[shep]

what are peoples thoughts on steering dampener location.
my car has had a big hit at some stage and the front cross member has been replaced.
i get a bit of a wobble after hitting big bumps and all it could be is the steering dampener as every thing else has been replaced.



the dampener sits 90deg to the chassis rail and is square to the pitman arm.
as ya can see the dampener doesn't seem to have much movement and looks like it is
almost closed with the wheels straight ahead.

so should i fab a mount back in the original spot and run a sierra dampener?
or try and find a appropriate sized dampener to fit where it is now?
relocate the dampener to a different possie?

[want33s]

That damper looks like it will do the job satisfactorily.
I'd be putting some caster wedges under the diff to return caster to original specs before I went fabricating new damper mounts etc.

[shep]

every thing except for the steering box and dampener is either the same part
or is set up the same as my swb and it was fine on the road. this car was undrivable
when i first got it as it would get the random speed wobbles at any speed over 40kph, that was the main reason that my SWB diffs, springs and
steering components went into the lwb.

i do have some wedges however i never felt the need to fit them. remember
this car will probably never go faster then 60kph ever again but i need it to behave on corrugations.

[want33s]

Steering dampers are only there to take the kick out of the wheel when you hit something offroad. They aren't a fix all for steering problems.

More caster will make it track dead straight and goes a long way towards totally eliminating shimmy/wobble. Heavier steering is a negative effect though. (To increase caster--- tilt rear of {front} diff downwards)

Have you nipped up the sector shaft in the steering box?
2mm of play at the box works out to a lot more play at the wheels.
Check for excessive toe in too or toe out.

[Junior_91]

How should it be set up, like about 1 or 2mm toe in? or out?

[shep]

my toe out/in is 0deg and my caster is 2 and a bit deg out.
i think it was joe that recommended 0 deg. i tried factory and 0deg and couldn't tell the difference.

[want33s]

I run 2mm toe in and 4 degrees caster... works fine for me.

[shep]

want33s wrote:

Steering dampers are only there to take the kick out of the wheel when you hit something offroad. They aren't a fix all for steering problems.

More caster will make it track dead straight and goes a long way towards totally eliminating shimmy/wobble. Heavier steering is a negative effect though. (To increase caster--- tilt rear of {front} diff downwards)

Have you nipped up the sector shaft in the steering box?
2mm of play at the box works out to a lot more play at the wheels.
Check for excessive toe in too or toe out.

that would be what it is doing. hit something with one wheel and i get a big kick followed by maybe 5 or 6 diminishing wobbles until its all normal. it is very easy to
duplicate so i might film it tomorrow. i have had the wheel pulled out of my hands a few times and that never happened with my SWB.

[want33s]

Might be a combination of dead damper and something else....
Have you removed one end of damper and tried pushing/pulling to see how much resistance there is?

[royce]

with the setup and location you are in I would run it from tie bar to diffhousing

your gunna be chasing wobbles from wear constantly, that will keep em in check forever

[appsie]

just adding to this post and other questions i have had in the past.Mine still gets the shakes/death wobbles.New front diff rolled under it,new swivel hub kit,new kingpins etc wheel bearings bla bla.then tonight i retightened wheel bearings to make no difference at all.

i have ext shackles and 2" springs and if i could would like to keep them.my last zuk was that high and i liked it.I have vit pitman arm with no damper at the moment.Where can i get castor wedges and how do i find out how much its out or how much i need?

[royce]

my utterly useless wedges I got from ARB and cut down to 50mm wide

[appsie]

??? didnt quite get that last post royce?

[BlueSuzy]

royce wrote:

my utterly useless wedgeeeeees I got from ARB

Probably made for hilux 60mm springs etc. So cut the width down to 50mm for suzy springs.

But has a vitara anyway...?

I used to run wedges up from with 2"springs and my oversize shackles. Wobbled no more.

Now i run stocko in ruf now. no wedges.

[royce]

I had a sierra once it wobbled when I put power steer on and removed the damper, tried all the fixes, nothing worked, put the damper back on and was fine forever after

[BlueSuzy]

royce wrote:

I had a sierra once it wobbled when I put power steer on and removed the damper, tried all the fixes, nothing worked, put the damper back on and was fine forever after

wobbled with ps? weird!

i has vit ps no damp.

I still get the wobble alittle over speedbumps, but its always a sign of my wheel bearings loose. Nothing else!

[appsie]

hey tim,i reckon mine has gotten worse after doing the power steer.I just put it down to the flatter pitman arm causing more bumpsteer and possibly sending into wobbles plus i had steer damper before i went PS

I have a jimny arm here that im mounting my damper on so will see how that goes once its all on.I have checked,repacked n nipped up my bearings...didnt help i dont think.But it is booked in tomorrow to get a true idea of how far my castor is out and toe in etc.Then ill decide if i go wedges or lose the shackles and some of the little height i do have

[joeblow]

set toe to 0mm, that way the tyres are less likely to 'fight' each other to go in a straight line.

