2014 Tahoe - Still slight right pull after tie rods + alignment… anyone else?

[iboughtatahoe23]

Hey guys,


Quick update on my 2014 Tahoe LT saga. Replaced both inner tie rods myself (Moog EV800084) after Les Schwab spotted tiny play (~1/8” more on one side). Boots had a couple drops of PS fluid — seals were cooked/greasy/loose. Steering feels smoother now (looser in a good way, no fighting), no clunks or pops since the strut/end link job I did earlier.


Took it back for alignment today — printout showed barely out of spec (minor toe/caster tweaks). Tech did thrust-angle total alignment, said it’s good. But… still drifting slowly right when I let go of the wheel on flat roads like Sixth Ave SE in Aberdeen (no crown). Not bad, but noticeable — feels like same pull or maybe a hair more now.


Paid $130 and feeling like it was for nothing lol. Truck’s at 183k miles, new inners, new struts and new end links. Drives normal otherwise, no noises, no vagueness.


• should I try the Tire swap test?


• No new clunks/groans (old intermittent groan on return seems gone for now said they didn’t hear it).


• Thinking road crown still playing a role, or thrust angle not perfect?


Anyone else with 07–14 Tahoes have mild right drift even after alignment? Or did I miss something? Should I go back under 30-day warranty for re-check, or just drive it and see if it settles? Appreciate any input — trying to stay positive after fixing most of it myself.


Thanks.

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

worked through South Dakota salt and Rust literally took me 1 1/2 hours first side. It’s my first time doing these kind of suspension jobs and I take it in to get an alignment and they give it back to me $130 later with the same shit lol

 

[swathdiver]

Your camber being the same on both sides could be doing this. Most alignment settings for our trucks have more caster on the right than the left, depending on the type of tire used. The trucks with 20" Goodyear tires run 3.10 degrees of caster on both sides. There are guys on here who have forgotten more about alignments than I'll ever know. @91RS


If you don't normally do a RWD tire rotation then it could be a slight tire pull.



This is how mine are maintained with each oil change, every 4-5K miles or so.

 

[GMCChevy]

Moving tires around wouldn't hurt. Any slight brake drag can also cause issues. Do you have a big empty parking lot around you could try driving through?
When it's nothing else usually good alignment techs know how to make slight adjustments to correct for pull.

 

[Badge]

Don’t’ think this is a variable but your new front struts would need another alignment if that came after. And with your year, I bet you had a hard time finding OEM parts and I’ve had experience with poor front struts from Duralast (only like-OEM for me). I had 3 failures on new Duralast struts on my 2013; instant out of box failures. Just bad shocks direct from Duralast. Had to buy OEM shock and put my old springs on them to get it all to work. If you went with other brands, there were few that had the same specs as OEM technically so something to check. But sounds like you just got a bad alignment and/or report. Not a rare thing to happen regretfully. My last alignment came back perfect but they had my steering wheel not quite straight, causing right drift. the report I got back could not have been correct. Rotating tires would rule them out. Other thought is if you have front suspension electric control sensors on shocks and suspension height sensors, etc. If they are off, if could cause real time driving alignment issues not shown on a 4wheel alignment… Scanner tool can test those sensors.

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

Moving tires around wouldn't hurt. Any slight brake drag can also cause issues. Do you have a big empty parking lot around you could try driving through?
When it's nothing else usually good alignment techs know how to make slight adjustments to correct for pull.

Ya but I don’t think it’s my brakes. I didn’t hear any loud drag other than what’s typical of the pads on the rotor. I grabbed the studs and spin the hub. Could be wrong

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

Don’t’ think this is a variable but your new front struts would need another alignment if that came after. And with your year, I bet you had a hard time finding OEM parts and I’ve had experience with poor front struts from Duralast (only like-OEM for me). I had 3 failures on new Duralast struts on my 2013; instant out of box failures. Just bad shocks direct from Duralast. Had to buy OEM shock and put my old springs on them to get it all to work. If you went with other brands, there were few that had the same specs as OEM technically so something to check. But sounds like you just got a bad alignment and/or report. Not a rare thing to happen regretfully. My last alignment came back perfect but they had my steering wheel not quite straight, causing right drift. the report I got back could not have been correct. Rotating tires would rule them out. Other thought is if you have front suspension electric control sensors on shocks and suspension height sensors, etc. If they are off, if could cause real time driving alignment issues not shown on a 4wheel alignment… Scanner tool can test those sensors.

