2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Rotated Tires Now Pulls to Left????

[Max Wedge]

Rotated tires for the 2nd time at 30800 miles. Now you must hold the steering wheel at the 10 o'clock and 4 o'clock position for it to drive straight--if you hold the wheel straight it goes to the left bad. If you let go of the wheel the truck will track straight.



Is it just a bad tire? Never did it before.



2000 Dually.



Max

 

[illflem]

Don't know if it applies to y2ks but on some earlier models DC added shims behind the wheels to correct pull. The shims are always on just one side of the front. Perhaps when you rotated a shim was stuck to the back of a wheel and was inadvertently moved to the wrong place.

 

[wlowe]

I know that it is recommended to rotate your tires for tread longevity but I quit doing it years ago for the same problems that you are having. Invariably, if I rotated the tires I would end up with a left or right pull, especially if the tires hadn't been rotated for many miles. My personal belief is that if you are going to rotate you should either do it every 5,000 miles or not at all. The worst thing that can happen is uneven, premature tread wear, which is usually a sign of something out of adjustment or improper inflation. I've gotten as much as 80,000 miles on a set of tires without rotating them. The secret is to keep them properly inflated, aligned, balanced and replace any loose steering parts.

 

[Max Wedge]

What's up with this "mysterious shim"?



wlowe--I thought I was doing the right thing by rotating every 15000, as these "junk" Wrangler AP's are showing much wear at 30000.



The inside dually--(the one that is now up front) is like new, but there must be a problem with it.



Thanks

Max

 

[illflem]

The shims were a funky way DC tried to correct front-end pull. They came in three thickness' and were used either alone or in different combinations. Some folks have reported removing them entirely and noticing no difference but if a shim ended up on the opposite side from where it was intended it could cause a problem.

 

[raychem]

pull

Max Wedge, I know exactly what you are talking about. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a tire pull. Since we all use radial tires, the way in which they wear can cause a tire to pull in a certain direction which was not present before you rotated the tires. This has happened to me before. To correct this, simply cross your front and watch the pull deminish or disappeare all together.

 

[BigMike]

Last time I had my tires rotated, they did a X-cross rotation as per the owners manual. My truck then pulled badly to the left, so I just had them switch the front tires. Fixed the problem. Next time I'll rotate them front to back.

 

[parcher]

If you can let go of the wheel and the vehicle tracks straight then the vehicle IS NOT PULLING! The vehicle is said to "pull" when it won't track straight by itself. You have a steering wheel that is not centered.

 

[Max Wedge]

Yep--All is well again after I switched the fronts around. Tire pull has deminished to almost 0%.



I swear, I will NEVER rotate tirees again! I will just buy 2 new front ones--the back ones will last a very long time with my towing & driving habits.



Man those tires & wheels are HEAVY!



Thanks for all the response--you guys are the greatest.



Max

Ohio