the alignment - and it would be best to replace both front tires
Oh, and OP? Was this a gradual change or sudden? A gradual change could be the tire wearing. If it was sudden, something bent or brake.
The OP said the tires were rotated with no change and tire bias was suggested.
Camber wear on the RIGHT tire?? Too much camber on the right would make the truck lead left, not right. Sounds like too much caster on the right is making it pull right.
I agree with the others, this shop is crap, the alignment guy has no business under your truck, find a better alignment shop.
Capri, have a cup of coffee, relax, and read the post more carefully.
The regulars here don’t need to be admonished of “what the procedure should be”.
Coffee, @tsm? It’s 5:00 somewhere. How about a brew? Everything will look much better for @Capri and the rest of us as we sip few cold ones. I have a few double Xs in the shop. Ya’ll come on over.
Rod, that’s a great idea.I accept your offer. {
I have a few questions. Pulls hard can mean a lot of things.
When going down a straight road, do you have to cock the steering wheel to one side to maintain a straight line?
If you hold the steering wheel straight and level, does the truck drift?
Does the truck feel like it is trying to turn the steering wheel for you, that is if you let go of the steering wheel, does the steering wheel turn on its own?
Has the shop put the trunk in the air, started the engine and then observed the steering wheel to see if it tries to turn on its own? That could be from a bad steering box.
Although that situation is somewhat rare it definitely is a possibility @keith. I just don’t have much faith in a shop that diagnoses a problem and does work that does not correct the problem and is unable to determine what the real problem is but has the audacity to hand the owner a bill. The shop owner must think he’s a medical doctor.
The beer is cold @tsm. Just take the driveway to the back yard and join us. When I run out of the double X there’s some long necks. I’ll be playing some B.B.KIng for the neighborhood and hope they appreciate it.
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=B.B.King+Caledonia&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-003