Steering problems after Skyjacker

[Dre]

I had not have much free time to drive my "X" after the lift was put on but finally decided to finish the whole project before winter so I can go out there "Exploring" first thing in the Spring...

and have discovered that I have lost lots of steering "power" after installing a Skyjacker 6" lift in the front. I do have extended radius arms installed... and dropped pitman arm.... and everything seems OK untill I try turning wheels...... there is no binding and the wheels are not hitting anything but for some reason wheels don't want to turn all the way in any direction.... just a bit... steering acts as something is in the way.... perhaps it's a steering box? wrong pitman arm? WTF?

 

[410Fortune]

Who did the alignment?
Are the tie rods mounted on the top of the knuckle like they should be?

Have you checked the power steering fluid level?

You shouldnt have problems steering full clock, you should just notice that you have lots of bump steer and the truck likes to wander (nature of the beast)

Get under there and check for any binding.
It could be that the steering box was not centered properly before the pitman arm was installed??

 

[Dre]

problem is no alignment has been performed yet... I set the front end with just a tape measure and two wooden sticks


no binding, no restrictions.... nada... truck goes in for an alignment in about two weeks..... I'm taking it to the 4x4 shop to have everything finished. Got to set pinion angle and weld rear leaf perches, install front pig and align everything... hopefully that will help

 

[410Fortune]

the alignment should help.

Was the steering box centered before putting the pitman arm to the tie rod?

If anything the steering should feel much more "loose".

Big tires make it feel like more of a struggle.

I installed a stabilizer to help on my truck, that really improved the feel of it, but with the inverted Y setup, a 2" drop pitman and a 6" lift with 33" tires there is only so much you can do. I plan to convert to the Superrunner system ASAP.......

 

[Dre]

well, conversion is something that I have been exploring for a while.... will see how it performes after the alignment


thanks,

 

[DeRocha]

bump...did you get it aligned and did it help?

 

[Dre]

truck is currently at the shop... we'll see after I pick it up. Another thing came up when I drove it to the shop... at higher speeds (45-50 mph) whenever I hit a bump the whole truck would start rolling from side to side.... like a boat.... kind of scary at times. That too might be alignment but also bad front shocks..... which BTW I bought used... got new shocks at home - ready to install on the truck as soon as it comes back.

 

[Felix]

To help get rid of the ocean ride/death wobble check your wheel bearings also. Don't for get to reconect your sway bar. If you dont have extended end links get some from a CJ-7. Lots more off-road shops will have those in stock, and I have personaly seen them used on the explorers and rangers.

Other than that welcome to the lifted TTB wander shake and shimmy on the highways.

Oh and for your stearing problems check your ball joints, tierods, and your stearing box.

 

[Dre]

sway bar is gone.... and forgotten..

I'll check everything once the truck comes back from the shop.... want to make sure they do it right..

 

[rocklaurence]

Dre, referencing the "Death Woble" I had that also and tried to cure it with the SuperRunner steering--it didnt fix it. The problem was too much Caster at the wheels. The radious arms are made for 4" lift while mine was 6"+. I had to cut and turn my radious arms to bring Caster into spec (4-7 degrees). Also, stiff front shocks will help counter the woble. If you dont wont to cut the R/As (the right way), you can add 1-2" spacers between the frame and R/A brakets (reduces grnd clearance).

 

[Dre]

are you talking about stock RA? mine came as a set - 6" lift including extended radius arms... first off.... after installing these I'm kind of sceptic as to the big nuts that attach these radius arms to the frame.... what if these get loose??? what if?

anyway... thanks for all the responses... I'm putting Skyjacker shocks on the front... believe they are the better ones...

 

[RFR2212]

Dre-- It's probly the swaybar... I always ran mine on the road on the old sport b/c the springs are pretty soft, and it would sway horribly! I did have the swaybar off but didn't like the handling and on went the swaybars, problem solved.

 

[unclemeat]

I have been working on mine since I got a 5.5 superlift, no superrunner kit. It rides and drives pretty well, at least as good as stock. I have replaced two ball joints, radius arm bushings, alienment and a steering stabilizer. The bearing are tight and the other two ball joints are in good shape. I do not have the death wobble.

 

[rocklaurence]

Dre, most extended R/A are advertised for a 4" lift (except the 5.5"). When the alignment is finished check to see if the caster made spec. The nuts bottom-out on the threads at 100pndsTorq and shouldnt ever come loose. Keep with it. My lifted X has never handled well but after tweaking-n-tooning it is acceptable (offroads awsomely).

 

[RFR2212]

Dre, if yer truck went to attitude performance, the guy they use for all their alignments claims "there is no truck he can't align" and well i took the old sport to a great local steering place, and they couldn't do it, but this guy through attitude got it so it rolled dead center down the road, with my boggers!

 

[Dre]

that's OK... this truck has been modified with off road use in mind. Sure, I'm gonna drive it to work once in a while... I don't really care much about the wobble as I can probably and most likely eliminate it somehow if I get some time to play with it.

thanks for all your input...

 

[Dre]

attitude is doing a great job... the only problem is they take a long time to do it.... I don't really mind that as I want my truck in top shape for spring.... I don't think we'll do any wheeling any time soon unless I go west...


I also used a truck shop in Elgin that have aligned my other trucks.... great job every time - and really cheap too.

 

[RFR2212]

Ya never know, i know there's a few possible runs in jan-summer over at RRORC...they like to wheel a good bit, there's usually people going rather often.. Heck, I just went a lil more than a week ago to 600 acres for a post turkey run... 5 trucks, easy terrain, but was a blast!

 

[Dre]

Death Woble is no more! I just picked-up my truck today and drove it home.... there is no death woble... I got the truck up to around 70 mph.... and almost no vibration is present... good job on the part of Attitude Performance!!! They spent the entire day today setting pinion angle to limit vibration to the minimum... but I'm going to replace the drive shaft with custom made drive shaft (double cardan)... I'm probably going to Lake Geneva, WI on Sunday with Land Rover club to test the truck... but tomorrow I've got to cut the wheel wells a bit as I'm getting a lot of rubbing up front... 6" of lift, 33" tires and still not enough room.

But the truck rides a lot better now than it did before I took it to the shop to finish all the work... it feels a lot better too.

 

[TheRookie]

6 inches and 33's and rubbing? What rims did you use? backspacing? that sounds odd.