97 is "wandering" the road.... (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
May 28, 2004
Threads
37
Messages
249
Location
Richmond, VA
My wife took my 97 this past week to go visit her family. When talking to her, she said that I had to do something about the brakes and the steering. She said it wandered all over the road and was scary.

105,000 +/- miles. Tires were just rotated and an alignment was done. Was doing this before the change and hasn't gotten better or worse after.

I am thinking I will rebuild the front axle (could the bearings in the knuckles cause any "wandering"?) as well as replacing the tie rod and relay link ends. I am going to rebuild the calipers and put in stainless steel lines to help the brake problem.

What else could be causing the wandering?

(Dan - I'll be calling soon................. ;) )
 
Caster?
 
Oops. Forgot to mention that I did the caster when I did the lift. Installed like the OME directions said.
 
OK,

Do you think it wanders and do you think it stops OK?

People who have not spent much time behind the wheel of an 80 often think the brakes are not working properly. and lifted ones can be a bit light in the steering even with correction. Did you drop the LSVP when you did the lift?
 
Brakes seem "ok" to me, but I drive it all the time and have made any compensation (I know when to start applying and how long it will take to stop). So your point on the person not driving is a good one.

Don't want to sound dumb, but not sure what LSVP is.

I do notice the wandering and feel I am always correcting. No real relaxed ride as I have to make sure I am watching where it drifts.

Could having the bigger tires on it (having more rubber on the road, so to speak) have any bearing on this?
 
The LSVP is the load sensing proportioning valve located at the rear axle. This valve meters rear brake force based on vehicle load. by lifting the vehicle and not correcting the valve the rear brakes "think" there is less weight back there than there really is and the brake force will be less than it should be. Your toe could be off and maybe your caster is light. You may want to get the front end aligned and get the specific measurements. If the caster is between 2 and 4 degrees the wander should not be comming from there. If it is 2 or below then it is light and it could wander a bit as a result.
 
How do I adjust the LSVP?

I just had an alignment done. I looked at the numbers, but don't remember what they are. I'll swing by and see if I can get them.
 
Plenty of threads on adjusting the LSPV. BTW, you didn't go with wider wheels or wheel spacers did you? I've heard those items might exasberate a wandering sensation.




TY
 
Stress, get a printout of the numbers and post them here. I bet your caster is 1.5 to 2.0 degrees. Double check that the caster correction bushings were installed correctly. If they are then you may need more correction than they give. Slees plates may be an option. 80s came frome the factory with wide variation in caster. The lucky ones had stock caster toward the +4 degree end and the unlucky ones got stock caster toward the +2 degree end of the spectrum.
Cheers,
Sean
 
I'll get the numbers and post. If it is off, can the bushing positions be changed to get things right? I put them in the first time (have a shop press) so I could push out and redo if needed (don't want to, but can...).

I went with the Nitto 305s. How much could that add to the problem?
 
but if you didn't go to wider 'wheels' or wheel spacers then that wouldn't do too much.


TY
 
Stress, do just as sean suggest by posting the read-out here. For some trucks the Old Man Emu CC bushings are not enough. Why is still up for discussion. My truck wandered like crazy, then adding the larger tires and them being MT's made it even worse. It was like you said, a non-relaxing drive. I finnally bucked up and took it to an alignment shop to find my caster was at zero. I don't know how because the CC bushings were installed correctly, my front axle had been rebuilt and i had just recently checked the wheel bearings with a fish scale to confirm they were still at the proper tension. Ordered OEM bushings from Cdan and caster plates from slee. It tracks much, much better now. Actually i can take my hand off the wheel for more than 20-30 seconds where as before five seconds hands free driving was pushing it.
 
Will do. I'll post the numbers tomorrow.

How much will it cost for the bushings and plates, and how hard are they to put in and setup properly? Bushings are just brute force; not sure of plates.

Thanks for the input.
 
why not find out if you need them first. get an alignment shop to measure everything.
 
OZCAL said:
Dan, shouldn't that be "LSPV"?


Yes, it should. I was in a hurry...... :eek:
 
Stress, before you spend another dollar, get the readings from the alignment shop.

As far as the plate install, really easy. I suggest locktite on all the nuts. Also suggest a file because the top bolt in the front of the plate is just the size of the hole, so if there is any rust or debris (which there will be) you may need to take 30 seconds and file it out (clean it out) so the bolt will fit in.

The bushings are easy if you have a press and the press tool from slee. The press tool is very important. Other than that get some ratcheting straps to pull the axle back a little and a pry bar to tilt the axle back. Took me about 4 hours to do the entire install and that's with stopping for lunch.

EDIT: give this thread a look: https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=49706
 
This may be misplaced - but have you ever replaced your trunnion bearings?

I replace all of mine and some of them were severly damaged. Replacing them fixed the wander I had in my steering.

Charlie
 
CharlieS said:
This may be misplaced - but have you ever replaced your trunnion bearings?

I replace all of mine and some of them were severly damaged. Replacing them fixed the wander I had in my steering.

Charlie

Which one is the trunion bearing?
 
Drum roll please.................................................


Left front caster: 1.45
Right front caster: 1.59

YIKES.

So it looks like I need to get OEM bushings to replace the OME ones, and get the plates from Slee. Right? How much will the plates change things? Sounds like I want to end up as close to 4 as I can get.

I have a press and the press tool. The press has done two Cruisers so far. I think it has at least one more in it!

Looks like fun ahead!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom