Squirrelly at hwy speed
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if you have been wheeling it I'd check the tie-rod first
a slightly bent tie rod will cause it to toe out alot and that causes big time wandering
I would all grab the top of each front wheel and shake it hard and check for play, a bad or loose wheel bearing will also cause nthem to hunt for even the smallest line in the road.
both those check out I would check the steering gear for to much play, a small tightening of the steering gear at the arbor screw will very often calm down some wander. but dont over do it or the box will die a fast death.
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of course check all the rod ends for slop...they wont often cause wander but when they fail life can end so while your there...check them
a slightly bent tie rod will cause it to toe out alot and that causes big time wandering
I would all grab the top of each front wheel and shake it hard and check for play, a bad or loose wheel bearing will also cause nthem to hunt for even the smallest line in the road.
both those check out I would check the steering gear for to much play, a small tightening of the steering gear at the arbor screw will very often calm down some wander. but dont over do it or the box will die a fast death.
\
of course check all the rod ends for slop...they wont often cause wander but when they fail life can end so while your there...check them
MUSKYMAN said:if you have been wheeling it I'd check the tie-rod first
a slightly bent tie rod will cause it to toe out alot and that causes big time wandering
I would all grab the top of each front wheel and shake it hard and check for play, a bad or loose wheel bearing will also cause nthem to hunt for even the smallest line in the road.
both those check out I would check the steering gear for to much play, a small tightening of the steering gear at the arbor screw will very often calm down some wander. but dont over do it or the box will die a fast death.
\
of course check all the rod ends for slop...they wont often cause wander but when they fail life can end so while your there...check them
I replaced the steering box recently as well and I have been wheeling it on on some 2.5 trails. All Great suggestion I will run through them all in the morning. Thanks
I've got a similar problem with mine wandering. The ball joints were shot and have been replaced, that helped but it still wanders a bit with any groove and the steering is loose. I know the castor is off so that has some impact with the 2" RTE lift but replacing with castor corrected units is some time off. Is there any "trick" to tightning the arbor screw on the steering box? Maybe a dumb question but I don't want to kill the box. I looked in my Haynes manual, nothing, and I looked on the Rave CD with very little info. Do i simply tighten the screw a bit or is another person needed to hold the drop arm under the truck while I do it?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
My "loose steering" problem turned out be 100% bushing related. Once the rear trailing arm bushing totally failed and I could barely drive the truck it forced me to replace all of them. Once I replaced them, no more wander! An amazing difference. My truck only has 95K miles, but they've been hard ones.
kferg said:
This is how I did it... Put the front axle up on jackstands so you can operate the steering easily without the motor running. Spin the steering wheel a few times to get a feel for the resistance. Loosen the locknut and tighten the screw 1/2 turn or so. Righten the locknut and go feel the steering again. Repeat until you can feel more resistance in the steering, at that point I'd say it is too tight, so back off a 1/4 turn or so. What you are trying to do is take out most of the clearance between the gears in the steering box, but you do not want zero clearance. When you start feeling resistance you have likely reached zero clearance and placed a load on the gears.
I' surprised nobody mentioned swivel preload yet, you can find a lot of info on that with a search. Basically the swivels need to have some bearing preload in them and they loosen over time. They are adjustable via shims, a pretty easy job to do.
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Mine seems to act the same way. It really grabs the crown of the road and fights you a bit to climb up out of wheel ruts on really worn roads.
I was thinking panhard bar bushings are a good place to start out. If the front axle doesn't stay centered that would definately effect the steering link with the axle moving and the steering box stationary on the frame.
Probablly bushings all around would be best at my mielage though?
I was thinking panhard bar bushings are a good place to start out. If the front axle doesn't stay centered that would definately effect the steering link with the axle moving and the steering box stationary on the frame.
Probablly bushings all around would be best at my mielage though?
i'd start with the panhard bushings, then get a front end alignment, or follow the instructions and do one yourself...
I just wanted to post a follow up on my problem. I found that my tire pressures were all way low, as much as 15 low in the back. Put the pressures back to what is on the door jam and most of my problem is gone. No longer need to input a steering correction to keep it straight, just have to have a firm hand to hold course now.
Remember the small stuff.
Remember the small stuff.
Good to hear yours is resolved. I've ordered shims and a new steering damper and I'm going to check the pr-load to see if that needs to be adjusted on mine. I'm sure it's out. New ball joints on the tie rods made a big improvement but it still wants to wander a bit. If need be I'll adjust the steering box but really don't want to go down that road yet.
Check your bushings... pan hard rod,radius arms, trailing arms and the nut that holds these on because these come lose from time to time