[matty87]

So basically at any sort of speed the car is floating from one side of the track to the other even on flat surfaces. and requires a large amount of working the steering wheel to keep it in a straight line.

there is quite a lift in this rig and some intresting fab work but im trying to diagnose where to look for this problem i cant really understand what may be the cause of this problem as it isnt a constant one direction thing.

[atari4x4]

pics of set up?

[skyman]

check the steering box for play, adjust accordingly. Do not over tighten, other wise it will bind at fll lock, and wear faster.

[foolsp33d]

i reckon skyman is on the ticket with the Steering box..Iv got at least 1/2 a turn either way before the front wheels even think about goin left or right, gets a tight spot before full lock, but Im suspecting iv got a colapsed bearing in mine, Got a replacement to go in tomorrow.

Quick Question while we are discussing steering boxes.. Oil or Grease? quantity? viscosity? some have said to use grease, others oil, others Moreys..

So... Whats the suggestions from the forum!?

[skyman]

I think here we use the same gear oil we do in the gear box, bit don't quote me. You can pull the lid and find out, but I am sure it is a liquid oil of some type.

[Scrawny]

I'm banking on caster if it's a solid front end.

[steve]

Is this your red comp truck? I wouldn't go fast in that! ... your front diff is probably drifting left to right!

[steak_knife]

skyman wrote:

I think here we use the same gear oil we do in the gear box, bit don't quote me. You can pull the lid and find out, but I am sure it is a liquid oil of some type.

Molly grease or graphite grease does the trick very nicely...

[whincup]

matty87 wrote:

So basically at any sort of speed the car is floating from one side of the track to the other even on flat surfaces. and requires a large amount of working the steering wheel to keep it in a straight line.

there is quite a lift in this rig and some intresting fab work but im trying to diagnose where to look for this problem i cant really understand what may be the cause of this problem as it isnt a constant one direction thing.

mine used to do this really bad, and it was my wheel bearings. they're a simple check, worth checking and ruling them out early.

[royce]

give it some toe out, its easy, free and will work

[alien]

Scrawn wrote:

I'm banking on caster if it's a solid front end.

first thing i thought when he said "big lift".

[bakerboy]

Big lift =18" worth of lift

Yes it's on the red thing

[MrRocky]

with a list of suspension and steering mods as long as yours
id say you have a long process of elimination before u get it sorted
it may be a combination of a whole lot of stuff

[Red89]

MrRocky wrote:

with a list of suspension and steering mods as long as yours
id say you have a long process of elimination before u get it sorted
it may be a combination of a whole lot of stuff

X2 did you use new bushes in the front springs, and tightened up all the bolts under there ?

[matty87]

thanks guys for the quick straight forward advice.

-for pics check the life and times of james thread in the rigs section, there are too many to repost.
-The wheel bearings were new but i will check and eliminate or confirm that
- suspension bushes were new
-toe out obviously this tries to pull the diff apart thus keeping it in a straight line?

- steering box is probably the problem as it is a random box out of some old road car that i got cheap. (having thought about this)

-do you think that going hydro would be the quickest and easiest way to eliminate all the working out of angles and so forth in the steering?

-However the angle on the draglink isnt that steep anymore.


thanks for the advice guys

[Fatzook]

SR= castor problems.

[matty87]

SR?

[Fatzook]

Shackle reversal.

[matty87]

Ah k

i will check the castor again. i thought it was set to about standard as i had to change the spring perches so i rotated them slightly to bring the diff to the same position in terms of the castor after the suspension change as before.

[Fatzook]

did you check it when fitted to the car? The springs compressing under the weight f the vehicle can change the diff angle slightly. It is hard to set that up sometimes.

[matty87]

yeah checked and changed once it was fitted. I machined up a couple of correction plates and put them in so it was at a point that i thought it was right but it could still be not right.

[Fatzook]

matty87 wrote:

yeah checked and changed once it was fitted. I machined up a couple of correction plates and put them in so it was at a point that i thought it was right but it could still be not right.

Did the plates make it better or worse to drive?

[matty87]

they reduced the side to side lean when the car was turned ie turn left and the drivers side lifts up and visa versa. zzbut after measuring it i thought there was still +3 degrees of castor angle

however never had a real chance to drive it at speed before i put in the plates.

[royce]

not so much toe out makes it more stable but less toe in makes it less jittery, toe in the outside edge of the tyre picks up on surface changes so it darts around a bit, too much toe out will make it do stupid things as well though

lol at you lot and castor, my mini (therefore better handling and more responsive to suspension changes than anything here) barely changes with up to 3 degree of castor change compared to huge differences in the slightest toe or camber change, I really wish this internet rumour would die

[Fatzook]

royce wrote:

not so much toe out makes it more stable but less toe in makes it less jittery, toe in the outside edge of the tyre picks up on surface changes so it darts around a bit, too much toe out will make it do stupid things as well though

lol at you lot and castor, my mini (therefore better handling and more responsive to suspension changes than anything here) barely changes with up to 3 degree of castor change compared to huge differences in the slightest toe or camber change, I really wish this internet rumour would die

But Royce! Extended shackles are akin to satin! They put the castor out and make sierras do cart wheels down the highway! Surely the rumours are true?

[royce]

its not the castor is the problem with fangs, its the leverage on the bushes and springs, if you stiffened up the bushes and probably even the spring so it somehow cant twist as easy so the same sideways load caused the same deflection I doubt you would notice they were there

[Fatzook]

royce wrote:

its not the castor is the problem with fangs, its the leverage on the bushes and springs, if you stiffened up the bushes and probably even the spring so it somehow cant twist as easy so the same sideways load caused the same deflection I doubt you would notice they were there

Yeah maybe. Kind of defeats the purpose of longer springs and shackles though. Guess you can't have on road manners and flexy leaves

Another vote for links and coilovers

[royce]

yeah whod of thought anything that might make the suspension move up and down easier might also let the body move side to side as well

[Fatzook]

royce wrote:

yeah whod of thought anything that might make the suspension move up and down easier might also let the body move side to side as well

Shadup

[MrRocky]

stiffen it up a bit, flex aint everything - even on a comp rig