So here's another steering question. What would I expect to feel if the steering stabilizer is worn out ? How do you check one ?

-Scott in Spokane

 

Unbolt one end and cycle it by hand If it has no damping effect it's worn out!!!! Do you have a leak or are they super old? Stabilizers will last a long time since the fluid doesn't get super hot or anything too extreme!!!

 

If its worn and you have big tires, it can go into a death wobble. I'm not sure if it would do it with stock tires. If you have a good stabilizer (s) it can prevent wonder even when your steering box is about to fall off. (Dont ask how I know this)

 

Interesting....well I dunno if they're excessively large, they are 33x12.5 Dayton Timberline MT's...certainly not the most street friendly tire. I've got moderate case of wander, and a mild occasional death wobble, but so far haven't seen any excessive wear or obvious damage. I'll be under there tomorrow morning checking it the stabilizer.

Thanks !!

-Scott in Spokane

 

What pressure are you running them tires at? With any high sidewall tire you will have flex = lateral wandering. Do you mean death wobble after you hit a bump or pothole? Don't expect street race car handling these are trucks but with some tweaking you can suprise many a people with the road handling abilities of tires 38" and smaller!!!
I was behind this guy at a left turn light it turned green and he is in a little honda racer boy car, he takes off real slow! So I punch it and and go around him on the outside sideways to the right, I correct and slide to the left, back to the right and straighten out cranking about 3500rpm in second gear, Him and his buddies were looking in disbelief about 3 miles down the road at the next light. I just said twice the motor twice the motor!!! I love it people look at my truck and laugh and make remarks about it being rusty and some rollover risk death trap!! Ha I just smile and say I'll meet you at the light!! You might get me on the top end but you ain't taking me off the line or in a corner!!! That's 24" of contact patch per axle that is traction and if you let it sit in before hitting your apex you can stick some tight turns, Just got to wait for the sway (sidewall flex)to stop!!!

 

Argh...ummm....I wanna say around 35psi...it's been a month or two since I last checked, and I want to say I went with the door sticker and it seems like it was close to the max PSI on the sidewall. I've been getting a wobble in turns, doesn't seem to make a difference which direction it was. My first thought was ball joints or wheel bearings, so I jacked up the front end and everything seems tight. When grasping the tire at 3 and 9 o'clock and pushing left to right alternately, I get about 3" of overall travel which is transmitted over the tie rods, with zero play at the steering box. It did seem pretty easy to turn the tires, so that led me to think about the stabilizer.

Thanks again for the input, it's greatly appreciated !!

-Scott in Spokane

 

Try them at 33 or 32 psi for a start!! If you say you got three inches of movement you got some problems!!! check all the ends just grab them one by one and see if the ends move alot!! A quarter inch in each one adds up!!!!

 

I would be scard to drive it with 3" of slop. When I say death wobble, I mean it starts to shake back and forth (at maybe forty) so bad that you have to slow down to about 15MPH to make it stop. If you didnt, the truck will shurly self destruct. I think your stablizer is working good if you can drive it with 3" of slop.

 

+1 I drove a R model Mack with three inches in the steering wheel and that was scary as all hell!!! Constant corrections for 10 hours a day get's tiring!!! I quit that company when they said we are planning on getting new trucks in about 6 months,
I am not going to kill somebody for the company to save a couple bucks, That wasn't the only thing wrong with them trucks, all had plenty of red flag offenses!!!

 

OK let me clarify....I don't have 3" or slop in the STEERING wheel....when I grab the jacked up tire at 3 and 9 O'clock and try to turn the tire left to right, I can push it about 1 1/2" before the pitman arm starts to move, it will return to center when released, and I can turn it the other way about 1 1/2" before the pitman arm starts to move. It's not put of control wandering, but it's enough that it's a real pain in the *** sometimes.

Thanks for the input !

-Scott in Spokane

 

When you have it jacked up, grab the tire at 12 and 6 oclock to check balljoints and wheel bearings. If its good, put it on the ground and have someone rock the steering wheel while you look underneeth. Where ever there's play, replace it. Sometimes the nuts get loose, but usally it in the joints and cant be fixed. (The nuts should have cotterpins)

 

I actually did that right off, being certain it was a bad bearing or ball joint, but they were tight. I was the local pull-n-save this weekend and went and checked a lot of Bronco's and trucks for play in the tie rods though, and there was quite a bit of difference in what I was seeing in my own, so I went cheap and grabbed the tightest feeling set I could find. Ya know, when you're kneeling on top of the engine whomping the rod at the pitman, and find you have a finger between the 3 pound baby loaf and the crank pulley, it makes you appreciate your gloves. Lots of Bronco's this weekend...like 12...more than I've ever seen there. Still a good weekend....got the tie rods, a whole cruise system, interior switches & trim, lots of little things. hey...can you get just the grease boots for the tie rod ends ?

Thanks everyone again !

-Scott in Spokane, Wa.

 

Wow, I wish I could find a junkyard with 12 Broncos. Dont know about the boots.

 

Helirich You haven't been to that place in Umatilla all they got is broncos!!! I forget the name of it, Just 411 umatilla and bronco!!! I got a rear driveshaft for $45.00 there
to keep as a spare!! That is a lot of play are you sure it's not the steering box itself?
And are you doubly sure the frame isn't cracked at the steering box? that will
definately cause a movement that won't show up at the ends, You have to crank the wheel back and forth and look directly at the steering box!!!

 

If you are getting a lot of wobble when turning also check the spring dampers for wear - if they are worn they will cause also sorts of issues on corners and bumps.

But I would get that steering play sorted first - that is certainly not right!