Yukon Denali Alignment Woes...

SammyF16 · November 13, 2005

Hello, I have a new Yukon Denali that has pulled to the right since I picked it up a few months ago. It came with the standard wheel package but at around 1000mi, I have put 20" wheels (same width & offset as the OEM option) with the same OEM tire size, 275/55, using Bridestone Duelers on them, all from Discount Tire. I brought it to our local dealer (who has not shown competence in the past) and after arguing with them that alignments are covered from 500-7500 miles, they did the alignment. What they said they found was that the "cross camber had been reversed" ie, each side set to the other's by mistake. They did NOT give me a printout of before and after settings and when I drove it that weekend, it pulled to the right although not quite as bad as before.

I've just had another dealer sublet the alignment to a reputable shop and they showed the toe and camber to be out of spec on one side....grrrrrr. I must say the shop did a good job and even set the caster to about 1.2 to neutralize road crown. Well, I drove away and it's still pulling roughly the same amount to the right. I went to Discount Tire and rotated the (directional) tires from front to back a couple hours ago to no avail. Now, I have one last attempt -- I will put the OEM 17" wheels and tires back on and see what happens...

So, what are my future actions? Would radial tire pull occur from more than one tire, ie an entire 'lot' of them? Would the pull from the driver's side pull the truck to the right? Would a radial tire pull from the rear axle have any effects on steering?

Do I need to have the frame/suspension laser-measured on a jig?? Does the AWD nature of the Denali enhance road crown effects?? I have 3500 miles on the truck but I'm tempted to ask Discount Tire to replace all the Bridgestones with Goodyear Eagle LSIIs and call it even. Please respond with what I should look into next, thanks.

Cheers everyone,

SammyF16

GM-Tech · November 13, 2005

I think you need to find a good frontend man. Yes, you could have a tire pull, but two tires with the same condition? Certainly possible but it doesn't seem likely.

Typically, moving a tire that causes a pull to the rear eliminates the pull, so no, unless the tire is REALLY bad, I don't see a rear tire causing the problem.

What are you calling a pull? Some of the customers I drive with expect to be able to take their hands off the wheel and have the thing go straight forever. It ain't on rails ya know. I'm not saying this is the case with yours, just a general comment because I see it all the time.

See what happens when you put the original wheel/tires back on. That should provide an answer.

castlerock_and_st0ne · December 13, 2005

i have noticed the same thing with my Sierra Denali also. it came with the GMC 20's on it already and it has a slight pull to the right. i took it back to the dealer and they showed me a FAQ on how it will always pull either a little to the right or left. we have some streets in town that were completely torn up and resurfaced and it doesn't pull as hard as when i'm driving down an older street that has an obvious crown on it. i was able to go down these same streets in my Z28 and not have the trouble. but the fact that the Denali has a gradual pull on those streets doesn't bother as much as it did when i first got it. let me know what yours drives like when you put the stock 17's back on.