The steering is perfect, very responsive and so slop, they checked all tie rod ends, even when i pushed for the driver side inner tie rod. According to them and the other 3 shops ive been to, nothing has play in it, the dealership said that my pasenger side lower ball joint showed the ever so slightness of play in it, but its nothing that would keep it from passing inspection or cause a pull, the play was very, very, very light. I have shook the front wheels till my head spun and never saw any play anywhere in the front.

After i told them to just change the inner tie rod end on the driver side friday night (they arent going to do it till monday) i got to thinking about all that the guy at the dealership had told me, they had it in the shop two different times while they had the truck the last three days to check the inner tie rod ends. And he swears up and down that there isnt any play or bad part. So i called them today and told them to forget about just replacing the part.

I know ive been preaching that my truck has a pull to the right. But the more i investigate, and the more i find nothing is worn, im almost thinking that maybe my steering wheel just needs to be centered using the "adjust the tie rods" method probably just one or two turns each side, and caster added to the alignment. Maybe it is the road crown, and the 17" tires and bigger truck than i ever had before bringing out the road crown more pronounced. I think im just going to have them make my steering wheel straight while going down the road, and adjust the alignment (in a safe way and a way that will not eat my tires) to compensate for road crown.

I know that ive said this before, and got critisized for it, but maybe some of it is in my head and im expecting a car like ride from this truck.

Im just becoming baffled and tired of chasing problems and now i just want my truck to drive straight.

 

Caster won't affect tire wear. As long as the camber and toe-in are in, you'll be ok on tire wear.

 

I think im just going to see now if they can play with the alignment and adjust it and drive it a couple times to get it to go down the road straight with a straight steering wheel. Ill mention to them about checking rack mounting bushing and stuff, but i think they will just have to play with the alignment now.

 

I got a theory which is based off what Greg B mentioned in an earlier post. The steering systems in our trucks are hydraulic (I just realized this when I was looking under the truck lol). So could it be that the valve that opens to turn the wheels to the right is defective and has a minor leak? At rest the leak would not be sufficient to move the tires but under motion when the tires are rotating they would have less resistance and turn to the right. I think a way to test this would be to jack the truck up so the wheels are off the ground, start it up and see if the tires start to drift on their own since there would be no friction from the ground. That seems plausible right? I'll test this myself when I have the time but I have 4 tests and 1 research paper to write this week.....

 

Thats a good theory, and i understand what your saying, beings i work with hydarulics at my job. I have had the truck up in the air with the truck running while checking my IWE situation, and i didnt notice (and it would be noticeable if that was the case) that the wheels were moving on their own.

 

Drats! Hmmm... While chasing vacuum leaks did you let the truck idle the whole time? Perhaps the valve needs a higher pressure to fail than what is available while the engine idles? I know I'm speculating a lot but we both have the same problem and it seems like you beat up all the other alternatives already. LOL

 

Ya, i just let it idle. Im going to see what the dealership says about just compensating the alignment and adjusting the steering wheel to make it straight and drive straight. As long as they are extremely positive there is nothing wrong anywhere. Which im starting to beleive that there might not be anything wrong after its been to 3 different places and they all say the same thing.

 

My 04 4x4 has had a slightly cocked to the left steering wheel since I bought it in 03. It was back twice to Ford and once to an independant shop. They always corrected it but it returned shortly after. The truck never pulled left or right when you let go of the wheel and tire wear never showed any signs of misaligenment. It's been like this for almost 6 years and 80+ miles and its a problem for others that drive my truck because they are constantly trying to make the steering wheel straight which , by turning it right makes them think the truck is pulling right. I have become so used to it that I don't notice it being off center.

 

Im coming around to thinking that what you just said could be what i do, and in my mind, im always trying to straighten the steering wheel out, which would actually be turning it right. So i talked to the shop this morning and before i even said anything the guy told me he was going to have a different mechanic look at it before they do anything. That seems a little fishy to me, but hey, if he does a better job. But i told him not to replace the inner tie rod if not needed. Just make my steering wheel straight, and make it drive straight down the road. Ill let you know what they say.

