Trucks Pulls right AFTER Caster Shims???
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8th Gear
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Trucks Pulls right AFTER Caster Shims???
New to me 2014 with a leveling kit. Truck tracked perfectly straight with stock shims, but steering was too light for my liking.
Replaced stock shims with Carli caster shims and truck has developed a slight pull to the right. It's not death grip worthy, but its noticeable and requires constant left pressure on the wheel.
Do not have alignment specs pre-shims. Tires are inflated the same both sides, right manual hub is not locked, and it did not pull with OEM shims. Took the truck for an alignment and these are my "after" figures.
FRONT
-0.3 Camber -0.1
2.3 Caster 2.6
0.06 Toe 0.04
Total Toe 0.10
Steer Ahead 0.01
REAR
-0.1 Camber. -0.3
0.17 Toe. -0.26
Total Toe -0.09
Thrust Angle 0.21
Does anyone see any smoking guns of why these specs would give me a right hand pull? Im thinking maybe a Carli nitrogen charged steering stabilizer would counteract? I appreciate the help in advance!
Replaced stock shims with Carli caster shims and truck has developed a slight pull to the right. It's not death grip worthy, but its noticeable and requires constant left pressure on the wheel.
Do not have alignment specs pre-shims. Tires are inflated the same both sides, right manual hub is not locked, and it did not pull with OEM shims. Took the truck for an alignment and these are my "after" figures.
FRONT
-0.3 Camber -0.1
2.3 Caster 2.6
0.06 Toe 0.04
Total Toe 0.10
Steer Ahead 0.01
REAR
-0.1 Camber. -0.3
0.17 Toe. -0.26
Total Toe -0.09
Thrust Angle 0.21
Does anyone see any smoking guns of why these specs would give me a right hand pull? Im thinking maybe a Carli nitrogen charged steering stabilizer would counteract? I appreciate the help in advance!
Logistics Pro
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,778
Likes: 867
From: Foothills of NC
There's still not much caster there even with the new shims. I would think between 4 and 5 deg would feel better.
As far as pulling to the right, adding 1/4 to 1/2 deg more on the right side would fix that.
This is assuming the 2.6 number is the right side.
As far as pulling to the right, adding 1/4 to 1/2 deg more on the right side would fix that.
This is assuming the 2.6 number is the right side.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 326
Likes: 6
Agree that caster should be around 4 degrees.
I went thru this with a straight axle K5 Blazer. Wandered all over the road after I rebuilt everything. Went in for an alignment and found I had barely any caster. Put in new shims to bring it to 4 degrees and now she drives a lot better.
But that will just fix your driving. As for the pull, you either have something out of alignment or a dragging brake.
camber I would try to get closer to a match. Rear toe looks a bit weird as well.
Positive on one side and negative on the other. That means one side is pointing out and the other is pointing in. May have to loosen up the U bolts and realign the axle on the leaf springs to get it correct.
You need to fix the problem before you add more steering stabilizers, they will just hide the problem, not fix it. And it will not fix a misaligned front end that pulls to one side.
I went thru this with a straight axle K5 Blazer. Wandered all over the road after I rebuilt everything. Went in for an alignment and found I had barely any caster. Put in new shims to bring it to 4 degrees and now she drives a lot better.
But that will just fix your driving. As for the pull, you either have something out of alignment or a dragging brake.
camber I would try to get closer to a match. Rear toe looks a bit weird as well.
Positive on one side and negative on the other. That means one side is pointing out and the other is pointing in. May have to loosen up the U bolts and realign the axle on the leaf springs to get it correct.
You need to fix the problem before you add more steering stabilizers, they will just hide the problem, not fix it. And it will not fix a misaligned front end that pulls to one side.
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 235
Likes: 1
From: Fayetteville, NC
Generally at work I try for 0.5 degrees more caster on the right side to counter road crown. Caster will pull to the less positive side. Camber will pull to the more positive side. So your camber is causing a slight pull to the right the caster is offsetting it some, but together it's almost like a neutral setting in my opinion. So then you add the road crown back in and it pulls right. If this is the case it'll usually stop pulling or pull left if you ride in the fast lane on a rural interstate, because the road crown slopes left in that lane usually. Or on a two lane road straddle the center line. If your pull goes away there it's caused by road crown, add more right caster.
Caster is the only setting that won't wear tires so that's why it's usually used to offset road crown, not that your camber is enough to wear the tires excessively.
Also tires with a bad belt or different pressure can cause a pull so verify pressure and if adding caster doesn't help rotate tires to see if it goes away or swap left to right to see if pull follows tire.
Caster is the only setting that won't wear tires so that's why it's usually used to offset road crown, not that your camber is enough to wear the tires excessively.
Also tires with a bad belt or different pressure can cause a pull so verify pressure and if adding caster doesn't help rotate tires to see if it goes away or swap left to right to see if pull follows tire.
Tuned
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 385
Likes: 19
If both caster changes were equal on the front then it may be that the rear is affecting it more than it did before. That’s showing the rear on the negative side pointing out more than 1/8”.
You might want to drive behind your truck while someone else drives it to see if it’s dog tracking. You can have all the wheels aligned and have it dog track. Makes for odd handling.
You might want to drive behind your truck while someone else drives it to see if it’s dog tracking. You can have all the wheels aligned and have it dog track. Makes for odd handling.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,778
Likes: 867
From: Foothills of NC
If the caster is off side to side, but the total caster is around 1 deg or less, you most likely won't feel it. The more total caster you add, the more pronounced the effect will be. No pull at 1 deg may be a bad pull to one side a 4+ deg.
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Joshua Soboti
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