You have to make sure the bracket above the tie rod adjusting sleeve has a good 1/4 inch clearance. If it touches the the sleeve, it will drag and cause exactly what you describe. The problem with the non-lifted front ends is that in the event of extreme suspension travel, the bracket can be pushed down into the sleeve and basically lock the steering in one position. Not a good thing.

 

Epic, I had a good 1/4 in but will check it again after having driven it. Thanks again.

 

Michael53, I have had this happen a couple of times. It would usually happen after hitting a bump and the bracket would slide down and rub the steering linkage. I had that thing tight and it would still do it. I was almost ready to take it off but when I put a floor jack under it to push it up it must have dug into the axle and has not moved since. I got pulled over one night because I was drifting in my lane, the steering was sticking. I almost got thrown in jail because of the drifting this caused when it was rubbing.

 

Expecting the worse after reading your posts I went back out to check clearance and you were both right; the bracket was rubbing against the sleeve. So I did a bit of adjusting - this time tightening it up with about 1/2 inch of clearance, plus after tightening the bottom two u-bolt bracket nuts, I really torqued down the top two. I had noticed previously that when the bottom two nuts were tightened, it tended to put a downward torque on the bracket, so I thought tightening last from the top couldn't hurt. When i was done I had just over 1/4" of clearance.

I went for a long drive hitting every bump an sharp turn with bumps, RR tracks, etc I could find. Got back home, checked and I still have 1/4 inch of clearance. But now that I know what to look and "feel" for in the steering, I am going to ry this for a few days and see how it goes - carefully. I threw a large piece of cardboard to lay on in the bed and couple tools in case I have to do this while going to or from work. One more time and this thing is coming off.

Thanks again for helping me out with this! Mike

 

I should put an annotation on the video with a note to tighten the top bolts last. I did the same thing tightening the bottom ones but luckily I noticed the problem before driving it. I also really cranked down on the u-bolts and have never had the bracket shift. Still working great.

Update: Added the annotation to the video.

 

[QUOTE=Michael53;11561491] ...So I did a bit of adjusting - this time tightening it up with about 1/2 inch of clearance, plus after tightening the bottom two u-bolt bracket nuts, I really torqued down the top two. I had noticed previously that when the bottom two nuts were tightened, it tended to put a downward torque on the bracket, so I thought tightening last from the top couldn't hurt. When i was done I had just over 1/4" of clearance.

If it was the 60's and was writing to Ann Landers, I would sign this post "Frustrated in Northern Illinois".

When I got home tonight from work, I removed the Rancho Dual Stabilizer. After making the adjustments last evening and really tightening things down as much as I dared without stripping the nuts/bolts, I drove to work today - 80 miles round-trip, mostly freeway.

Everything was fine on the way to work, but about a block after leaving work I "hit" a bump that ran perpendicular to and all the way across the road - I hit it everyday (I do work in Chicago - known for paying to replace wheels for it's citizens - only) and it not that big a bump but being lateral and uniformly "deep" it obviously created stress on the front-end components. I even felt the bracket contact the sleeve. And sure enough, I could feel the steering draggling slightly - but not bad enough that I had to stop and adjust it on the roadside. I drove home carefully - it is a very interesting feeling with this steering drag - not a good one. When I got home and checked, the bracket was definitely rubbing - but not too bad.

In any event, I removed the whole setup as I do not feel safe saving with this setup. When i bought this, I didn't see anything that note it would only work on a lifted truck. Oh Well, lesson learned and not an expensive one.

So I am still looking for a steering wobble solution. Maybe Rancho will help solve this?

Still frustrated in Northern Illinois.

 

Your experience pretty much settles it then. No dual stabilizers on non-lifted trucks. You could always level the front end 2 inches. That was my choice.

Others have replaced the OEM stabilizer but I can't remember with what or if the results were satisfactory.

 

I would level the front-end, but then it wouldn't fit into my garage - I only have a 1/2 as is. Not not a big deal except in winters in N Illinois...

I'll keep looking for a solution.

 

After reviewing this thread to see what I missed, I read lexustbs post about the engine brace hitting the bracket - which I had not seen before. I went out in the garage, checked my bracket and sure enough it had a mark across it where something hit it on the top flat piece. Climbed under the truck with the bracket and it lines up perfectly with the engine brace as described.

In my opinion, there is no way to stop this from occurring on a not-lifted truck - the engine brace will eventually hit the bracket.

 

Right, I forgot you mentioned that. Time to upgrade the house?

 

I think that about says it all! Gotta laugh about this.