 

Shop called my truck it done. They did nothing to it, they claim they drove it all around and they dont get it to pull to the right or have a tilted steering wheel. i dont know whats left to do. I just want to drive my truck and myself off a cliff cause im tired of problems like this crap all the time. Ive spent the last 2 years chasing problems with two different trucks and can never get them resolved. Ive had it.

 

Alright, picked up the truck yesterday and they didnt do anything to it, so it still pulls to the right, and i have to keep the steering to the left, the pop is also still audible from the steering somewhere (driver side). I couldnt take it so i called them again this morning and said, "hey this thing is pulling to the right on every road i drive it on. Did anyone ever pull the boot off the inner tie rod end to steering rack connection?" and their reply was, "No, no we didnt, would you like us to?" and i said "Yes! that is what i told you guys to do last wednesday when i had it in!" And they said "Ok, well why dont you stop by and take it for a road test with the mechanic and show him what your seeing" and then i replied "I would be more than happy to!" So i go back tonight and road test it with a machanic.

The mechanic will probably just tell me its road crown when we get on the road, but the jeep cherokee they gave me as a loaner never pulled on the same roads, my wifes car doesnt pull on the same roads, every other car/truck i have driven on the same roads doesnt pull like this does.

I dont get it, the steering wheel clearly has to be pull to the left to keep the truck going straight! At the least i have to keep the top center at 10-11 oclock. And if i let go it drifts to the right. They told me also that the adjuster for the warranty company would be coming to look at the steering rack and that never happened either, WTF is up with service places these days! If this doesnt help anything im going to take it up with the service manager while im there, this is bull *****!

 

My heart bleeds for you, Seriously. If it were me, I would be wearing the general manager to a frazzle.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

If something doesnt happen tonight, im going to have a chat with the general manager or service manager or something. I still believe that the inner tie rod is bad. But im not sure how to tell if it is by looking at it, if they pull that boot off.

I also contacted a lemon law lawyer about this truck. I talked to one in the fall cause the dealership had my truck for 3 out of the first 4 months that i owned it cause the first two months they were holding the truck to fix a torque converter. They held the truck so that it looked like to the warranty company that i had the truck 2 months when it happened, instead of at time of sale which would then have been on the shoulders of the dealership. Then my speed sensor and wires on the tanny went bad and they had the truck for another month trying to figure it out. Then all this pulling right stuff, and brake part and IWE replacement parts. Im really at wits end with this truck, i bought this truck so i wouldnt have to work on it all the time like my 02 silverado that i traded in. I feel like all i do it think about my broke truck and nothing else, im sick of it!

 

xjcamaro89 I too had my truck pulling the same way and I think there are a bunch of trucks out there doing the same. Its something with the steering system it has to be. My truck doesnt do it as bad as it did when I had Yokahoma A/T + II tire on it but it still does it on two lane country roads. Hwy it drives with out any issues but you still have to keep more pressure on the left side of the wheel than the right. I dont get it either. Like you said if you tried to put the wheel centered it will go to the right but I dont have any tire ware on the Bridgestone REVO A/T. I have a leveling kit so I thought it could be something to do with that but I dont think it does now. I dont know I stopped worring about it now. As long as the tires dont go bad I'm good.

 

I cant stop worrying about it, it my nature, i wont be able to let it go. But i did notice it was worse when i had my A/Ts on but now i just have stock tires on without any difference. And yes i have to keep a constant left pressure to keep the truck going straight. It is calmed down a little when on the highway but its still there. Ill show them when i take it in today, i wrapped a peice of blue painters tape around the top dead center of the steering wheel so little movements left to keep going straight will be easy to see. It might just be that the alignment (like some others have said) needs to be made to compensate for road crown, but i cant get that through their head. But all the other vehicles that i drive on the same roads dont exhibit the same pulling, and i have driven at least 4 different vehicles on those same roads. If its a internal problem with the steering rack, im having a hard time getting them to understand that as well. All anyone wants to do is shake a tire anymore, and if there isnt any play, the system is fine, well thats not the case every time. After all ive been through with this truck, im going to make them make it right, or put me in a different truck.