“Floating” feeling (1 Viewer)

[dchilds]

My ‘04 has 133k miles on it’s a little hard to handle on the highway. It’s not scary feeling- you just have to be constantly “micro-correct”. I guess another way of saying: it doesn’t track well. Maybe this is typical. It just doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence for a long, fatiguing road trip.

I don’t know where to start - from a diagnostic standpoint.

My Cruiser isn’t totally stock. If you care to read my mild build/repair up story, here it is:

Introduction and my 100

Great looking cruiser, love that color and the wheels. How do you like the OME 862 springs? Would you mind pulling a measurement from fender to center of the wheel? I also have an '04 and am looking for a heavier spring that is only slightly taller than stock. I'm having a hard time finding...

forum.ih8mud.com

It has 285 75 17s on it and maybe that’s the simplest explanation.

I’ve also experienced a minor steering rack leak but it’s just weeping a bit from the driver side boot. I would think major steering rack issues might cause this kind of thing.

I’ve cranked the torsion bars to level it out some but still have some rake. It’s been aligned since.

Any specific thoughts or places you guys would start?

 

[dchilds]

Pic

 

[Octous]

Vehicle looks like it doesn’t have very much front to rear rake (front lower rebates more castor angle this in turn increases the self centering force on the steering).

I’d try adjusting the torsion Basra for 1 “ less ride height in the front, checking proper tire inflation, followed by an alignment.

 

[saucebox]

I’ve cranked the torsion bars to level it out some but still have some rake. It’s been aligned since.

Any specific thoughts or places you guys would start?

I'd start at the torsion bars. These seem to need a bit of rake to drive and steer properly. Or said differently, you shouldn't have to micromanage the steering inputs.

Measuring the droop is a good spot to start. Measure hub to fender on both sides, then do it again with the wheels off the ground. You should see 2" (or more) of droop. If not, the bars are cranked too much.

Edit. @Octous beat me to it.

 

[atnolan94]

What are your hub to fender measurements front and back? Your front looks like it may be 21"+ and if you go that high it just doesn't drive well. I run mine that high and I get alot of torque steer, even with a set of UCAs designed to correct castor. Mine is really just an offroad rig so I don't worry about it much.

Also, don't count out the possibility that is Ball Joints, tie rods, rack, ect. Lastly, shot bushings in your REAR control arms and panhard can cause floatiness on the highway. I know mine are all shot and need to be replaced.

 

[Manhattan]

At 150,000 miles, my 100 has a similar feeling. I know the issue with mine is the steering components - the rack, sway bar bushings, etc. are worn/wornout. My truck has plenty of rake, the 275/70/18s new and aired to 35 psi. The truck just has a sloppy feeling now. She's do for a visit to ACC Garage.

 

[brownfox]

Sway bar bushings would be my first suggestion. I ran without both bars for a bit, and got a little used to it. It was pretty sensitive on the freeway, had to be careful. Have just the rear back on now with new poly bushings, and gigantic difference in stability. Front are set up to quick disconnect.

 

[jLB]

My son's TLC exhibited this kind of behavior when we acquired it, although it sounds like my son's was more severe.

On my son's vehicle, it was a combination of a number of things:

Previous owner installed an OME lift without leaving enough droop.​

Stock UCAs without enough caster (at that lift).​

Disintegrated steering rack bushings.​

Worn steering rack.​

Worn tie rod ends.​

Worn lower ball joints.​

After addressing the laundry list of issues on his vehicle, it is now extremely pleasant at highway speeds.

 

[gatormark91]

Alignment. And alignment. Oh, also - alignment. Have as much caster as can be dialed in set, and make sure that toe is set within factory limits. That should make it track right and get rid of the twitchiness.

 

[oakback]

Start simpler, check your air pressure on all 4 tires. They don't have to appear low to be low enough to cause tracking issues. Then move up to alignment, then move on to replacing things.

 

[Live to Ski]

Also, recommend taking alignment procedure to shop. As with most things Lc, the majority of shops don't have a clue (parking brake, alignment, etc). Don't ask me how I know

 

[CloudCity]

Start simpler, check your air pressure on all 4 tires. They don't have to appear low to be low enough to cause tracking issues. Then move up to alignment, then move on to replacing things.

Mine wandered like crazy on the freeway when I got it and raising the front tire pressures corrected the problem.

 

[KillerBox]

I put Slee Spacer on my LX, 17" Rock Warrior wheels and BFG KO2 tires. I was getting a similar feeling with 35 PSI of tire pressure. When I applied 50 PSI of tire pressure, it drove a lot better.

 

[dchilds]

For all that read this - I have a resolution.

I heeded the above advice and approached it from several different angles.

First, I checked my air pressure. It was sitting at around 35 psi all the way around. I bumped that up to 45psi and it helped somewhat.

Second, I "uncranked" my torsion bars three full rotations on each side. This helped quite a bit. I don't notice any rubbing, either.

Last, I went and had it aligned.

Together, these three things, essentially, eliminated my problem. It drives great now and barely wanders at all.

Just for grins, I flushed my PS fluid for the second time in a year. I don't know if that will help at all but the fluid that came out (along with the ATP205 to help with my weeping DS boot) looked and smelled awful. I'm going to keep an eye on the level. It's never leaked enough to register "low" on the reservoir. I just see wetness on the bottom of the drivers side boot. Oh, also, went ahead and rotated my tires but that shouldn't have any effect.


Thanks to all that chimed in!

 

[shadow247]

Also, recommend taking alignment procedure to shop. As with most things Lc, the majority of shops don't have a clue (parking brake, alignment, etc). Don't ask me how I know

Yeah I made the mistake of letting the Sears we contract with replace the rear brake shoes and drums. I took it to get inspected the next day, and it FAILED because the parking brake literally did NOTHING! When I took it back the manager looked me dead in the eye and said "All you said to do was put shoes and drums on, you didn't say nothing about the parking brake!" - No wonder they are all closing. The convinced my father in law to replace his perfectly good winter tires with 7:32 of tread on them because "you don't want to run Winter Tires in Texas" - he had just imported the car from Germany, and put the tires on less than 5k miles before moving to the USA. Crooks.