I've owned my truck since new. It only has around 60K on the clock. I haven't been overly religious about maintenance but I also didn't neglect anything over the years. I recently noticed the truck was pulling to the right. Not severely, but very distinctly. Hands off and I wander towards the shoulder or the curb. I had checked the tire pressure and it was spot on. I had the balljoints replaced (forgot offhand if they were the uppers or the lowers) on both sides figuring that they should be done before the alignment since I was hearing a squeak. I run around 35# and they are all within a pound of each other. The tires are good. Not new, but they have plenty of tread and look fine. I took the vehicle for an alignment yesterday and they did find the right front was off. I paid the man and drove dow the street to find the truck pulling to the right! I went back to my own shop and rechecked the tires. 35# on both sides. Didn't check the rears this time. While I have brought the vehicle back and am awaiting an answer I did see the readout on the alignment and saw how close they were able to make things. I'm using the local Mavis and have had good luck with them in the past. My regular mechanic uses them when he needs alignments done anyway. He had looked at the front end when I had the ball joints replaced and saw nothing obvious.

I am awaiting a response from Mavis but in the meantime does anyone have any ideas what could be causing the pull? The truck has never been in an accident nor has it ever whacked a pothole of any size. In fact the alignment was the first one since the truck was new. There is nothing obviously wrong at highway speeds to suggest a tire related issue.

 

Could be brake related one of the front calipers sticking causing brake drag binding of the front brakes is common on these Dakotas.

one possibility

 

I received a call from Mavis last night. It seems that the belts on the tires are breaking away on the right front and are close to doing the same on the left front. While they don't have the miles on them they do have the time. Two tires are on order and should be installed today. I'll find out when I get the truck later, and I'll post my results.

BTW, the brakes were inspected originally to see about a cause. They are fine.

 

Got the truck back last night. Took a reasonably long drive today, mostly slower speeds and stop and go but some highway. The pull is gone and the truck rides much quieter. I guess the belts were all starting to break loose. I used to hear a steady thrumming at highway speeds but I attributed it to bearings and the age of the truck. I'm a happy camper and also a satisfied Mavis Tire customer.

 

Glad you got it fixed Patch. Just for kicks, what tires did you have? How old were they?

 

I happen to have kept the receipt from the original purchase. 9/07. Goodyear Wrangler RT/S. Only had about 25K on them, but they had lots of time baking and freezing. I replaced them with the same tire and after all that time, the new ones cost $20 more for the entire set of 4. Originally purchased from a Goodyear store. I felt the tires were great and can't comment on the belt problem one way or the other. I found the handling of the truck was good in all sorts of conditions. I'm not a light footer on turns and like to find the limits of adhesion in all road conditions. Those Goodyears are as predictable as I am able to handle so I'm happy with them. 265/70 16. Going forward I'll be putting more mileage on the truck. I've had a third vehicle but am planning on trimming the fleet when I retire.

 

Glad to hear you got it figured out! I know after owning 2 sets of good year tires that were wore out by 20k ill never buy another set.. Our ram had 13k when we bought it tread still passed for inspection but was horrible in all conditions.. Put coopers on this year and havent looked back

 

Not to make this a what tire not to buy thread but I couldn't stand the OEM Wrangers on my Dakota. They too only last about 20k. I'm running Michelin's and haven't looked back either.

 

No problem with a semi hijack! I had terrible experiences with Michelins decades ago and won't touch them for any reason. I did have good luck with the Goodyears. I think they may have been the OEM although I seem to recall the tread being slightly less aggressive as in passenger style. As for putting back the Goodyears, I also was sort of put in that position by the Mavis guy. I got the call that it was the tires and instead of thinking it through I told him to go ahead and order them. I'll keep this experience in mind if/when the next time comes around to replace a set. I'll have more time to research. This time was a shot from left field and the call was at an inconvenient time to make a judgement decision. I know that on my last Gen Dakota I had used a BFG tire and had good luck with them to the tune of putting a second set on after getting over 40K on the first replacement set. THAT truck burned through the OEM tires in 15K.

And that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

heck I worked for goodyear, and you can't give me their tires (belts and flat spotting issues were extremely common)