[sammy]

Have any of you noticed your new trucks slightly pulling to the left while driving down the road? My mechanic friend who runs an alignment rack at the GMC dealership commented that at one point, GM was putting a very slight left pull in some models to compensate for the crown on most roads. Off hand, he could not recall the models or model years.


I noticed that my steering wheel is off center just a little to the right going down the highway, and that I have a very slight pull to the left. He is going to align it on Monday under warranty.


BTW, GM covers wheel alignments up to 7500 miles under warranty.

 

[BlueOx03]

I've had the same problem since day one. I took it to the dealership they had it aligned at there place and it still did it. I took it back and they paid to have it done at a shop that I knew would do it right. I seemed to go strait at first, but went back to pulling to the left. It hasn't got worse in the 18000 miles since and they won't do anything else about it. I don't even notice it anymore.....

Ox

 

[sammy]

One of the problems is that if the alignment guy puts it back to factory specs, it will still pull to the left, since that is what the factory spec called for.

 

[GMCSID]

The factory specs are very broad. It is possible to have all angles in spec and have the truck pulling to the left or right and chew up a set of tires in no time. The angles all have to be set in proper relation to each other. In my experience GM trucks ride well with .2-.5 deg. camber, over 3 deg caster with the left lower by .3-.7 deg and .5 to .10 deg toe in. All alignments are done with the caster lower on the left to compensate for road crown, they should not pull in either direction if done right.

 

[donmiller714]

I ABSOLUTELY HATED my truck when it did this!

But here's the thing: when I first took it home it was a dream to drive--I barely had to steer it went so straight and smooth down the road. I thought "...now THAT'S $46k well spent!". Then, it happened: I got the tires rotated.


Holy-timoly, left pull like you wouldn't believe! I got carple tunnel just holding it on the road. I tried adjusting the tire pressure in the front end, no luck. I talked to an 10-year Pep Boys manager (figured he'd know something about it) and he suggested that tire tolorance was the problem. anyway, for another 5k miles I dealt with it.


Then, I got the tires rotated back and THE PROBLEM WENT AWAY! So I'm figuring that there's a tire problem of some kind. Then, after my FIRST tow I noticed that I had a sidewall crack about 4 inches long in one of the rear tires! Now I don't know if it's because my tires were underinflated (only had 50 lbs in 'em 'cause I didn't know any better at the time) but I took the tire back to the dealer and got it replaced for free.


Since then, I haven't had any problem.

 

[Jeli]

I too had that. Suprisingly it didn't get worse after adding green keys and 315's. The tires worn great the first 8K. I got in a small accident and finally had it aligned. It still pulls left but less than before.

 

[WillowCreekStable]

Mine does it too, just a bit, nothing like my '99 F150 4X4. Aligned 4 times by 3 shops in the first 20,000 km, couldn't get it right. It either pulled on crowned roads or flat roads.

 

[Redapple]

Taking mine to the dealer on Fri to deal with this very issue, and some others. My front end is the opposite. Mine has a pull to the right, and the steering wheel is offset to the left. Didn't do that when I first got it. Anyway the dealer is going to make it right under warranty (Only 5k miles). They are also going to fix my seat memory module, and do reg 5k maint. I will post pics of fuel filter next week. My 97, and my 2k trucks had the exact same front end thing, and after dealer re-did front alignment all was fine.


Bill

 

[DavesDmax]

Yep, mine too!


They had to completely redo the right side to correct the leftward drift.


Unfortunately, they kind of over corrected so now it drifts to the right slightly.

 

[White Duramax]

I have always heard that vehicles are supposed to be set to eventually go to the right, that way you would go towards the ditch instead of head on into traffic, say if you fell asleep or wasnt paying attention. There are 2 main things that cause a vehicle to pull, alignement and tires. Tires can cause a pull, if yours starts pulling after a rotation, it is the tires. Swap the 2 fronts if they pull, it fixes it sometimes but not always. I agree with GMCSid, factory specs are pretty broad. You need to go to a shop that has a good alignment tech that knows more than just what the specs say.

 

[maynard9089]

Mine pulls right with the wheel off to the left. I took it to the dealer two weeks ago and after being on the rack for two hours it is better but still not perfect. This is the second truck in a row with this. Im gonna live with it for now.

 

[Frank Blum]

As usual Sid is on the money. When I was doing alignments I would give the left wheel .25 more camber than the right and the right wheel .25 more positive caster. Since most roads in our area were crowned this worked well. We have a lot more crown less roads now and this is no longer the case. In fact, a lot of freeways are graded to the left. Not all alignment techs are created equal also. Maybe Sid can tell us if they still have a desired setting. It is quite common to have a partial separation in a tire that can cause a serious pull. Most of these tires are not a safety concern. Running one front tire 5 PSI lower than the other can cause a slight pull. Later! Frank

 

[Redapple]

I had my trucl done today, and whatever they did, it is right on.

Bill