Steering issues.... (1 Viewer)

[TLCandME]

I have a '71 40..... and have been running some regular tires.... maybe 31's.... nothing special but never noticed anything odd with the steering. Just got some 32x9.5x15 tires put on that I got from a friend. The tread profile is certainly more "knobby". But I've noticed that with these new tires.... the 40 jumps around the road more.... I only drive on small town paved roads at speeds between 35 and 45. The tires seem to really follow the grooves in the road and it's a fight to keep the car straight. There is some play in the steering wheel.... not sure if too much.... but it wasn't a noticeable problem until the tire switch. Is this normal with "larger" tires or tires with more of an "offroad" tread and are there things I can look into changing.... other than the tires.... to make the steering less erratic? I don't have power steering. And there is a small lift.... maybe 2 or 3 inches... I can't remember. I can post pics of before and after tires if that helps. Thanks!!

 

[B y r o n]

Double check your tie rod ends, gear box play and steering dampener. After that double check your alignment. Some tires do track better than others.

 

[pb4ugo]

The lift has probably has changed your caster angle in a negative way & the larger tires have amplfied the issue. Does it seem like you are chasing it?

 

[ginmtb]

I have the same issue after installing an OME 2.5" lift (tires remained the same at the time I noticed it). I did take off both of the steering stabilizers (stock and aftermarket) and replaced it with just the OME stock location stabilizer. The existing suspension had a shim in place so I just reused. Probably need to get a slightly steeper one to make up for the extra lift. I'm going to put the aftermarket steering stabilizer back on to test it out to see if that makes a difference. Trying to rule things out... It's pretty scary though how hard the thing wants to pull when it hits a good sized bump or gets in a groove.

 

[edwjmcgrath]

Stabilizer won't make it squirrely. Toe in or caster angle will. It sounds more like caster angle to me especially with a lift.
I'd suggest taking it to an alignment shop. They will set the toe-in and tell you what the caster angle is. You may need a shim to correct the caster angle.

I just went through the same thing. My toe in was off and when corrected, it fixed 75% of it. The caster angle fixed the final 25%.
I took the stabilizer off mine and it runs great without it. I can go over an overpass at 65 with my hands off the wheels and it just tracks straight.
Before the fix, it was white knuckles at 40.

 

[TLCandME]

Thank you all for your help. I had to review "caster angle" and am going to take a look tomorrow in the light. Certainly sounds probable. If caster is the problem.... would shims be available at the alignment shop or would I get these from a vendor on Mud? And what caster angle would I be shooting for - from my reading.... I'm guessing something in the "positives". However.... I put the lift on with the old tires and it drove "fine"..... would an inch difference in tire size make that severe of a performance change? Again.... thanks for your help!!

 

[edwjmcgrath]

Most alignment shops wouldn't have caster shims, but they can tell you if you need one, and they could probably install them for you if you got them.
It doesn't take much to go from a little toe in to toe out or a little positive caster to a little negative. In either case, the steering goes off a cliff.

 

[shawnfj40]

If all you changed was tire size, then you didn't "lift" the truck. It is higher, just not lifted. that should not change your steering. Just dig out your Stanley tape measure and measure your toe. In other words verify that your steering is tight first, then if that is the case set the tires pointing straight ahead and measure the distance across the front of your tires and compare that to the same point on the rear of the tire. It should be pretty close to the same or just very slightly toe'd in or closer in the fron than the back. If it is toe'd out it will wander around the road like it has a mind of its own. If it is toe'd in it will plow the road and seem to hop if it is extreme enough. Hope that helps and remember it cant hurt to have a shop do an alignment.

 

[TLCandME]

Thank you for all the suggestions!

 

[fj401978]

Don't forget the rag joint, they wear out too and will add to the 'squirrelyness' of it. I run 34x9.50 SS with no problems. Good luck!

 

[tyama]

If your "new" tires are used, you may want to make sure they are balanced. Try rotating the fronts to the rear and visa versa. I wouldn't think 32" knobby tires would affect your steering so much by themselves if everything else on the steering was ok. I would go ahead and replace the tre's and other parts & rebuild the center arm too if you hadn't done it in a long while. The shop will tell you if your tre's are bad, but if they look old and beat up, I'd replace. The oem steering can be a problem, that's why many folks switch over to a Saginaw or fj 60 power steering setup.

Good luck, ty

 

[78fj40mg]

I had similar issues, the steering was very sloppy and loose, so I replaced all tie rod ends, rebuilt the steering gear box, replaced rag joint, and rebuilt the center arm, new damper, now steering is back to normal, tight and precise no play in the steering wheel.