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Pulling to the right - could it be from rear axle angle to the right?

3K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  DonnieB  
#1 ·
'66 - 6 Cyl Manual brakes and steering.

Car pulls to the right while driving (not related to braking). It's been doing this a very long time. Using a Longacre digital caster/camber gauge and Manco toe in/out gauge, I have the front wheel alignment set to perfection !! Yet, it still pulls to the right.

I used the Manco toe gauge to measure the distance between the front and rear wheels on each side of the car. The distance between the front and rear wheel on the passenger (right) side of the car is 4/32" OR 1/8" longer than the distance between the front & rear wheel on the driver (left) side.

So, basically, the rear axle/wheels is turned slightly to the right. Is this enough to cause the car to pull to the right or is there some acceptable tolerance on this? I replaced the leaf springs 10 years ago and maybe didn't remount the axle perfectly even at that time. I guess I could loosen up the leaf spring to axle clamps and try to re align so the axle faces perfectly straight.

So, my question - is this 1/8" misalignment likely causing the right pull? Thnx
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#3 ·
When the rear axle is not perpendicular to the frame of the car, it causes the car to roll down the road at an angle. This is commonly called "crabbing". (For some reason, almost every early Chevy Nova I see does this.) But no, it will not cause the car to pull in either direction.
 
#5 ·
Toe in: 1/8" (in)
Camber: Left side: 0.5 degree (Negative) right side 0 degree
Caster: Left side Left (+) 1.2 degrees Right side: (+) 1.2 degrees

Radial Firestone Tires. I have tried switching front to rear and rear to front, keeping all tires on same side - makes little to no difference.
 
#7 ·
Check your drums, both the fronts and rears, to see if one is dragging more than it should. I had a drum that seemed to be doing that on my trunk and it wound up being the self adjuster wire had broken on one.
 
#8 ·
When you put in the new springs did you change the short center bolts to tall ones?
all 65 and 66 mustangs need the tall center bolts all new springs come with short ones.
67 and up can use the short ones.
If you have the short ones your axle is most likely not correctly installed.

And you need more castor
 
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#10 ·
+ 5 on castor might be a challenge with stock parts and a bear to turn with manual steering.
+2.5-+3 should be possible with only minor fudging
 
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#16 ·
The 65-66 requires "tall" tie bolts to locate the axle. If the springs have been replaced, it is extremely likely that they have the "short" tie bolts. If so, the axle cannot be properly located on the pads. You can get the "tall" bolts from AMK or pretty much any Mustang dealer.
 
#19 ·
Point of fact proven with 2 pencils, 2 sticks or whatever you have handy. The longer dimension on the right side, assuming it is the rear axle, turns the rear wheel outward on the front most side. That would give you a drift to the left, or driver's side. Now that we've established that dimension is not causing a right, or passenger side "drift", Do what Bart said, swap all 4 tires left to right, check you air pressure, and spin your wheels while you have it off the ground to make sure you don't have a caliper, or drum dragging. Get back to us.