OK, so my local 4x4 shop got my AC 3" lift on and it seemed to drive fine and straight during the drive home (45 mile drive). The next day, went to Discount Tire to have 32" BFG muds installed... As soon as I drove out of the Discount parking lot, I noticed the steering wheel pulling to the right. Hmmm. Got home, checked tire pressures and did a front to back tire rotation to eliminate any new tire issue. Still had the pulling. I discovered that the passenger side of my X was sitting up about 1" higher than the driver side. It took quite a few cranks on the pass. side torsion bar to get the front close to being level. The rear of my X, however is still .5" higher on passenger side. Oh, btw, with the alteration to the pass. ride height, my X was now pulling MUCH worse to the right. Next night, took it to NTB for alignment. When alignment was completed, drove away and it was back to the slight right hand pull that had become evident when new tires were installed. What the hell could it be?

A "radial pull" can cause that. Maybe try swapping the tires across instead and see if it makes any difference.

Ok... what the hell is a "radial pull"? I'm pretty mechanic savy and I truly have never heard of that... regardless, I'm going to take your advice and swap sides.... I hope it's something as simple as that!

When doing an alignment they'll mess with your torsion bars to get it in spec. Is there any room for adjustment on the torsion bar, or are you maxed out?

Well, here's the exact deal: The 4x4 shop did the first alignment right after installing the AC lift but they did max the t-bars. Now, in this configuration, driving it home (with my old 31x10.50x15's) the alignment was perfect. The following day, with the 32's installed, suddenly, it was pulling to the right. The following night, I was scratching my head on what the prob could be. I noticed that the passenger side was sitting up about 1" higher than the driver side. So, I figured since I didnt want the t-bars maxed anyway, I would go ahead and drop the entire front down by 1.5" and even them out. Problem is, I had to drop the pass. side t-bar way down to get it level vs. the driver side. The rear pass. side is off by a .5" to the driver side rear end. I couldn't get the rear level. By now, the alignment was WAY off. I took it the next night to NTB and the alignment guy spent quite a while on it. I told him not to mess with the t-bars and so he didnt. When all was said and done, he was sure he had it dead on. Unfortunately, it is pulling to the right about the same as when the 32's were first installed. I'm really bummed. Alot of $$ and I'm not sure I will get this problem hashed out.

A radial pull is a tire condition. Google it...

One more thing, Schlud, here's a knowledge question: if for some goofy reason one of the AC leaf springs was tensioned more than the other (thus causing the rear not to level out) could that possibly cause the vehicle to steer to one side (ergo. the opposing front side would have more weight being directed on it by the opposite side rear leaf spring)? I'm pulling my hair out, here.

Like you, I'm not sure why the rear end of your truck is not level (is it a lot?). Are the leafs intalled correctly? Check both sides for any irregularities, length, clamps, etc. Did you put on shackles? Correct leafs? Did you measure the rear height? Maybe measure the distance from the ground to the rear leaf shackle and subtract the distance from the ground to the front leaf hanger. Seems like that would give you an answer as to whether the arc and support of the leaf is the same.

Regardless, if it was me, I would re-install the t-bars so that I had equal adjustment room in the anchors. I measure from the LCA pivot bolt.

If one corner of the vehicle is uneven, yeah it could cause the opposite-diagonal side to shift, but not knowing how much you mean by "uneven" it's hard to say. If you park with your wheel in a pothole the truck is going to shift, more so with a lift.

On a side note. I never recommend people have a shop install their lift. Reason being so they can repair it on the trail when there are no service shops nearby. And you're the only person who's going to care that everything is done right. A lot of places just slap it together and get it out the door.

you're the only person who's going to care that everything is done right. A lot of places just slap it together and get it out the door.


Yup, I totally agree with you on that point. I can do the rear end, no prob... I just hate dealing with the t-bars. The company that installed the kit is oldest and most reputable in Houston and is family owned. Good people, but they certainly are not going to want to spend the next 3 or 4 days figuring out what is wrong with the lift for free. So... I'm gonna have to take a week off work to figure this crap out and no guarantee that I will be able to figure it out. This sucks.

OK, Schlud... I can rule out the leaf springs being the cause of my alignment problem. I put the front end on jack stands (so it would be perfectly level) and did the measurements that you recommended. Both driver and passenger leaf springs are completely equal (arc, shackles, distance to ground).... So now, unfortunately, I'm going to have to tackle the torsion bars. Should I perform a complete removal and reinstall of the T-bars? Have you done this procedure by yourself, before? If so, roughly how long did it take to complete? Thanks!

Check if all tires are the same size. It may be as simple as that.

Violaman, I rotated the tires from front to back, then side to side and the misalignment is still to the right and consistent... Oh, and all 4 tires are labeled 32x11.5xR15. No, it's either a literal torsion bar issue, OR, I just haven't found someone who can perform a perfect alignment job on my X. But, I do appreciate your input.

Sorry I haven't gotten back to this topic lately. AF, or my computer toasted my cookies and I haven't seen any new posts.

Regarding t-bars. It's not that big of a deal unless the t-bars are seized. Since you just had a lift I doubt that's an issue. I have a how-to on my site www.xterra4x4.com, but honestly it's about 4 years old and I haven't updated it. NOR has a good instruction set here: http://www.nissanoffroad.net/how_to/torsion_bars/torsion_bars.asp

Hit everything with PB Blaster (penatrant, do a google) the night before and you should be able to do the work in a few hours. Releasing the t-bars from their anchors can be what I call a "zen" thing sometimes because they are connected to each other by splines. When aligned without tension to each other they'll slide right out. If you force the issue, which undoubtably you will as part of the process, they will fight you until you get them in the right spot and it all falls together. A bit like a woman unfortunately. :smokin:

It might be helpful if you mark the t-bar positions in relation to the anchors before you release them. Then the one you believe is the "lower" of the two will need to be re-attached to the adjustment anchor at a level that gives you room to bring it into alignment with the other. If the "high" one is fine, then you probably only need to adjust the low one.

On a side note, for the most part none of the 3" suspension lifts will ever get into Nissan "specs" for alignment. My alignment guys are familiar with my truck and get it into the right position that it won't wear the tires incorrectly, but we know it's never going to be a factory truck.

If you want to ask questions realatively quickly and I'm not following the thread as fast as you would like, drop me a line at FTWsuspension@xterra4x4.com. But when this all gets fixed make sure you post here for someone else who might follow the thread for help.

OK, thanks Schlud.

Hi Preacher, I did not mean to insult you, but some minor things are easy to overlook. I once myself purchaced a set of four tires for my Subaru at Wal-mart and could not understand why my car started pulling to one side. So, I took to a shop to make an alighnment, but it did not fix the problem.
Anyway to make long story short Wal-mart had installed mismatched pair of front tires. Funny, but I did loose a lot of time.
I hope you would be able to fix it.
Good luck.