HELP BUMP STEER
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Joined: Feb 2018
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New problem
so I got the very loose steering tightened up with the track bar bushings replaces. Now I have a new problem. Driving down the road is fine, drives pretty straight. Take a right turn still good, left turn feels like the truck jerks left every 30 yards or so and can’t keep it straight till I take a hard right turn, Jacked the truck up everything seems tight, can find or see anything loose. Kinda stumped on it
Lead Driver
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 9,606
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From: San Jose, CA
That is an odd one. What condition are the tires in? How old and how worn?
I've had a bad tire cause darting in one direction more than the other in turns. But it was not an oscillating, or repeating thing during the same turn. It simply dove into a right turn like it was aiming for the gutter and I had to pull the wheel back each time. But it was pretty even and consistent at it.
But maybe try rotating the front tires left to right anyway? Can't hurt other than to take a little of your time. Might be worth a shot as a diagnosing tool.
Paul
I've had a bad tire cause darting in one direction more than the other in turns. But it was not an oscillating, or repeating thing during the same turn. It simply dove into a right turn like it was aiming for the gutter and I had to pull the wheel back each time. But it was pretty even and consistent at it.
But maybe try rotating the front tires left to right anyway? Can't hurt other than to take a little of your time. Might be worth a shot as a diagnosing tool.
Paul
Lead Driver
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 9,606
Likes: 1,175
From: San Jose, CA
Good point. But if it's not welded, then it should be.
The bolts can hold it in place, but they are not enough to keep it from flexing on the original mount. It's only a tiny bit, but it's enough to feel on the road. Flexing at the trackbar mount isn't likely to cause a strange issue in only one direction, but it's not helping with the overall feel of the truck on the street either.
When mine was just bolted, the tires would follow every little groove in the road and I was constantly correcting for it. Welding got rid of that 100%
One other thing that happens when a radius arm truck is lifted and the stock trackbar used, is the bushings take on more stress because the bar is twisted just sitting there at ride height.
Since the lower mount twists downward as the suspension extends, it's acting like a torsion bar with the rigid upper mount on the frame. At the very least it makes a trackbar harder to remove and re-install, but also shortens the life of the bushings.
An adjustable trackbar is not a necessity, but it's a nice addition as it gets rid of this binding condition.
Paul
The bolts can hold it in place, but they are not enough to keep it from flexing on the original mount. It's only a tiny bit, but it's enough to feel on the road. Flexing at the trackbar mount isn't likely to cause a strange issue in only one direction, but it's not helping with the overall feel of the truck on the street either.
When mine was just bolted, the tires would follow every little groove in the road and I was constantly correcting for it. Welding got rid of that 100%
One other thing that happens when a radius arm truck is lifted and the stock trackbar used, is the bushings take on more stress because the bar is twisted just sitting there at ride height.
Since the lower mount twists downward as the suspension extends, it's acting like a torsion bar with the rigid upper mount on the frame. At the very least it makes a trackbar harder to remove and re-install, but also shortens the life of the bushings.
An adjustable trackbar is not a necessity, but it's a nice addition as it gets rid of this binding condition.
Paul
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,668
Likes: 13
From: Saskatchewan
so I got the very loose steering tightened up with the track bar bushings replaces. Now I have a new problem. Driving down the road is fine, drives pretty straight. Take a right turn still good, left turn feels like the truck jerks left every 30 yards or so and can’t keep it straight till I take a hard right turn, Jacked the truck up everything seems tight, can find or see anything loose. Kinda stumped on it
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Mitch.f550
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