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steering pulling to the right

OPCOM

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I kindly ask for some advice..

My M35 pulls to the right a bit. The faster you go, the more it pulls. I have equalized all pressures in the tires and all the joints and knuckle pins are lubed. I have semi tractor steer tires on front in like-new shape and eight same size NDTs on the back. All tires are 11.00x20 and have less than 5000 miles on them. (the fronts just don't wear, they are so heavy duty). Sitting still, there is very little play that I can tell. Going 50MPH, I hold the wheel against the slight pull (maybe half to one pound of torque at the steering wheel rim), and if I turn the wheel to the other end of the play (only an inch or so maximum), it traverses this distance with no effort. Note that this little test is done in maybe 1/10 of the time it would take for the wheel to move on its own due to the pull, so the pull is not affecting this wheel-play test. I believe that play is OK. I am not sure what else to check. There is one odd theng, that sometimes if i am moving very slow, and make a hard turn, there is what seems to be a movement of something. I believe it is the shelter sliding in the bed, as it does move a bit. Nonetheless, this does not affect the pull or anything about it. I believe the weight on the truck is equal between right and left to withing 300LBS or so but it's hard to say with the shelter and all. Maybe I am being too fussy, but I would like to find a way to get rid of the pull and I have found nothing to be obviously loose. I have heard mention of axles being loose on the springs by can't find any evidence of this (scrape marks etc.) I think it has always done this to some extent, but i want to clear it up. What should I do? Did I miss anything?
 

clinto

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Alignment?
 

cranetruck

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Patrick, how tight are your bearings, does the right one get warmer than the left one?
Jack up one wheel at a time and check resistance to rotation, brake shoe adjustment?
 

doghead

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Did you check your brake adjustment and temps at the drums and wheel bearings. You do have Air-o-Matic power-assist steering don't you? Is your torque valve old or dieing? I was told by manufacturer that they are not serviceable.
 

WillWagner

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:ditto:
Check the rears too. A tight rear will cause the front to do funny things too.
 

OPCOM

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All hubs and bearings seem normal temperature and about the same after a highway run. The air steering is disconnected to remove any influence and there was no difference with the pulling. About alignment, the only thing is toe-in on that truck, right? I don't know alot about alignment.
 

acetomatoco

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So, after you have determined that the toe in is correct... Put the right tire on the left and the left tire on the right...and see what happens...secondly, these truck always pull to the right on crowned roads...
 

Recovry4x4

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RAM brings up an excellent point. Try this but do it with great caution. Find a stretch of road that is hardly used and try driving on the wrong side of the road. The crown will be opposite and see if that doesn't change the complexion of things. By virtue of shims, you can change the camber. Since you have air assist you could add some positive camber but with the manual steering, it makes it tougher to steer.
 
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