front end alignment

wb13798 · 12-10-2003, 09:15 PM

last month the weenie got a lot of front suspension parts. when i had the alignment done the mechanic said i had a pulling tire. my response was ok. had the tires rotated , tires from the rear put on the front, also had the tires trued up. this didnt fix the pulling tire problem my thoughts were, this guy is pulling my leg. ofter 2 thousand miles i still had the pulling tire problem . called and talked to another mechanic and his response was if you dont beleive the story, switch the tires on the front and the sympton will move with the tire. my tires were pulling to the right , i switched them and now the tires are pulling to the left. not as bad as when they were pulling to the right.
have you ever had this problem??? how did you fix it???

wingfoot · 12-10-2003, 10:40 PM

WB.

My experience is you don't. I am aware of two possible reasons
: (1) the tire has been worn more on one side of centerline due to poor alignment of the suspension or (2) the tire has an off center belt/belts which you can't see and can't prove without a very expensive machine that checks radial & lateral force variation.

I would put the pulling tire on the rear and wear it out in a non steer position. Tire should not be dangerous due to this condition.

If the tire were nearly new I would expect the manufacturer to adjust it. However, sounds like the issue is clouded by suspension work, miles on the tires, etc.

You need to be careful in isolating the bad tire. I think a tire can be pushing or pulling depending which way it is exerting lateral force.

I have isolated them on cars but, your rig is a lot bigger to be moving tires/wheels around on.

wb13798 · 12-11-2003, 12:11 PM

i have determined that it is the left tire it is pulling. but i have two tires now that was pulling one has already been relocated to the rear and the one on the left. both tires must have a belt problem as i had the tires shaved and trued . this is where they cut rubber off the tire . they both have more tred than i will ever wear out. two more years and four of the tires (bridgestone) come off, new ones installed. think i will rotate one more tire off the rear and hope it doesnt pull.