handling question.

All,

Currently, at highway speeds, my beast veers to the right. It is my understanding that any toe-in issues (alignment) would cause a problem both left and/or right. So I should look for cause elswhere...Is this correct?

Checked the visual stuff and all appears normal. Has new urethane wishbone bushings, tire pressure correct.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mark Lennan
79B

right front brake grabbing more than left front (sticking calipers)?
any play in the right wheel (bearing)?
could it be excessive crown on the road?

It should show up in other ways too, but check out your rear axle spring U-bolts and the front bushings on them. If the rear axle is misaligned it can steer you to one side.

Or tire pressure.

Man, thanks for ringing my bell. He could have a bad belt ing a tire doing that too.

Mark, Try switching your tires from to rear and see if it gets right. If it does you're finished. Sometimes a radial tire will develop tire pull. The tire isn't actually hurt, it's just a quirk and will run fine on the rear.

Checked for any play in front end (bearings, etc.) All seems good.

Brakes aren't grabby at all but will check in morn.

Just for grins I played with toe-in/out (I was going to set it proper later) to see if either affected the problem. Other than noticing the strange handling difference between the two, there was no difference in the veering problem which makes me think it may have something to do with the rear end.

How does one check for rear end alignment??


I will switch the tires around also and report back...


Thanks all,

mark lennan

Alignment is measured from front hub to rear hub (or rim to rim) and comparing the measurement with the other side. But that just tells you whether they are the same or not. If they are, things can change when driving due to torque.
The places where you will have trouble in the rear end is: spring bushings at the front mount, u-bolts being loose, spring pads missing.
Pulling to the right all the time though indicates front end usually.

thanks for all the advise and suggestions.

it ended up being a bad tire.(thanks john!!)
the guy i bought it from had it sitting for a long, unknown period with low tires (Pirellis). it changed the profile and therefore, the handling.

wee!!! new tires!!!

ml