How far off does camber halve to be to cause pull?

[y5mgisi]

Im tryin g to figure out why my 78 (d44 front. all stock) pulls hard to the right. Its done it the whole time i have owned. I have checked the toe and it was dead even so i adjusted it to 1/8" toe in. Which made no difference. I also replaced the driver side ball joints which were very worn. THat also made no difference.

The truck pulls pretty hard. You have to keep a constant pressure on the wheel to keep it heading right. If you let go of the wheel, it doesn't quite "dart" to the right, but it goes right. And not just a slight slow drift. Somewhere between a dart, and a slow drift. MAybe call it a hard drift. Anyway, the front end seems to be in pretty good shape. The tires appear to be perfectly straight up and down with zero camber. Also the truck stops straight with no pull from the breaks.

So my main question really is, if my camber looks perfect, could it actually be bad enough to cause such a significant pull?

[Bigdav160]

You need about a degree difference between right and left to cause a slight drift.

You would be able to see the difference. I'd switch tires left to right and see if your pull doesn't follow the tires

[LONGHAIR]

Swapping tires from one side to the other may not show you anything, but that does not necessarily mean that it is not a tire issue. I have seen specific tread patterns cause pulling/drifting.

I would also look into things like bent or broken springs and/or center pins. An axle housing that is shifted, even slightly, can cause this too.

[BMERDOC]

If I had it in my shop to diagnose I would check for a tire pull after confirming a good alignment.

[Special-Ed]

swap the tires

[y5mgisi]

Ooops. how about this pertinent tid bit... It behaves the same way with all three different sets of wheels and tires i have had on it.

[y5mgisi]

First set,


Second set,



Third set,

[y5mgisi]

This is the only straight on shot i have of the truck. Hard to tell but the tires do LOOK dead nuts straight up and down. Obviously they probably arent perfect... But looks wise, they are very very close.

I should also add that just yesterday, i had the front end up in the air for something else, and i made sure and gave both tires a spin. They both spin freely. Or at least, equally freely. There is always going to be some resistance from the bearings and brakes, but give either side a spin and they keep going for about a full rotation.

[BMERDOC]

Maybe its your steering box?

[Special-Ed]

after further review... id take the best tires you have, put them on, take it to a shop have them check the front end and balljoints then have the alignment verified and fixed....

iirc there was also some kind of issue with the geometry of the pitman and idler arms to the center link that created some kind of issues like this...

is it safe to assume you have checked the brakes and the bearing? air pressure?

[y5mgisi]

Originally Posted by BMERDOC

Maybe its your steering box?

Not going to say its not possible, but it just seems strange that I Just have to hold the wheel at about 20* to the left for it to go straight. If i let go of the wheel, the wheel returns to 0* and i start heading right.

Originally Posted by Special-Ed

after further review... id take the best tires you have, put them on, take it to a shop have them check the front end and balljoints then have the alignment verified and fixed....

iirc there was also some kind of issue with the geometry of the pitman and idler arms to the center link that created some kind of issues like this...

is it safe to assume you have checked the brakes and the bearing? air pressure?

I will have to do that. I have checked brakes, bearings, and pressure. In fact i have the left side a little lower than the right to help offset the pull.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Measure your springs front and back both sides and see if the axle is centered. Camber doesn't really cause a pull directly but it can but you would have to have quite a bit on on side.

Castor if its off can cause a pull

Toe angle will cause a huge pull and that's prob you issue. Evidence of toe angle being wrong will be easy to find on the tread. Look at your tires edge inside and outside. If any of the tread blocks feather up or aren't flat like they should then its a toe angle issue

[y5mgisi]

I will have to check for the axle being evenly spaced on each side of the truck. The toe is good. When i first checked it it was exactly zero toe. I adjusted it an 1/8" in and it didn't change anything.