Steady pull left?

[Mr Handy]

So my truck has pulled left sense I have had it. I figured it just needed an alignment.
so new spindles, ball joints, wheel tires and alignment have come and gone and the truck still pulls left. I got fed up with finding a shop that would work with me on the alignment so I read every thread I could find on the subject and I bought a caster camber gauge and started to work.
I have my camber set to -1* caster is right around +1* and toe is +1/8"
I thought maybe the steering box was off center and pulling me left. I measured the tie rods across from one side to the other thinking the linkage should be symmetrical, adjusting the tie rods to center each simply turned the wheel further left... I made sure the toe and camber remained consistent which they did.
So I am lost. not sure where to look next. I did some checking to see if the rear end was cocked, but it seems to measure straight.

When I let go of the wheel it immediately goes left, it does not wander slowly, it goes left sharply as if something is pulling it...
what should I check next? LCA? cross member cocked? there should be some way to get the thing to track straight down the road.

[hamjet]

The only thing I can think of left to check is measure center of rear axle to center of front spindle when front wheels are straight ahead. do both sides to see if there is a difference..

[BLT gmc]

What about a brake hanging up. Maybe a bad brake hose. They loose there internal diameter 2nd to swelling. They stop fine with the master cylinder pressure but will not release. Just a thought. It sounds like you have done a good job on the steering
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[TwoTone72s]

Perhaps brake shoe is dragging on the driver's front corner. My 2 cents worth

[Mr Handy]

Thanks for the thoughts guys, I don't think it is the brakes, I put disks up front, so new lines and both wheels spin free when in the air. I don't think the drums out back are hanging, but I will double check... She stops straight.
I'm still thinking it may be rear steer.

[Steeveedee]

The alignment guys shoulda/coulda checked the thrust angle. A thought that occurs to me is for you to verify that the sector gear in the steering gear is centered. The way to check that is to set the steering so that the front tires are pointing straight forward, like when you are driving it. Then, count turns right and left and make sure they are equal. It is possible that your Pittman arm is off a tooth. This will cause the sector gear crown to not be centered. I had this happen on a '64 Impala that I had many years ago. Most alignment shops will not check for this, as most of them know how to replace a Pittman arm properly, and don't expect it. If it turns out to be off a tooth, you'll have to pull the Pittman arm to fix it. BTW, don't turn your wheels from side to side too many times, as that may wear flat spots which can give a shimmy. Jack it up for this check. HTH

While I'm on this topic, I was following a newish Infinity SUV something or other a couple of days ago, and it had at least a 4" dogleg when it was going down the street. I could see the whole left side of it when driving behind!

[tcrist]

Get it in the dirt and drive it straight for 20 feet or so. Get out and check your tracks. You can see if the rear is straight with the front.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by tcrist

Get it in the dirt and drive it straight for 20 feet or so. Get out and check your tracks. You can see if the rear is straight with the front.

Or when its rained and the road or parking lot will leave tracks.

[GASoline71]

I had a 67 that always pulled a bit to the right. If you wanted to make a hard right turn, all you had to do was hit the brakes and let go of the steering wheel.

It was a leaky front brake cylinder that had gooped up the shoes and making them hang up on the drum.

$30 dollar fix.

Gary