Truck pulls left to right

[85beater]

Hey everybody, want to start off by saying happy thanksgiving!!! So over this holiday im trying to get most everything done on the truck. i'm picking up two 4.10 diffs for $100 :D !!! Im going to get a new driveshaft(my main carrier bearing is toast and the angle is def. not 0, so when i start off the thing shutters). Im ripping out most of the interior. I'm picking up a sound system for CHEAP with all the sales this weekend. And my friend is helping me rewire everything. So now to my problem.

Ever Since my leaf springs broke and the truck dropped, my alignment has been horrible and i have constantly been fighting the car as it pulls from left to right. So i just had an alignment done this past weekend, hoping this would fix everything. Well there were a few snags we ran into. The drag link holes were completely worn so the join kept popping off after the mechanic put it back together. So i ran up to jims and got a new drag link. They got everything put back together nice and tight. So i took the truck out for a drive and it was actually driving straight!!!... until i hit a bump. The car then jerked to that side and i had to correct it. I cannot figure out what is causing this. The steering is a little loose, has a couple inches of play in it, how can i fix this? But i am not sure if that has anything to do with this. If one side of the road changes slope or there is a bump it seems like it knocks that tire in a certain direction. It is actually pretty scary because its very jerky and i have to keep on the balls of my feet to correct this. I really need to get this taken care of because this truck is now my dd because my sister is coming back to college here in state starting spring semester. I asked the mechanic when i had the alignment to check and make sure everything is tight and explained to him what was going on. He said everything under there was tight and the alignment should fix it. Does anyone know what is causing this or what i should do?:confused: This is really the first thing on my list to get taken care of.
Thanks, Austin

[ike]

Sounds kinda normal for a solid axle truck to me. They tend to jump side to side a bit when going over bumps. That is one of the reasons most trucks are now IFS

[85beater]

Sounds kinda normal for a solid axle truck to me. They tend to jump side to side a bit when going over bumps. That is one of the reasons most trucks are now IFS

Oh ok that makes sense now i just can't remember if this was doing it before or after the truck dropped.... Do you know of any way to tighten up the steering so theres not so much play and i can at least hold it steady or react faster?

[00regcab]

My dads fullsize dodge diesel does this (and if you can imagine a 8000lb truck jerking at you on the highway @ 80mph, its interesting sometimes :p ) but its really not TOO bad. Very managable.

Id imagine part of your problem is worn steering components all the way through the truck with how old it is. I dont know much about solid axle steering, but maybe one of the solid axle guys from the site could chime in.

[RedRunnertc]

Does it just jerk once? It's not death wobble is it?

I think there's an adjustment on the steering box to minimize the play. I think there are some FSM's (including an '85) on the NorCal TTORA site, but I don't have the link.

The other thing you might want to look into is a steering stabilizer.

[RedRunnertc]

You may also want to try higher air pressure in your tires. Sometimes the lower pressure makes the tires more susceptible to "grabbing" on imperfections in the road.

[ike]

X2 on both of Troys points. Maybe it is time for a hysteeer setup also.

[85beater]

My dads fullsize dodge diesel does this (and if you can imagine a 8000lb truck jerking at you on the highway @ 80mph, its interesting sometimes :p ) but its really not TOO bad. Very managable.

Id imagine part of your problem is worn steering components all the way through the truck with how old it is. I dont know much about solid axle steering, but maybe one of the solid axle guys from the site could chime in.

Whoah!! thatd be quite the ride trying to drive that, and im sure some old components are contributing to this.

Does it just jerk once? It's not death wobble is it?

I think there's an adjustment on the steering box to minimize the play. I think there are some FSM's (including an '85) on the NorCal TTORA site, but I don't have the link.

The other thing you might want to look into is a steering stabilizer.

I have only had the death wobble a handful of times, mainly when going through a worn intersection with lots of bumps, and then if i jerk hard on the wheel one way it stops. I dont think this has happened since i had the alignment done. But what causes death wobble?
I pretty sure it jerks once then i have to turn hard to correct it. I think i might have figured out what is going on thanks to all of your ideas. When the truck jerks, the steering wheel doesnt really move at all, therefore it feels like i have no control, causing me to turn the steering wheel more then i should have to, so i can compensate for the play in the wheel. its actually quite a dicey game when i try and straighten it out. Because when it jerks to one side i have to fight to get it back straight or to the other side, then its loosens and i have to fight again to get it straight. I think the loose steering is causing the over compensation and leaving me without control of the vehicle, or even giving me a chance to keep it straight.

[85beater]

so now the question is, does anyone know how i can tighten the steering? or should i take it back to that shop and have them do it? or is there a thread or write up on it. not having much luck in the search bar...

[RedRunnertc]

Here is the steering section from the '93 FSM, but I doubt any of yours is the same... might give you some ideas what to look for though, and you could figure it out from there ...
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/steering.html

Where's damn thefatkid when you need him? Oh, yeah, it's Thanksgiving ... he's eating! :D

[fast7mtoys]

high steer, a really good steering stablizer, a stock size steering wheel, higher pressure in the tires, what do you mean by broken leafs??? that will be a big problem in my eyes.............

[00regcab]

high steer, a really good steering stablizer, a stock size steering wheel, higher pressure in the tires, what do you mean by broken leafs??? that will be a big problem in my eyes.............

he had broken leafs.

they were, quite literally, broken.

Every leaf in both packs cracked all the way through in the front i believe, it has since been fixed.

[85beater]

Here is the steering section from the '93 FSM, but I doubt any of yours is the same... might give you some ideas what to look for though, and you could figure it out from there ...
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/steering.html

Where's damn thefatkid when you need him? Oh, yeah, it's Thanksgiving ... he's eating! :D

Hey thanks ive loooked at that site and im gaining pretty good knowldege on how the steering is set up. If anyone has any other ideas or has another wirte up or something feel free to chime in. I take it thefatkid knows his stuff?

he had broken leafs.

they were, quite literally, broken.

Every leaf in both packs cracked all the way through in the front i believe, it has since been fixed.

That is correct, they literally snapped right through on both leaf packs. I now have a pair of rough country springs up front

[Gerdo]

I would think that if there were some worn out parts causing slop that the alignment shop would have mentioned it. If there are badly worn out parts they would not be able to get an alignment on it.

IF there aren't any worn out parts then...

I would think it needs a stabilizer or two.

Tires way out of balance could cause the shake.

Are your wheel bearings good/set? The alignment shop should have noticed any slop.


Back to the possability of a/some worn parts in the steering that the shop missed. Have someone rock the steering wheel back and forth (usually only about 6" of movement)(truck off, p-brake on, in gear)(we don't the truck to roll over you). Climb under and look at every ball joint, piviot, nut on the front end. Also listen for any clunking. You should also have your friend grab each wheel and rock it side to side and the top in and out.

Is the alignment shop a good shop? Did the guy working on your truck seem like he knew what he was doing?

[ducaria]

Kinna sounds like bump steer.

[ducaria]

I got a dana 44 on mine and it is a little loose compared to driving an IFS. When driving straight your constently engaged in the steering not like when your driving an IFS you can pretty much hold it straight. But when I hit bumps and not holding the steering wheel the truck still tracks in its same direction.

[mrdoug]

I have the 85 FSM... pm me if you need/want it.

[Volcom]

Sounds like the PS box needs tightened up. There's a nut with a screw on the top of the box. Back off the nut and tighten the screw a couple of turns. Then tighten the nut.

Could also be the trunion (kingpin) bearings in the steering knuckles could be worn out and loose.