steering drift

p0rnm0nkey · August 27, 2004

i have had an 04 sle 2wd ext cab 16in wheels and now this 04 slt 2wd ext cab with 20in wheels. both have 'drifted' to the right and i have to have constant pressure to counteract it. any thoughts?

lrymal · August 27, 2004

WARRANTY--if within a certain early mile or month range. Take it to the dealer and hope for the "best", that is, they tell you they had to do a correction. Secondly, make sure the roads you are basing this on are level and don't have a severe slope to the right (right-crowning).

Expect the dealer to yada yada that it is within guide and that the road is indeed right-crowning. HOPE that you have a nice dealer who offers to correct. Typically, if you haven't brought it in before for warranty issues, the dealer will correct.

In my case, I never could get the dealer to correct mine good enough and the steering wheel was off-center to the right. I brought it back several times and they told me I had a tire pulling the truck off-center. HUH? So, we rotate the tires and the truck still pulled and the steering wheel was off-center. The service-droid then stated my tires (Dueler Revos) were causing that pull by the way their tread reacted to the suspension components.

So, rather than getting my blood pressure up, I just surrendered, ate crow, and took my truck to the local Firestone dealer. An alignment special was occuring at the time PLUS, if one applies for a Firestone credit card, you get 15% off for JUST applying. Within 30 minutes the alignment was correct to 2003 GM specs. The steering wheel is straight, and the truck doesn't drift, and reacts predictably to road crowning.

And yes, my dealer is a sad excuse of a primate-operated business.