Suspension (steering issues)

nzoliver · Jun 10, 2011

Hi all,

Have had for a little while a case of my steering 'tracking' over changes in road seal etc. The shocks (until yesterday) were original. Now, the front feels a little firmer but still have a slight knock and some left hand drift is still evident.:wtf2: I have had a wheel alignment done and the toe and camber etc is all good.
Could it be the bushes for the lower A arm?:think:

Any input appreciated. :favorites25:

Oh, my KJ is an '02 done 94000km (58000 miles).

Thanks:Caffeine:

Oliver

LibertyTC · Jun 10, 2011

What kind of tires do you have on and tread depth? Worn evenly? tire pressure set at?

long_tall_texan · Jun 10, 2011

Also, how much toe is your KJ aligned to? The spec for our KJs is 0.04° - 0.16°. Typically, you will have more road wandering when your tires are aligned closest to parallel. I typically ask the alignment shop to set my toe closer to the top of spec (0.16°) to help with this. When I have had alignments with toe at 0.05°, I had much more "tracking" issues.

Another possibility might be worn tie-rod end ball joints. However, that is not very likely with such low mileage that you have, unless they are really rough miles.

Banditsteve · Jun 10, 2011

As a quick and cheap thing to try, you could swap the front and rear wheels side to side as sometimes the edges wear from the camber on the road and swapping from side to side allows them to sit on the other sides of the tyre and is usually enough to make them track better. Not to be done on high speed tyres as those have a direction of rotation but Jeep ones are ok as they don't have a rotation arrow. Worth a try. :smokin:

WesChapman · Jun 10, 2011

Banditsteve said:
As a quick and cheap thing to try, you could swap the front and rear wheels side to side as sometimes the edges wear from the camber on the road and swapping from side to side allows them to sit on the other sides of the tyre and is usually enough to make them track better. Not to be done on high speed tyres as those have a direction of rotation but Jeep ones are ok as they don't have a rotation arrow. Worth a try. :smokin:

I did this on my 05 and it helped some. I have other steering issues so it wasn't a 100% cure, but it is drivable until I can get new rack bushings installed.

nzoliver · Jun 10, 2011

long_tall_texan said:
Also, how much toe is your KJ aligned to? The spec for our KJs is 0.04° - 0.16°. Typically, you will have more road wandering when your tires are aligned closest to parallel. I typically ask the alignment shop to set my toe closer to the top of spec (0.16°) to help with this. When I have had alignments with toe at 0.05°, I had much more "tracking" issues.

Another possibility might be worn tie-rod end ball joints. However, that is not very likely with such low mileage that you have, unless they are really rough miles.

Howdy,

Well, the tyres are Cooper ATRs and they are 1/3 worn. The alignment is set for .2deg toe which according the FSM is bang on. Caster is just under the 1/2 deg different (with left slightly foward - we are RHD).

Tie rod ends are one option yes. Might climb under and get someone to 'wobble' the steering wheel and see if there is any slop.

I have done a front to rear swap to give me the tyres with the good edges and to see if there are any tracking issues - shown by feathering which I was getting on the now rear tyres. :freak3:

Tyre pressure is set at 34psi.

Oliver

WesChapman · Jun 10, 2011

Have someone turn the steering wheel while you watch the steering rack. See if it's moving around. Mine moves about 1/2" in either direction and up and down. My rack bushings are shot, but I also have 111,000 miles, 61k of which has been driving to hard over a twisty pothole filled mountain road.

kskj · Jun 10, 2011

WesChapman said:
Have someone turn the steering wheel while you watch the steering rack. See if it's moving around. Mine moves about 1/2" in either direction and up and down. My rack bushings are shot, but I also have 111,000 miles, 61k of which has been driving to hard over a twisty pothole filled mountain road.

Thats what I was thinking Steering Rack Bushings.

Banditsteve · Jun 11, 2011

nzoliver said:
Howdy,

Well, the tyres are Cooper ATRs and they are 1/3 worn. The alignment is set for .2deg toe which according the FSM is bang on. Caster is just under the 1/2 deg different (with left slightly foward - we are RHD).

Tie rod ends are one option yes. Might climb under and get someone to 'wobble' the steering wheel and see if there is any slop.

I have done a front to rear swap to give me the tyres with the good edges and to see if there are any tracking issues - shown by feathering which I was getting on the now rear tyres. :freak3:

Tyre pressure is set at 34psi.

Oliver

Did you swap them side to side at the same time i.e. left rear to front right etc or just front to back on the same side cos if it was just to the same side, nothing much will change as they will still have worn to the camber of the road. They need swapping left to right to get them sat on the other side of the tyre.

nzoliver · Jun 11, 2011

Hiya Bandit

Yep. The fronts got a swap L-> R as well. (libgreen) Will have a look at the rack bushes in the daylight (popcorn). The tyres might need a few miles on 'em to wear in to being on the front.:secret:

WIll keep y'all posted.:sleepy10:

LibertyTC · Jun 12, 2011

My Driver's side steering bushing's busted rubber top flange got cut down.
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