Pulling right and crown in the road.

[jgreg53]

my p15 pulls right considerably.  I can drive down the middle of the road on top of the crown of the road and the car goes straight.  Is there any way to compensate for this, or is my front end just worn out?

[Dave72dt]

Dragging brakes, uneven tire pressure, mismatched tires, worn tires, caster and camber and of course, worn suspension parts.  If you haven't inspected the suspension since it became yours, it's due.

[jgreg53]

I've  become very familiar with the front suspension of my car. All tires are coker.  Tire pressure is correct.  

 

[Dave72dt]

Assuming at that point all suspension parts are OK, tires are matched up, it may need an alignment.  Caster and camber come into play.  Bias vs radial tires may require a different setting.

[jgreg53]

I did go from bias to radials. Steering was fine til then

[Doug&Deb]

The alignment specs are different for radial tires but I’m not sure what changes. Hopefully someone will chime in.

[Pete]

The mechanic who did the front end alignment on my '39 Plymouth started with the specs in the factory service manual. He then made some minor adjustments to account for crowned roads because I drive on crowned roads 99% of the time. The car tracks well. I'm running radial tires on original 16" wheels. Radials like more caster than bias ply.

 

Factory service manual specs:

Caster: minus 1/2 degree to plus 1 1/2 degrees. Not adjustable.

Camber: minus 1/4 degree to plus 1/2 degree. 0 degree preferred.

Toe-in: 0" to 1/8". 1/16" preferred.

 

My current alignment set by my mechanic:

	Left Front	Right Front
Camber	0.3 degrees	-0.1 degrees
Caster	1.2 degrees	1.1 degrees
Toe	1/16”	1/16”

[greg g]

Try a bit nore pressure in the radials.  I run 205 75 15 uniroyals on my 46.  Have them at 35psi.  They have about 45000 miles on them, are worn evenly, track well.  Only adjustment I made was to the full toe in setting.

[rallyace]

Assuming your caster and camber are the same on both sides, check your toe in. I have 1/16" of toe in on my 51 Plymouth with radials. When I first switched from bias to radials it would pull left. My mechanic buddy said to open up the toe and make sure that the steering wheel is straight and the steering box is tight when setting the toe in.  It solved the problem. Note: wandering will occur if you do not have enough toe in.

[Gnome]

Cars pull to the least positive caster and /or most positive camber. you can offset camber and/or caster to counter the pull. But I would look at simple things you can do 1st, like cross rotate the front tires (if they are not directional) and see if it pulls left.  Best of luck

 

[MarcDeSoto]

You should also have your steering inspected for slop or play.