steering pulls to the right

Hey all,

I have this 2000 blazer lt. Since I have had it the steering has been a bit weird. On a smooth road the truck goes straight. As soon as a hit a bump the truck wants to go right. I have jacked it up and shook down the front end and steering components and I have had it aligned. It got a little better after the alignment but it is basically the same. I have this speed bump I go over on the way to the parking lot at work and when the front wheel hits the steering goes to the right and straight again and after the rear wheels go over the bump it goes right again. I replaced the shocks already and the tires have about 50% wear left on them. It just seems like when it gets in a rut it goes off in that direction and I am constantly correcting it. Any suggestions?:banghead: Thanks beforehand

You might want to check out rliths post about steering slop. That has a lot of good information that will probably help point you in the right direction.
It could be either the "rag joint" that is mentioned in his post, or it could just be that you need to tighten up your steering box. Of course, it could also be part of the steering linkage, such as the inner or outer tie rod ends, or part of the suspension like the ball joints. All of these are prone to going out on blazers at around 100000 miles or so.
Read through the above mentioned post and see if it helps.
It would also help if we knew a little more info, such as what have you checked and how many miles on the truck, 4X4 or 2WD, etc...

Couldnt bad bushings cause this also?..I know when I go over a dip in the rood a little faster than I should the front sounds a little sloppy.

Hey all,
Thanks for the quick responses. I Have a 2000 lt 4x4 with 100k.

I'd bet on the idler arm on a 4wd - have a 98,99, & 01 and all got an idler arm - tightened the bump steer and wind drifting right up. Raise the right side only and give the wheel a side to side shake - if you see that idler arm really sloppy, thats it. Of course they all have alittle play, its a Chevy! For the ball joints a top to bottom shake only sometimes tells - Chevy says use a dial indicator and jack. If its a 2wd both the idler arm and pitman may have play (solid on 4wd pitman). This all assumes no bad belts/cords in the tires and the other parts mentioned above.

What you are experiencing is called "bump steer". It occurs when the center link is not level with the chassis. This causes the geometry of the steering linkage to become asymmetrical. It typically occurs after idler arm replacement. The two bolt holes in the frame that secure the idler arm, are slightly larger than they need to be, and for good reason, this is the adjustment for leveling the steering linkage. The driver side of the center link is attached to the pitman arm and is not adjustable. To make sure it's level, measure at each end of the center link to the same point on the frame on each side. Loosen both idler arm bolts, adjust as necessary, tighten the bolts, and then re-measure. Provided all steering linkage and suspension parts are good: If an adjustment was made to the idler arm to correct this, the steering linkage should now be symmetrical. It will need at minimum, the toe in adjusted.

To give you an idea why the toe in needs to be adjusted after the idler arm is moved, try this during your adjustment: Jack up only the passenger side. With the idler arm bolts loosened, move the idler arm up and down and watch the toe in on the passenger tire change back and forth. This is the same movement there is with a worn idler arm, and it DOES affect toe in. As the idler wears, the center link drops down on the passenger side causing bump steer, excessive tire wear, play in the steering, and a shimmy.

Vehicles with rack and pinion steering rarely have bump steer issues. This is due to the rack being bolted to the frame and no means provided for adjustment, (ahh, and no idler arm.) ;) Hope this helps.

Agree with the above message. One of the things you can do to help too is to install a steering shock. These are stock in trucks with the tow package, but you can buy the Rancho steering stabilizer kit for our trucks without it already there. It helps bump steering a great deal.

Thanks Old master and rlith. That is a great post and provides insight into this problem that is driving me nuts. I did not know about this issue and I now have a direction in where to go. I really appreciate it. I will hopefully get under the truck and check the alignment of the center link this weekend. I will try the adjustment and if that fails get a steering shock. Is there anywhere I can buy a kit top install that?

Thanks again