NJ pulling to the right all the time

[knakkers]

Hey guys,
I'm after a bit of help here.
My NJ Paj is pulling to the right, on & off, depending on the road conditions.
It's had new tyres fitted about 10,000kms ago, they have been rotated several times, had about 5 wheel alignments done by 3 different tyre & suspension places, they all say, my tie rod end bars , bushes, ball joints, steering box, etc, are all ok. Nobody can find any wrong, accept Pedders, they want to replace everything on the front end Dollars, dollars, dollars!
Can anyone out there make any suggestions, on what could be causing the Paj to pull inconsistantly to the right?
regards
Stuart

[Loco]

checked your rear suspension bushes? Could be causing it to crab and you are correcting this with the front end .
Maybe your idler arm knuckle or your pitman arm, $100 fix (parts) to remedy that one.

[Andy]

G'day Knakkers,

I have had a 95 NJ Pajero 3.5 DOHC since new. I also have been frustrated with the wheel alignment constantly wearing out tyres prematurely. In the end I had Pedders shim the front end, replaced all shockabsorbers and added heavy duty torsion bars and rear adjustable air bags and this has been the best result for me. I still get minor wheel alignment problems but they are much better than before with longer times between alignments. My vehicle is fitted with a bullbar and the original torsion bars over time do sag; hence, require adjustments, etc. Suggest that you ensure all wheel bearing are adjusted correctly and that the ball joints are within tolerance otherwise there is no point getting a wheel alignment until they are all fixed. You can pump grease into most balljoints to get some longer life out of them.

Cheers Andy

[martin7]

does it do it when braking or any time? could be a siezed piston in a brake caliper.

[CRH]

What about checking the bushes in the front end?

You say it is off and on. Sometimes camber and different road conditions can cause this if there is even a slight movement in the steering geometry caused by worn bushes. I'd be looking there first.

Oh, and never, ever go to Pedders.

[dolphin]

don,t forget the rear end susspension bushings and alignment.

[Fabacat]

I agree with Martin7, Check the free rotation of your front wheels. As the Paj has twin piston calipers if one is stiff or stuck it will cause pull. With my NJ the problem was one of the front right caliper slide adjusters was siezed and wasn't picked up by 4 so called specialist, i found it when i replaced the pads.

Noel

[nj swb]

Oh, and never, ever go to Pedders.

'nuff said there.

Where else have you been? Most "tyre" places will only check toe, because that's quick and easy to adjust. Camber and caster can also affect steering, but some places won't check it.

Your problem could also be further afield. As previously noted, a rear end problem can require "steering" input, although the common ones typically produce "wander" rather than a constant pull. I also had trouble with a 2wd car wandering badly, and the wheel aligners (normally quite good, I thought) couldn't fault it. Next mob found severely flogged radius arm bushes - problem solvered!

Personally, I'd be taking a deep breath and tracking down a four wheel alignment mob. They'll check for rear end problems as well, and I'd have more faith in their ability to identify "difficult" problems.

Is there a particular stretch of road which makes it pull more than normal? If so, consider insisting the next mob test drive that stretch - before and after "repair."

Good luck,

Scott