HELP! steering pull issue!
 

so i have posted in the past about this, and all the advice i have tried, but i cant seem to find the cause of my pulling issue.

when driving, at low speeds the pull is present, but not overly powerful.
the higher the speed goes, the stronger the pull becomes.
at anytime, if i let go of the steering wheel, it will start pulling to the right.
at 60 mph, it will cross completly in to the next lane prolly within 4 to 5 secs

the pull became noticable when i replaced my Hubs and tierods. the tierods were OEM. the Hubs i replaced were Timke brand.
Rancho Steering dampner was installed prior to this

i replaced the tierods with fabtech HD ones.
hubs were repalced with standard ones i got off ebay.
see below for more info

what has been done:
replaced Ebay hubs with Timeke Hubs
Installed Cognito UCA
replaced Pitman Arm, Idler arm, and Pivoter with Moog brand parts
Replaced Driver side half Shaft - have not done Passenger side half shaft yet
replaced Driver side lower ball joint - Have not done Passenger side LBJ yet.
replaced OEM end links with HD Sway bar ends

removed steering dampner completly.
brake pads do not show any heavy wear as if they were rubbing.


atfer i have done each one of hose listed, i have had a alignment done at the bare minimum, but prolly a tire rotation added in there too.

at this point, i have ran out of things to do other than complete the half shaft and lower ball joint replacements, and take it to a dealership to pay them to figure out whats going on.

i am hoping someone here can help me out and give me advice where to look so i can use the money instead to upgrade parts instead of giving to the dealership.

every time i have had an alinement, the passenger side gets close to specs, but the driver side was out somewhat due to the lower ball joint being junk.
last alingment, everythign was within specs, and should have driven straight.

the thought has been going through my head of replacing the steering box, and intermediate shaft, but the issue with that is i am not seeing how either of those can cause this issue. the pull happens when i am driving. it is not noticable when i start the vehicle. meaning the steering doesnt jerk when the H2 is started.

nothing is noticably bent or damaged.

so with that... HELP!

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

dumb question are you tires balanced?
do they have any excessive wear?
are they out of round?

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

Tires are balanced and show no abnormal wear.
Even wear across the treads, and they get rotated every oil change

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

Inspect the steering gear for unequal effort. The vehicle must be suspended on a hoist, the engine running, and the transmission in park or neutral. Grasp the tire assembly and manually simulate a turn from the left of center and the right of center observing whether more force is needed to turn to the left or to the right. If this condition exists, replace the steering gear.

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

sounds like something to just replace simply based on how much of a PITA it would be to diagnose

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

I agree with TECH, a few yrs back we had about a dozen 2500 chevys for foreman trucks and I remember driving one to the dealer for the same issues. It wanted to make a U turn at 65mph. I believe they replaced the steering gear and something with the halfshaft, either lubed it or updated it not sure...

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

you might try crossing the tires from one side to the other? if it follows the tires you found the issue.
I have seen many a tires cause this because the belts have a slight tapper to them and create "radial pull".

if you should find this rotate it to the rear and let it wear back there. most likely it won't effect the vehicle from the rear because it can't force the steering. also make sure the tire pressures are all equal. that can make a little problem a big one.

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

tires have been rotated many times, and never made a difference in the pulling.

things i have rules out by either ripping apart and putting back together, replacing, or replacing the part i replaced with another brand.

Hubs
Brakes
Half Shaft on drivers side
Tie Rods
idler, pitman and pivoter arms
steering dampner
Lower ball joint on drivers side
Upper control arm with Cognito UCA
Shocks w/ the Bilistien that came with UCA
Sway Bar end links

tires have been rotated numerous times, and tires show no uneven wear at all.

since this problem started, i have had about 15 alignments done on this. yes.. 15.. smartest purchase i have made yet with my Tires Plus lifetime alignment.

prior to replacing the orignal hubs, i did not have any pulling issues at all.
the only thing done prior to that was the installation of the steering dampner.

after replacing the hubs, it was immediately noticable, before and after the alignment. i replaced the new hubs with Timke hubs afterwards. still pulls.

im running out of things that could be causing this.
i have either replaced the part, or removed the part all together, and the pulling still is present.

my next step is replacing the steering box, and maybe take a look at lowering my T bars a little. but need to keep some clearance for my 37 inch tires.
had the tires on prior to the pulling issue, and they drove straight.

/shrug
/wrist

and on my last rotation, the new half shaft that i just put in, found out the boot clamp broke, not put on correctly or whatever came loose and i have grease everywhere from it.
so i have to remove this and thinking of just putting my old one back as as there was nothign really wrong with it and just return this defective one and the new one i have for the passenger side. to me, if 1 out of 2 items i purchase is defective, then thats good enough cause for me to go with a different brank or store.
i purchased these from napa earlier this month. maybe about 500 miles on the new HS.

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

I guess there's a couple things left to check.

when you replaced the hubs did you make sure the brakes calipers moved free in the sliders? if one is hung up it can be loading a rotor slightly and causing it to drag.

secondly the steering damper, is it gas charged? if so check to see if its in a neutral position on the drag link. if not it could be causing the problem.

as for half shafts and such they do very little in the way of drag they may transmit from the axle outward but that's it.

as for steering box I have a little play in mine at 45k, its minor at best. can't think of one that ever created a pull.

one other thing to check. its rare but given the chase your on it may apply. check the rear axle location to the frame. measure the axle(front of the tube) to the T pin holes as far forward as you can in a straight line. if there's a 1/4" or more variation that could be the diff between straight and pull. it could be a bad lower control arm bushing or something bigger. its hard to see from here

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

hubs have been taken off/replaced so many times and as well as the calipers that even i would get it right once.

i am driving right now without the steering dampner installed

differential measurement, if it is something that complex, ill save it for a warmer day to figure out. i doubt it is something like that tho. the only reason i say that was it drove straight with original hubs, and within hours of changing the hubs out, i get the pull.

i have been tempting the idea of buying new tierods to eliminate them as well.
Since i have noticed a minor issue with the fabtech ones, but nothing serious.
i may save it till i get back from a upcoming deployment

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

What does it feel like if you go slow in a parking lot doing a big S pattern at varying degrees up to full steering lock?

Does it feel like its fighting you at any point?

Re: HELP! steering pull issue!
 

i havent done the S pattern yet, but will let you know.

as for slow speed- 5mph the pull is slight. as before, if i take my hands off the wheel, it will gradually pull to the right.

i dont feel any binding at any point during turns.