2nd steering post 65mph+

[desertwampa]

So ya, have the truck now..97lx450..and as reported it def. does wander at 60-65..or more. I'm on a Dobinsons 2.5" life with 35" wildpeak mts. No radius arm drop brackets..Knuckles rebuilt less than 2k miles ago..apparently bearimg replaced too. please drop some ideas of what it could be..

Alignment toe adjustment?

loose tie rod ends..?

some loose steering components?

 

[voodu3]

You probably have all of the above or a combination. I’d start with getting it aligned. Take it to a shop that will do the alignment and give you a print out of your current specs. Then you can make adjustments accordingly.

 

[Fj80oregon]

If you don’t have castor corrected to within spec it’s hard to trouble shoot everything else. Don’t worry save money on an alignment you can set the toe yourself with a couple straight pieces of whatever and a tap measure. Ball joints/tie rods sure why not if they have never been done. Yes the alignment shop can give you your numbers but the only thing adjustable on a 80 is your toe in/out easily adjusted with some pipe wrenches.

 

[Fj80oregon]

Alignment Setting Toe

On the ’80, toe is the only thing easily adjustable. It can be knocked out from wheeling, impact, so should be occasionally checked. For something that looks deceptively simple, vehicle handling is a complicated subject, there are great books on the subject, this will be the simple version...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Azca]

Maintenance first. As stated, start with alignment, it is cheap. If you have not rebuilt your knuckles, throw new bearings in it. Are the tie rod ends and ball joints in good condition? How about the steering damper?

Once done with that, if money is a concern, either get an adjustable panhard bar or get the Delta panhard lift bracket. You will see a very noticeable difference with this addition for not a lot of money. Finally, caster is the criminal for robbing the 80 of a good road manners. Get it fixed, don't cheap out on it. I added the delta arms and, wow, what a difference!

Running the rig between Flagstaff and Phoenix, especially going down hill, was much more of a struggle than I fully understood until adding the bracket and arms. I did not realize how much attention (effort) I was paying to what it was doing before with the constant steering corrections to keep it pointing strait. Adding the delta products was a life changer and probably the best mods I have done to the rig after it was lifted. So much more relaxed when I arrived to the destination after that, life changing.

Also, I went for a bolt on solution for the arms, the drop brackets are nice but, going back or changing later, is a PITA. Oh, and stay away from the caster correction bushings, don't work, not worth it.

 

[John Young]

I could not tell from what you said (my ignorance), but do you have the offset bushings to correct the castor?

 

[manofthewoods]

Maintenance first. As stated, start with alignment, it is cheap. If you have not rebuilt your knuckles, throw new bearings in it. Are the tie rod ends and ball joints in good condition? How about the steering damper?

Once done with that, if money is a concern, either get an adjustable panhard bar or get the Delta panhard lift bracket. You will see a very noticeable difference with this addition for not a lot of money. Finally, caster is the criminal for robbing the 80 of a good road manners. Get it fixed, don't cheap out on it. I added the delta arms and, wow, what a difference!

Running the rig between Flagstaff and Phoenix, especially going down hill, was much more of a struggle than I fully understood until adding the bracket and arms. I did not realize how much attention (effort) I was paying to what it was doing before with the constant steering corrections to keep it pointing strait. Adding the delta products was a life changer and probably the best mods I have done to the rig after it was lifted. So much more relaxed when I arrived to the destination after that, life changing.

Also, I went for a bolt on solution for the arms, the drop brackets are nice but, going back or changing later, is a PITA. Oh, and stay away from the caster correction bushings, don't work, not worth it.

All good stuff above, except there aren't any ball joints, at least on mine.

 

[Marvelicious]

I really don't get the "alignment first" recommendations. I realize it isn't much money, but it's not necessarily the best diagnostic tool to find worn components. Figure out if you need to replace parts, THEN get it aligned, rather than align, replace parts and align again. I guess if you just really like to look at numbers on paper, then by all means, but it seems far more useful once you know all the various joints, bushings and bearings are doing their jobs. And @Fj80oregon is absolutely right, you really don't need an alignment shop for a solid axle. I do think getting the printout has some value once you're pretty sure you've addressed everything, but hardly the first step.

 

[desertwampa]

I guess a reliable off road shop should be able to help..with ot without alignment. I guess I tend to get in my own head because of the vehicle age..I keep thinking I need a specialist to help.

 

[Azca]

I really don't get the "alignment first" recommendations. I realize it isn't much money, but it's not necessarily the best diagnostic tool to find worn components. Figure out if you need to replace parts, THEN get it aligned, rather than align, replace parts and align again. I guess if you just really like to look at numbers on paper, then by all means, but it seems far more useful once you know all the various joints, bushings and bearings are doing their jobs. And @Fj80oregon is absolutely right, you really don't need an alignment shop for a solid axle. I do think getting the printout has some value once you're pretty sure you've addressed everything, but hardly the first step.

One reason for alignment first is that the techs won't do an alignment if they find any issues with any of the steering components. They do the work and identify the issues for you or, at least the shop I take mine does this for me. Not everyone may have the experience to identify these issues and rather than just throwing a bunch of parts at it in an attempt to resolve the issue, have someone ID the issues for you.

Dollars to doughnuts it is the caster creating the driveabilty issues. Not sure if the OP has sufficient funds to tackle the most expensive components first though.