[appsie]

thankyou for some input joe.What sizes do wedges come in if i choose to get some and correct it?

[BlueSuzy]

I have never checked my wheel alignment since i bought suzy.. I'd be afraid that it will get worse! She drives straight though. Not problems.

The wedges should come in different degrees. But as royce said, he cut them down. 50mm leafs are more rare then luxes/pootrol 65mm etc.

[appsie]

well the zuk went for its first ever appointment at a shop today.....mechanical and allignment place.Put it up on the ramps and checked castor etc.

It has 1mm toe in and 1.2* castor on the passenger side and 1.6odd on driver side.He said its definately not a casot thing as thats pretty acceptable but the little ball joints on my draglink where it meets the pitman arm and one on the tierod joining the draglink are a little worn and have some play he says.Could this be enough to make it happen?

[shep]

royce wrote:

with the setup and location you are in I would run it from tie bar to diffhousing

your gunna be chasing wobbles from wear constantly, that will keep em in check forever

has any one got any photos of a steering dampener set up like royces suggestion?

[TZAR]

okay time for more high quality Noobcad to explain

Too much toe out makes the car go stupid the front wheels are both trying to drive in different directions

Too much too in and the car is like a snow plough. Its just riping the tyres across the road and under braking it is hideooes ( like my spelling)

Zero toe in is stupid cause as soon as you accelarate or have any resistance from the road the tyres start pushing out due to all the moving parts. To get TRUE zero you need to compensate for the outwards movement of the tyres by toeing a litle first. Nice tight front end will give about 1-2mm toe in, sloppy as front end toe in up to 4mm

hope this helps explain toe in out

[TZAR]

shep wrote:

royce wrote:

with the setup and location you are in I would run it from tie bar to diffhousing

your gunna be chasing wobbles from wear constantly, that will keep em in check forever

has any one got any photos of a steering dampener set up like royces suggestion?

Have seen it somewhere but from memory it is just a u bolt system arounfd the diff and then two small u bolts on the track rod.

Surelly in your wrecking yard you can find something that will help

[shep]

TZAR wrote:

shep wrote:

royce wrote:

with the setup and location you are in I would run it from tie bar to diffhousing

your gunna be chasing wobbles from wear constantly, that will keep em in check forever

has any one got any photos of a steering dampener set up like royces suggestion?

Have seen it somewhere but from memory it is just a u bolt system arounfd the diff and then two small u bolts on the track rod.

Surelly in your wrecking yard you can find something that will help

there is bound to be something there i will see what i can make.

i have noticed on some seppo 4WDs they have lots of steering dampeners so should
i put 6 on? just kidding, only gunna put 4 on.

[TZAR]

shep wrote:

TZAR wrote:

shep wrote:

royce wrote:

with the setup and location you are in I would run it from tie bar to diffhousing

your gunna be chasing wobbles from wear constantly, that will keep em in check forever

has any one got any photos of a steering dampener set up like royces suggestion?

Have seen it somewhere but from memory it is just a u bolt system arounfd the diff and then two small u bolts on the track rod.

Surelly in your wrecking yard you can find something that will help

there is bound to be something there i will see what i can make.

i have noticed on some seppo 4WDs they have lots of steering dampeners so should
i put 6 on? just kidding, only gunna put 4 on.

Foundd it!!!

http://www.puresuzuki.com/steering_stabilizer_kit.htm



If you look at the pic you see two small u bolts that clamp to the draglink and hold the small bracket and the bigger bracket with a big ubolt goes around the diff.

You could make somthing up just make sure you haven't "shepped" it up before driving it

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shepped

[shep]

You could make somthing up just make sure you haven't "shepped" it up before driving it

www.urbandictionary.co...rm=Shepped



fucken ball

[Joe]

[laurie]

joseph wrote:

:rofl:

classic

[UBZ]

TZAR wrote:

Foundd it!!!

http://www.puresuzuki.com/steering_stabilizer_kit.htm



If you look at the pic you see two small u bolts that clamp to the draglink and hold the small bracket and the bigger bracket with a big ubolt goes around the diff.

Don't buy that kit!!!! As i found out the hard way.
Damper is to long for NT , may work with WT
It also doesn't fit between the drag link and the diff housing. Shock bore is way to large. looked like the damper was going to be hanging under the drag link, completely exposed to rocks etc.

Instructions that came with were generic for a whole range of brands of vehicles. Know residing on a GQ patrol, and the owner is real happy with it

I removed my damper and all mounts completely. no difference on /off and have toy power steer yet to fit.

Stock mounting position will do Sweet FA damping as it is from chassis to pitman arm, will take out a little bit of vibe from the steering wheel and hide problems , my 2c anyway.