Thought i would throw this out there, but recently i have noticed a lot more wandering on the road with my rig. More so then usual. So i figured i had something loose, maybe wheel bearing, maybe trunion, tie rods worn out, 4 bolts holding steering arms on knuckle.....
It was only further noticed when i jumped behind a friend's 80 series last friday and drove it for a while. I notice how much tighter his steering was and how straight his truck drove.
my truck has j springs up front with slee blue bushings pressed in using landtank's template. No vibs at speed. I have a ARB bull bar with a t-max 12,500 lbs winch.
Yesterday i decided to mess around and see what was loose. So i put the front on jack stands and perform the checks as Landtank has pointed out in a thread some time ago.
First, checked tightness at the 3 and 9 oclock positions. Tight.
Next, 6 and 12 positions. Tight
Checked the four bolts on the bottom of the knuckle. Tight.
i then lowered the truck and put the frame on stands so the front end could sag. I tried to push the axle side to side in an attempt to test the bushings in the panhard. Pretty solid.
So i'm thinking WTF is the deal here. Then i remembered someone saying that with larger tires, adding a little more toe-in helped handleing. So i added just a little more toe. What i noticed was my rig still wandered a bit, but not as much. Also, the front end felt much tighter. As if i had done an axle job or something.
just thought i would put this out there. I did not eliminate all my wander, so i'm still a bit stumped on that. But i reduced it. I figure it's almost time for a rebuild anyway, so a front axle job, new rod ends, new panhard should really do the trick.