 

[-Spike-]

I really don't get the "alignment first" recommendations. I realize it isn't much money, but it's not necessarily the best diagnostic tool to find worn components. Figure out if you need to replace parts, THEN get it aligned, rather than align, replace parts and align again. I guess if you just really like to look at numbers on paper, then by all means, but it seems far more useful once you know all the various joints, bushings and bearings are doing their jobs. And @Fj80oregon is absolutely right, you really don't need an alignment shop for a solid axle. I do think getting the printout has some value once you're pretty sure you've addressed everything, but hardly the first step.

As Azca said, a good alignment shop will tell you everything that's wrong with your rig before they do anything to it, IME at no cost if you bring it to them for the alignment when you've fixed the issues. It's a great resource for people who aren't adept at troubleshooting, or as a second opinion even for those who are.

 

[Broski]

If you have a lift with no castor correction that's your issue.

 

[Marvelicious]

I guess a reliable off road shop should be able to help..with ot without alignment. I guess I tend to get in my own head because of the vehicle age..I keep thinking I need a specialist to help.

All I'm saying is if you have a warm dry space, crawl under that thing and spend some time looking around. Put it up and jack stands, lay down under there and really think about how it all works together. Maybe you come to the conclusion that you're in over your head and that's fine - mechanical stuff comes naturally to some people and never comes to some people, but most of us can get there with a little work. If you've got access to a decent printer, print a copy of the suspension chapter of the FSM and bring it down there with you.

That's my 2 cents anyway... I thought I remembered from the other thread that you were at least somewhat budget minded. Even if you wind up paying someone else to do everything else, it can't hurt to understand better what they're telling you.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

So ya, have the truck now..97lx450..and as reported it def. does wander at 60-65..or more. I'm on a Dobinsons 2.5" life with 35" wildpeak mts. No radius arm drop brackets..Knuckles rebuilt less than 2k miles ago..apparently bearimg replaced too. please drop some ideas of what it could be..

Alignment toe adjustment?

loose tie rod ends..?

some loose steering components?

Exactly the same advice from your first post on this issue is applicable here.

You could have a host of issues, or not, but the one Broski mentioned is a guarantee.

 

[BILT4ME]

So ya, have the truck now..97lx450..and as reported it def. does wander at 60-65..or more. I'm on a Dobinsons 2.5" life with 35" wildpeak mts. No radius arm drop brackets..Knuckles rebuilt less than 2k miles ago..apparently bearimg replaced too. please drop some ideas of what it could be..

Alignment toe adjustment?

loose tie rod ends..?

some loose steering components?

1) Wheel bearings. Yes, you had the front knuckles done. Who did them? Were they torqued to 35 LB-FT / 45 LB-FT? or were they set to the 43 LB-IN listed in the FSM?
2) Tire pressures. The tires on each axle must be within 1 LB across the same axle.

3) Toe-In. You can go to an alignment shop and for about $100 they will set your toe-in and give you your caster numbers. Then you can decide what to do about caster.

4) Tie rod ends. Inspect them, grease them, replace if necessary

5) Cracked frame members. Check under the steering gear, and around all of the brackets hanging off the front for the panhard bar.

6) Bushings in all suspension components. Make sure they are in good shape.

 

[Squeegee]

If you have a lift with no castor correction that's your issue.

You would think that the thousands of posts about this would make this common knowledge by now

 

[Broski]

You would think that the thousands of posts about this would make this common knowledge by now

Yep !!
Plus after asking, the first thing he wants to do is take it to a shop

 

[Squeegee]

Yep !!
Plus after asking, the first thing he wants to do is take it to a shop

insert toe plates

VEVOR Wheel Alignment Tool, 2-Pack Toe Alignment Toe Plates, Stainless Steel Wheel Alignment Tool Plate, Toe Angle Accurate Measurement, Includes 2 Measuring Tapes & Conversion Chart | VEVOR US

VEVOR Wheel Alignment Tool offers precise toe angle measurement with durable stainless steel plates, anti-fall slots, easy setup, and universal compatibility.

m.vevor.com

 

[Broski]

insert toe plates

VEVOR Wheel Alignment Tool, 2-Pack Toe Alignment Toe Plates, Stainless Steel Wheel Alignment Tool Plate, Toe Angle Accurate Measurement, Includes 2 Measuring Tapes & Conversion Chart | VEVOR US

VEVOR Wheel Alignment Tool offers precise toe angle measurement with durable stainless steel plates, anti-fall slots, easy setup, and universal compatibility.

m.vevor.com

Or super easy to make your own, good for tires up to 40"

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Well, my 2 pesos are:

-Jack up the front and put it on stands so the tires are off the round.

- grab your tire at 3 and 9 o'clock positions and push/ pull side to side to see if it wiggles

- repeat the above at 12 and 6 o'clock position
- Check tie rod end by grabbing the tie rod and yarding on it like you're shaking a baby....not that I condone baby shaking.

-check the drag link ball joints at the pitman arm and at the knuckle.the same way. These joints should rotate but not clatter or feel sloppy.

-Then.....check the knuckles have 4 studs with cone washers,.split washers and nuts and they're all tight.
-Check that the top knuckle cap bolts are tight.

-If you don't find anything check the bushings of the radius arms arent rotted out or that the webs arent torn free.
- Check that the Panhard bar bushings are also in good condition.
- lastly, if nothing has come up yet, check the frame around the steering gear box. Inspect the bushings going through the frame for cracks around the welds, check the bracket that the panhard attaches to the frame for broken welds.

If you have managed to get through all of that I'd check to see how sloppy your steering feels side to side with the tires off the ground...your gear box may be worn.

Now, I'd take it and have the caster and toe checked.

Do what you can first unless you don't have time but have money. In which case pay someone else to do it for you but it really shouldn't take more than an hour to rule out most causes.

Hope it helps.