Wheels plowing/dragging at low speed

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

mattbta

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Posts
1,105
Reaction score
2,037
Location
Frisco, TX
Yes and the third picture shows the centerlink and tie rods out of parallelism. Flip the link 180*. Remove the nuts on the tie rod ends, pitman and idler and rotate right to left. Can leave the tie rods attached to the link.

Probably don’t even need the parts cannon for this, but might look into the shape of the tie rod boots.
 

latvius

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2014
Posts
432
Reaction score
600
Location
Ariton Alabama
My man this is normal Denali AWD symptoms. I have a 2005 Denali and a 2005 4WD Tahoe, my Tahoe turns on a dime the Denali takes a 3 point turn. My Tahoe drives like my Denali when I put it in 4WD because the Denali is always in 4WD. So when the Denali makes a turn it plows through and will tear off tread on the outer corners. I bought a new set of tires for mine and I don't think I will rotate them at all because the front tires wear out so much faster. My son n law complained about this same thing and once I bought one I had the exact same experience and got an appreciation for what he mentioned.
 

houstontaylor

Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2017
Posts
82
Reaction score
89
You could get a second opinion on the alignment from difference source. Also, it sounds like it's in 4 wheel drive and the wheels will lock up in turns unless they can easily slip, like in mud or loose sand. 4WD not for use on dry pavement.
 

Marky Dissod

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2023
Posts
1,897
Reaction score
2,599
Location
(718)-
Yes and the third picture shows the centerlink and tie rods out of parallelism. Flip the link 180*.
Remove the nuts on the tie rod ends, pitman and idler and rotate right to left.
Can leave the tie rods attached to the link.

Probably don’t even need the parts cannon for this, but might look into the shape of the tie rod boots.
One of the biggest problems with this forum, is I'm stuck clicking the 'Love' icon, when what I REALLY want to click is the 'Helpful' icon which is missing in this forum.
 

Marky Dissod

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2023
Posts
1,897
Reaction score
2,599
Location
(718)-
My man this is normal Denali AWD symptoms.
I have a 2005 Denali and a 2005 4WD Tahoe.
My Tahoe turns on a dime, the Denali takes a 3 point turn.
My Tahoe drives like my Denali when I put it in 4WD, because the Denali is always in 4WD.
So when the Denali makes a turn it plows through and will tear off tread on the outer corners.
I bought a new set of tires for mine and I don't think I will rotate them at all because the front tires wear out so much faster.
My son n law complained about this same thing and once I bought one I had the exact same experience and got an appreciation for what he mentioned.
@latvius, have you ever considered a lil bit of negative camber on your front wheels?
My experience has shown that:
as much positive caster as reasonably possible
a barely visible amount of toe IN
a barely visible amount of negative camber
significantly improves steering response.

As for tire wear, you may need to rotate the tires MORE often (pain in the arse, I know).
 

latvius

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2014
Posts
432
Reaction score
600
Location
Ariton Alabama
If you look at the ends of the center link they go forward and down twoards the sway bar on yours it looks like.

Mine go backwards and away from the sway bar. And as far as i know, mine is factory.


I just looked at my Denali it is like the OP and my Tahoe is like your pictures. Now I am wondering if mine is backwards as well. I never heard of a centerlink being able to go on wrong but I can't imagine different steering setups between GMC and Chevy as they are same bodies.
 

mattbta

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Posts
1,105
Reaction score
2,037
Location
Frisco, TX
I just looked at my Denali it is like the OP and my Tahoe is like your pictures. Now I am wondering if mine is backwards as well. I never heard of a centerlink being able to go on wrong but I can't imagine different steering setups between GMC and Chevy as they are same bodies.
There aren’t different setups AFAIK. I know exactly when mine got inverted and I chased it for years until reading the post @Fless linked and another more in depth thread from @SnowDrifter: https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/scrubbing-binding-while-turning-at-near-full-lock.86256/

The guys at Firestone that did my tie rod ends and pitman took the whole assembly down and like many of us, did not realize there is an orientation to it that keeps the geometry set correctly. The link can and will install incorrectly.

Mine would never hold an alignment, had to start making 3 point turns into my swing garage, tires squealed embarrassingly when parking, and chewed through front tires in short order.

THIS IS A 2WD WITH LINK INSTALLED INCORRECTLY: (SHOULD POINT REARWARD - see how the tie rods aren’t parallel and look angled?)
IMG_3362.jpeg
IMG_3363.jpeg

Hopefully the quality is OK. I had to take screenshots of pics because I’m on a cruise and they blocked Google photos. lol.
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
132,317
Posts
1,865,866
Members
96,910
Latest member
mckaywolf
Top