'touch' the steering wheel, rig turns 4 feet across traffic (1 Viewer)

[wantatlc]

it seems that the steering on my rig makes people fidgety (including myself). when you turn the wheel just a little bit, it turns wildly fast. I am constantly trying to compensate for a little turn that could easily get out of hand.

If I turn the wheel an inch while trying to avoid a little pot hole, I am instead trying to kep it from making a 90 degree turn across traffic. you definetly need to be concious when driving this rig as a small movement in the wheel translates into huge turns on the road and a bunch of correctng to keep it on the road.

why is it so squirrely. is it something I can adjust easily so it is a bit more mellow and dampened. I got it like this BTW. scared me at first, but I would like it to not be this way.

 

[Poser]

Please elaborate on what type of system you have:

Stock

Stock power assist conversion

Saginaw conversion

Scout conversion

60 series conversion



This may help with diagnosing your issues.



Thanks!


-Steve

 

[dmaddox]

also, do you have HUGE shackles in the front?

 

[wantatlc]

Steve -

boy, not totally sure on what type of conversion. it is a 1974 fj40. Was that stock power steering?how do I find that out actually if it was a conversoin and what kind? I start to think about it and I start to recall him saying a Saginaw maybe? Damn, not 100% sure.

as for shackels, yes, 3-4 inch. is that HUGE? it has 33 inch tires and is sprung under.

 

[Poser]

Improper caster can cause what you are dealing with(from extended shackles), along with shot knuckle bearings....


Post up a pic or two of your set up.



Good luck!


-Steve

 

[wantatlc]

Improper caster can cause what you are dealing with(from extended shackles), along with shot knuckle bearings....

Post up a pic or two of your set up.

-Steve

will post tonight. what do you want to see exactly? what kind of photos/angles?

 

[dmaddox]

yup, i say ditch the shackles to begin with - as Steve mentioned this fiddles with your caster and the result is "darty" steering.....

cheers,

ragman

 

[dmaddox]

where is your steering box, no 74 not stock....

 

[wantatlc]

"darty" yeah - that says it.

but, if you take off shackels, what happens to the height of the rig? what about the ramifications of that. can you just "ditch" them? are they not there for a reason: lift.

 

[wantatlc]

where is your steering box, no 74 not stock....

out in front on behind the bumper.

 

[dmaddox]

out in front of bumper - saginaw

no no no silly - don't just delete them......get a stock set.....you'll lose 1.5" or so of lift but at least you'll be able to drive normally......

i'd start there

 

[HawkDriver]

Just curious about the length of your steering arm coming off your box that's behind the front bumper.

Waiting for pics.

Hey wait didn't we already hammer this one out?

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=53752

What ever happened to that?

 

[wantatlc]

oops. my bad. just getting use to this new truck, so many small issues trying to educate myself on and I post so much these days trying to learn more, I forgot I did that. sorry. recently came up (again???) when a friend drove it and it got me fired up to figure it out.

anyway, images are forth coming of the box, shackles, etc.

 

[wantatlc]

out in front of bumper - saginaw

no no no silly - don't just delete them......get a stock set.....you'll lose 1.5" or so of lift but at least you'll be able to drive normally......

i'd start there

okay, here are photos. random stuff of what I think you would want to see. the PS box (which is out front on the bumper), steering arms and such, shackels. let me know any thoughts. BTW, if I went to 'stock' shackles, do you do both front and rear?

 

[dmaddox]

1. jack the front end up, can you wiggle the wheels? Darty-ness can be caused by a few things.

Those shackles don't look too huge, but if you are going back to stock size - you'd want to do rear and front, to have an even ride.

Do you have play in the box? are all the steering components tight? You'd think that power steering would solve this, but I had huge shackles and going to stock height helped solve the dartyness.

Mine were larger than yours however.

Really this could be many things, it could even be a lock right locker or something to do with grabbing in your rear diff.....

Could you be more specific about the way it darts? how wide are your tires? it could be that they are just grabbing grooves in the freeway - man it could be a combo of things.

specifics?

ragman

 

[Cdaniel]

That pitman arm looks questionable to me. Is that some kind of home fab Heim joint attachment for the drag link? What is the center to center distance on the pitman arm?

 

[lone gunman]

how many turns lock to lock, crank the steering wheel all the way to the left and then count how many complete turns to go all the way to the right, 3 and 1/2 or less get a 4 and 1/2 turn lock to lock box. this could be why it so darty, you may have a 2 and 1/2 turn box wich is dangerous on such a short wheel base rig.

 

[johnnybravo300]

damb now mine feels darty too....i need to quit reading so much....

 

[treerootCO]

That setup would scare me and I think steering is something you should set up correctly. IMO I would not run heim joints, weld additions to the pitman, or bolt my relay rod/drag link to the tie rod.

 

[wantatlc]

That pitman arm looks questionable to me. Is that some kind of home fab Heim joint attachment for the drag link? What is the center to center distance on the pitman arm?

don't know about the origin of that pitman arm, but I know it is about 8" center to center. what does that tell you?