New Steering Damper - Now pulling right

[Tammaru]

Hi,

I just installed a new super gaz gas steering damper which I got from atlantic british... removal and install went really easily... afterwards my disco pulls a bit to the right. I heard that the gas steering dampers can pull a bit... does anyone know if this is something that needs to break in a bit and it will go back to normal or is there something I can adjust to bring it back to normal. Any ideas would be great, thanks!

TJ

 

[p m]

Bilstein dampers, in theory, should cause some pull to the right - but IME they never did.
If you somehow got a damper with a stiffer spring inside, you'll have to live with it. There's nothing to adjust, and I don't think it'll "break in."

 

[Tammaru]

I guess I'll have to live with the pulling a bit, but I was driving today and a couple of the bumps I hit caused the wheel to shake like crazy. Most of the bumps didn't do anything, but a few just made the wheel turn into a bobblehead. Did I not tighten it enough? Before the new damper it didn't shake at all. Any ideas? Take it off and throw it in a lake?

 

[p m]

This should not be happening even without the steering damper installed.
Check for "death wobble" - what you experience is one hair short of it.

What was your reason to swap the damper in the first place?

 

[nosivad_bor]

I'd send it back and buy an OME damper rather than fight the steering wheel for the next 5 years!

You seem to have cause something else to come loose when you were installing the new one resulting the the death wobble.

 

[Tammaru]

Thanks for the input guys.

I installed the new damper more or less because I had upgraded all the shocks from the originals to bilsteins about 8 months ago or so. I figured I would go ahead and do the damper and see if I felt anything different... the old one was rusted and bit bent and I felt just about every bump in the road through the steering wheel, but nothing horrible. No shaking at all.

I don't see what I could've made come loose... all I did was undo the bolts on the original damper and install the new one... I didn't even have an issue getting the bolts loose. I'm thinking I'm going to try exchaning for the OME damper.

 

[p m]

I felt just about every bump in the road through the steering wheel, but nothing horrible. No shaking at all.

Let's concentrate on that for half an hour. Put the front axle on stands, and have somebody gently rock the steering wheel side-to-side, about 1/16 of a turn.
Check for play:
panhard rod bushings,
tie rod and drag link ends,
pitman arm on the steering box output shaft,
steering box, and
wheel bearings.
Can't think if I left anything out.
If anything of the above has noticeable play, it needs to be replaced.
Otherwise, it is likely that your truck could use some swivel preload love.

Regardless of that, I'd check the nuts on the steering damper - and if they are tight, take the damper out and send it back.

 

[Tammaru]

Well, I threw the original one back in and pulling gone and vibration gone, returning the new one.

Thanks for the list of things to check, I will go through them first chance I get...