Left pull

Sporadic · Feb 21, 2015

Hey folks,

My 13 JK unlimited started pulling left not so long ago. I can't recall hitting any potholes or such that would have knocked the alignment off or bent front end components but I guess anything is possible. I did add some front 3/4" coil spacers to the existing 2.5" AEV lift not too long ago. No adjustments were made after the spacers.

What are the most probable causes that I should check when diagnosing? I,m sure I've left plenty of details out so feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks in advance.

Ty

Tigrcky · Feb 22, 2015

Check tire pressure (all of them), wheel bearings, loose suspension components. Also did you rotate your tires recently?

jeeeep · Feb 22, 2015

did you loosen the control arms and retorque while on the ground?

did you change the stock steering stabilizer?

Tigrcky · Feb 22, 2015

jeeeep said:
did you loosen the control arms and retorque while on the ground?

did you change the stock steering stabilizer?

I was just about to come back and edit my post to include this!!!

MTG · Feb 22, 2015

Nitto trail grapplers pull to the left.

Sporadic · Feb 22, 2015

Tigrcky said:
Check tire pressure (all of them), wheel bearings, loose suspension components. Also did you rotate your tires recently?

Thanks for responding Tigrcky. Tire pressure is good and I have not rotated the tires recently. My rig has less than 19k miles so I'm hoping wheel bearings are ok. I'll be going over the suspension today.

Sporadic · Feb 22, 2015

jeeeep said:
did you loosen the control arms and retorque while on the ground?

did you change the stock steering stabilizer?

jeeeep, no I did not "reset" the control arms. I'll definitely do that - thanks!

The stock steering stabilizer was changed early on in my build but nothing has been done to it since.

Sporadic · Feb 22, 2015

MTG said:
Nitto trail grapplers pull to the left.

MTG, I didn't know that. The pull should not happen overnight though; right?

JeepFan · Feb 22, 2015

All good suggestions above. You should be able to rule out tires by swapping the fronts left to right and road test.

Sporadic · Feb 22, 2015

JeepFan said:
All good suggestions above. You should be able to rule out tires by swapping the fronts left to right and road test.

Good point. Thanks.

wayoflife · Feb 22, 2015

MTG said:
Nitto trail grapplers pull to the left.

This ^^^

Sporadic said:
MTG, I didn't know that. The pull should not happen overnight though; right?

It will not happen overnight but can. Typically becomes more pronounced after the rubber starts to wear down a bit.

Sporadic · Feb 22, 2015

wayoflife said:
This ^^^

It will not happen overnight but can. Typically becomes more pronounced after the rubber starts to wear down a bit.

If I find that this is the problem is there anything I can do to alleviate or lessen the pull (rotate more frequently) or do I have this to look forward to for the life of the tire?

wayoflife · Feb 22, 2015

Sporadic said:
If I find that this is the problem is there anything I can do to alleviate or lessen the pull (rotate more frequently) or do I have this to look forward to for the life of the tire?

Pretty much all big off road tires have some kind of radial pull in one direction or the other. I personally like ones that pull to the left especially in areas where you have big crowns in the road. You can run less air in one tire and that can help a bit but for the most part, you kind of just get used to it. Don't buy in to the whole cross caster BS that some internet gurus will try to push off. On a solid axle, it's not something you can really do or, at least not effectively and what it will do is ruin your control arm bushings and in some case, do worse things.

Sporadic · Feb 22, 2015

wayoflife said:
Pretty much all big off road tires have some kind of radial pull in one direction or the other. I personally like ones that pull to the left especially in areas where you have big crowns in the road. You can run less air in one tire and that can help a bit but for the most part, you kind of just get used to it. Don't buy in to the whole cross caster BS that some internet gurus will try to push off. On a solid axle, it's not something you can really do or, at least not effectively and what it will do is ruin your control arm bushings and in some case, do worse things.

Got it! Thanks Eddie.

Is it just me or does it look like the spacer isn't sitting squarely on the coil spring (left side)? Could this cause a pull?

ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1424619549.339755.jpg

wayoflife · Feb 22, 2015

That looks fine as the last wind of the coil appears to just be tapered in. This would have no effect on your pull anyway. What doesn't look fine is the fact that the first 3 winds of your coil are running solid (they are touching metal to metal). This would mean that you are just running on the firm side of the coil. Separate issue but something you should be aware of.

JKWrang · Feb 22, 2015

Yup - my tires pull too a bit. Drives the wife nuts - she'll be going straight and the wheel will jerk a bit while the messed up winter roads and my tires fight it out lol jeep drives fine though

Sporadic · Feb 22, 2015

wayoflife said:
That looks fine as the last wind of the coil appears to just be tapered in. This would have no effect on your pull anyway. What doesn't look fine is the fact that the first 3 winds of your coil are running solid (they are touching metal to metal). This would mean that you are just running on the firm side of the coil. Separate issue but something you should be aware of.

Time to go plush or do I need longer shocks?

wayoflife · Feb 22, 2015

Sporadic said:
Time to go plush or do I need longer shocks?

Longer shocks won't help you here and technically, you're coils are still holding you up fine. You just aren't benefiting from the softer rate side of them anymore. I like Plush ride coils but if you're loading up your Jeep with so much gear that your AEV coils are partially running solid, you may find that the Plush's will sag a bit. When I was running them, I had to run the rears with coil spacers to help make up the difference but it was worth it. To me anyway.

Sporadic · Feb 22, 2015

wayoflife said:
Longer shocks won't help you here and technically, you're coils are still holding you up fine. You just aren't benefiting from the softer rate side of them anymore. I like Plush ride coils but if you're loading up your Jeep with so much gear that your AEV coils are partially running solid, you may find that the Plush's will sag a bit. When I was running them, I had to run the rears with coil spacers to help make up the difference but it was worth it. To me anyway.

Thanks for the advice.

I've only added the 1/4 pounder bumper with stinger and will be adding another 87 lbs very soon with the addition of a winch. Will I need to add a taller coil spacer than the 3/4" I'm running now?

Without re-doing my entire suspension, what's the best solution to getting a better ride and not lose any more ride height?

wayoflife · Feb 22, 2015

Sporadic said:
Thanks for the advice.

I've only added the 1/4 pounder bumper with stinger and will be adding another 87 lbs very soon with the addition of a winch. Will I need to add a taller coil spacer than the 3/4" I'm running now?

Without re-doing my entire suspension, what's the best solution to getting a better ride and not lose any more ride height?

Really? That's it? Well, with that, you should be fine with the Plush coils and you may not even need the spacers.

Left pull

New member

New member

Hooked

New member

Caught the Bug

New member

New member

New member

Hooked

New member

Administrator

New member

Administrator

New member

Administrator

New member

New member

Administrator

New member

Administrator