Thanks man, appreciate the insight. Yeah, all front end work (struts, sway links, both inner tie rods) was done before the alignment, so that shouldn’t be the issue. It’s a 4x4 with the base suspension (no Autoride/Mag Ride), and I already bought and installed the Unity struts from carparts.com so I’m stuck with those for now.


Printout had caster dead even at 3.7° both sides — maybe that’s part of it like @swathdiver said (no right-side bias to fight crown). Thrust angle was -0.03° to -0.05° — tech said good, but pull/drift right still there slowly hands-off on flat roads. Or what is flat to me anyways.


Could be the tires I guess I haven’t tried swapping the front ones.Brakes spin even/light drag both sides — ruled that pit.


Thinking go back under 30-day warranty and ask them to re-check thrust and see if they can add a touch more right caster if adjustable. Or second opinion at another shop.

 

[j91z28d1]

my 2 cents is most alignments arw really bad. take it back and tell them it's still. pulling. Hopefully you get a different guy.

 

[blondie70]

I second the above !

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

my 2 cents is most alignments arw really bad. take it back and tell them it's still. pulling. Hopefully you get a different guy.

Glad they got that 30 day warranty. At least I’m not all the way out of my money.

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

Well go back Monday and see what they say. Hopefully different guy.

 

[swathdiver]

my 2 cents is most alignments arw really bad. take it back and tell them it's still. pulling. Hopefully you get a different guy.

This is why I interview the alignment techs now and have been using a guy at a GM dealership who has been doing GM trucks everyday for 25+ years.

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

Update: Took it for a longer drive. On regular asphalt it’s mostly just that slight gradual right pull when hands-off — annoying but drivable. Nothing crazy.


But when I hit some gravel roads at around 55 mph, it got weird. Felt like zero control — fighting the wheel to stay straight, like i was getting tugged or hitting soft spots randomly. Not constant, but enough that I had to grip hard the whole time. No grinding/clunks, just this vague, pull-y instability that made it feel sketchy as hell on loose stuff.


Wind was gusting 13–25 mph too, so maybe that played in, but it didn’t feel like just wind — more like the truck was hunting or losing grip randomly.


Anyone else get this on gravel after new tie rods/alignment? Or is it normal for these trucks on loose surfaces?

 

[SpareParts]

55MPH on gravel roads would make most vehicles feel loose and unstable.
Roads are generally crowned. Some more than others. A slight right pull is normal on a crowned road. The slight right pull can be adjusted for by a good tech if asked to adjust for it.

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

55MPH on gravel roads would make most vehicles feel loose and unstable.
Roads are generally crowned. Some more than others. A slight right pull is normal on a crowned road. The slight right pull can be adjusted for by a good tech if asked to adjust for it.

I guess I feel like I’ve been much more able to control it in the past. We have a lot of gravel around here.

 

[tom3]

For the slight pull try driving in the left lane for a stretch, road crown would be the opposite on a good road. And on my old truck with winter tires a couple lbs tire pressure makes a difference too. Any chance the vehicle has had a hard knock, frame got Z'ed a little?

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

For the slight pull try driving in the left lane for a stretch, road crown would be the opposite on a good road. And on my old truck with winter tires a couple lbs tire pressure makes a difference too. Any chance the vehicle has had a hard knock, frame got Z'ed a little?

No this all started after suspension work and the alignment

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

I assume any play in the intermediate steering shaft needs attention? What can I look at yall? Could this cause issues?

 

[mikez71]

Yes if play in steering shaft, they could have aligned it with steering wheel straight, but shaft not centered. The alignment guy can fix it as good as it was if you tell him which way it's pulling.

Or you can adjust tie rod ends, opposite direction, same small amount.
You know, steer both wheels left a tiny amount, like 1/4 turn or so..
(Mark the tie rod shaft and end so you can keep track if you need to adjust more than once)
Still pulls go more, over corrected back it up some..