4 Wheel Drive/SUVs: Car pulls to the right, ford explorer eddie bauer, wheel allignment

Question
Hi Carl:
I have a 1997 Ford Explorer (Eddie Bauer) with 4 wheel drive. My car pulls to the right. I put air in all tires as directed by auto instructions. The car still pulls to the right but not as much as before I added air to the tires. I assume that the next step is to have a wheel allignment and tire balance. Would the 4 wheel drive have ANything to do with this ?

Thanks in advance for the advice. I appreciate the help.
Bill Bollaert

Answer
Bill,

There are a few things that can cause this.  You have checked the first, being tire pressure.  It is important that the tires on opposite sides have the same air pressure.  You might consider  having the tires rotated, and like you said, balanced at the same time.  Another possibility, is that one of your brakes is not functioning properly, and creating more drag on one side than the other.  And, you are right on having the alignment checked, as your next check.  If all of these fail to correct the problem, you might have your power steering checked for proper pressure, and valve operation.

Having 4-wheel drive shouldn't affect the steering.

Carl