maxII pulls left, whats wrong?

[Finn]

I recently purchased a 1996 Max II 14 HP. It immediately has had numerous problems but I have cleaned it up and made it drivable for now so I can try it and see what all I will need to do to it this winter. Mostly I wanted to drive it in water quickly before it freezes. I have noticed it pulls to the left steadily while driving on straight flat ground and I am continuously pulling on the right stick to keep it straight. All of the tires have the same pressure, 3.4 psi. I adjusted all of the chains and lubricated them. I also greased all of the zirks/bearings. It does feel like the bearings will need replaced. I think I hear some grinding on the right bearings, but it seems that should pull it to the right. I have not driven it much and am still learning but it seems when I am in reverse and needing power, such as backing up an incline and turning. If I pull the left stick back/add power to the left wheels it does not have the power to turn, turns fine on flat ground. right side seems to be ok when adding power to it in reverse regardless of incline or flat. No problems noticeable in forward except pulling left steady, plenty of power it seems anyways. Could this be problems with the transmission? I did change transmission fluid also before driving. This was ATF and GM antislip as in manual. Any suggestions would be appreciated, or ideas how to test/check. Thanks.

[Noel Woods]

Simple things first, double check tire pressure, then chain tightness, then belt, then bearings.

[Finn]

Tire pressure and chain tension checked/adjusted. Not sure what belt tightness would have to do with pulling left? I do suspect bearing problems but more on right side grinding occasionally than left. Both sides rotate smooth when in air and just greased. Do intend to change bearings but trying to decide what else is wrong and how deep this mess is getting.

[Rusty-Gunn]

Tire circumference of each tire should be checked. Use a cloth-type measure tape or string. You'll likely discover one or more tires are of different size. Its just the way each individual tire is manufactured.

[amphibious drew]

Tire pressure is not that important here. Tire circumference is what you need to match. Try and match your tired up biggest in the middle and the smaller ones on the ends. My guess is at least 1 tire on the left is larger than any of the tires on the right.

[akcrawler]

The tire circumference is probably the easiest thing to check and should be done as described above. However, I think the left side reverse problem and pulling to the left are related. It seems that maybe the left side is not engaging all the way. I might be on the wrong track here, but have you adjusted the transmission bands? You did not list that task as one of the items you completed during your maintenance when you got the machine. It would not hurt to check them per the manual on the Max6x6.com site. I have noticed that my machine does similar things when I neglect to hold the laterals all the way against the stops in forward or reverse.

[Finn]

Thanks for the input, I will measure the tires. No I did not adjust the transmission bands. I will look up how to do that next.