rampage
3/4 ton status
Yes there is but they're just withholding information until you pay for a membership.
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improving handling in a lifted k5
- Thread starter mwood1985
- Start date
Yes there is but they're just withholding information until you pay for a membership.
mwood1985
1/2 ton status
Yes there is but they're just withholding information until you pay for a membership.
hey if it fixes the damn steering so i can street drive this thing and wheel it already then sign me up... been meaning to do it but every time i think about doing it i never have enough funds in the old plastic card lol
I don't know of anybody withholding info here as I see lots of suggestions. Unfortunatly, if all is in goodshape with what you have, X-over!! as previously stated. I was amazed at the difference when I did mine. ( only a 4 in. lift!)
mwood1985
1/2 ton status
that big of a difference huh? ok then how do we go crossover without spending the first borns college fund?
rampage
3/4 ton status
Search the classifieds, keep your eye out you can do it a lot cheaper than a kit
And yes its that big of a difference
I have had issues with brakes pulling left or right, but it always went away when everything was working right. I'm up about 5" on really soft springs and it brakes straight. All I have into my steering is a raised steering arm. It does understeer more as there is more body roll, because of the push-pull steering, but bump-steer only happens when I'm not going straight.
My advice is to have somebody else turn the steering wheel while you look for stuff moving that shouldn't. I have seen the D.S. front spring eye walk more than an inch on these trucks and the frame rail flex in and out.
My advice is to have somebody else turn the steering wheel while you look for stuff moving that shouldn't. I have seen the D.S. front spring eye walk more than an inch on these trucks and the frame rail flex in and out.
hardcore71
Registered Member
I agree w BLUE85. Something is likely wrong with your truck. Upgrades like x-over will certainly improve things but you will still have the same underlying problem, which will prob get worse until your symptoms appear again. My truck is also on approx 5" soft springs, 38's and no swaybar with only a steering arm spacer (d60) to correct the crappy push/pull steering. It drives and brakes very well for what it is. I'm not saying you shouldn't go w x-over steering, it's def on my to do list, just that there is prob something else going on that will probably worsen until it's dangerous. Be sure to check anything riveted (crossmembers, spring mounts, etc). These are known to loosen with hard use.
Just to mention too, I recently boxed the frame from the motor mount brackets back to the t-case crossmember w 1/8" steel and the difference on road is amazing. Almost like a stock truck.
Just to mention too, I recently boxed the frame from the motor mount brackets back to the t-case crossmember w 1/8" steel and the difference on road is amazing. Almost like a stock truck.
I had a broken center pin on the drivers side and that affected my steering quite noticeably. I think my whole axle was shifting. I could turn the wheel a quarter turn before anything would happen. It was a delayed input.
mwood1985
1/2 ton status
we just went out to check the truck over. my axle is shifting a bit according to a buddy. theres some about 8 degree shims between the axle and leaf the previous owner installed. those are probably not helping so im gonna take them out too. the u bolts seem tight but he thinks my drag link has way too much angle to it. can someone throw some pictures up of a lifted trucks drag link so i can compare one we know steers correctly
the drag link needs to be parallel to the ground...
Fred_M1010
1/2 ton status
No, it doesn't, not with 6" lift springs.
If it is, the steering will be over corrected.
It should follow the arc of the spring somewhat
It's easy to tell how you should change the drag-link angle, by the way the truck behaves on braking and on bumps.
If the steering wheel pulls to the left (and/or the truck to the right),
you have too much angle, and need to correct it further with more drop in the pitman arm, or a more raised steering arm.
If the steering wheel pulls to the right (and/or the truck to the left),
the drag link angle is over-corrected.
The steering in my dodge is over-corrected at the moment, and I feel that it worsened my bump steer.
It's especially scary when I have my camper mounted.
Because of the high center of gravity, it sways from side to side.
And when i turn in any direction the body roll causes the steering to steer the other direction, causing body roll in the other direction, which in turn causes the steering to turn back again...
causing some pretty scary wobble.
Schecksy isn't it
Don't be in such a hurry to throw away those spring shims....
You will want to measure your front caster angle (there is usually a flat area near the top of the steering knuckle that will work) and confirm that you are still within spec.
If the caster is too small (which it usually is with lift springs) you'll end up with a steering wheel that won't return-to-center after turns, and the truck will be a lot more squirrely on the highway even when you're just trying to drive straight.
8* might be too much of a shim, but it seems unlikely that you won't need ANY shim in there.
-G
You will want to measure your front caster angle (there is usually a flat area near the top of the steering knuckle that will work) and confirm that you are still within spec.
If the caster is too small (which it usually is with lift springs) you'll end up with a steering wheel that won't return-to-center after turns, and the truck will be a lot more squirrely on the highway even when you're just trying to drive straight.
8* might be too much of a shim, but it seems unlikely that you won't need ANY shim in there.
-G
mwood1985
1/2 ton status
i think i discovered part of my problem. one of the shims came out in two pieces cracked right down the middle. somebody threw some cheap pot metal ones in there instead of good steel loose on the drivers side. shes still a little wobbly but not as bad
Fred_M1010
1/2 ton status
I missed the part about the shim before i made my last post...
Was the shims mounted so it pointed the pinion up?
If so you probably have about zero or maybe even negative caster
(Stock caster is at about 8 degrees.)
and when you brake it gets worse due to the axle wrapping back.
I agree with Greg that you should should measure the actual caster angle before doing anything.
But since the axle is centered on the spring I can't see how the caster would get smaller with lift springs though.
Was the shims mounted so it pointed the pinion up?
If so you probably have about zero or maybe even negative caster
(Stock caster is at about 8 degrees.)
and when you brake it gets worse due to the axle wrapping back.
I agree with Greg that you should should measure the actual caster angle before doing anything.
But since the axle is centered on the spring I can't see how the caster would get smaller with lift springs though.
mwood1985
1/2 ton status
ill measure my pinion angle tonight and see where its at. best guess shes pointing up at about 10 degrees right now. but i believe its got close to zero degrees caster as it sits now
It might be that the PO was just trying to improve the front driveline angles with the shims and didn't realize it was going to screw up the caster...
-G
mwood1985
1/2 ton status
im klinda thinking the same thing. we bought a pro comp 6 inch lift last night from summit for my bddies k10. identical to my lift. no shimming required. the previous owner of my truck had it as a project for a mud truck. never finished it and i bought it as a rolling chassis with no drivetrain. ive taken the axles out from under the truck to rebuild them once but i put the shims back figuring they were a part of the lift kit. the shims will come out today at some point and ill take it for a spin
You also need to keep the bolt on the DS front spring eye nice and tight. Sometimes people advise to leave shock and spring bolts kind of loose to help articulation. That is another topic, but in the case of push-pull steering, you want as little slop up there as possible. And even with new poly bushings and the front eye really tight, the whole spring still moves 1/8" front-to-back, taking out that much steering response with it.
