Wonky steering

[rbonnett]

SIII/88/LHD.

I've replaced the drag link, track rod and all 4 TREs. I had an earlier thread about that adventure! When I took the truck in to have the toe-in set, the mech double-checked my work; said he thought it was fine.

Yesterday I had the wing off so I could get around to the longitudinal rod TREs. I'm not able to really get hold of it to check the TREs, and no way to remove it with the wing on anyway. Once I got a good grip on it, I was unable to move it at all in any bad directions - n oplay in it at all. So I left well enough alone. I did adjsut the steering box while I had easy access.

So now with the front end off the ground, the slightest steering wheel move is echoed right to the wheels. With the truck on the ground, I really can't see any play in the steering at all. My drive is dirt, so the tires do scrub back and forth readily - but again there doesn;t seem to be any play in the steering.

I guess the steering damper is OK. With some effort I was able to compress and extend it when I was working.

But, the truck does have a mind of its own sometimes. more so at slower speeds, but at any speed it will occasionally decide to veer one way or the other. Most of the time I am able to hold a line without constant corrections. I don;t think this is the famous death wobble - bumps and pot holes don't trigger anything.

The only things I can think of now are either the swivel balls or the steering relay. I wish I'd checked the swivels while I had the rods off. Now I'll have to take it apart again. Questions:

- Is there a tool that will separate the TREs without destroying them? All I have is a fork separator, which definitely does some damage. The manuals all show a special LR tool, which I can't find anything like so far.

- How likely is it to be the steering relay? From all I've seen removing and working on that is not a simple thing to do.

- From what I've read, I'll have to remove the seals from the swivels before I check the pre-load. I'm going to order a new set plus some shims before I start. Are there other parts I should have on hand, assuming the swivels don;t have to be taken apart?

- Any other ideas on what the problem could be?

As always, thanks for the help

[NepentheSea]

Mine does the same thing. No slack in any of the steering linkage that I can find, and my swivel balls seem tight too. My leaf spring bushings are shot- Im thinking that the axle could be getting some movement from there- when the leaf springs are able to move forward or backward an inch or so on one side or the other.

[SafeAirOne]

As to TRE removal, I usually just get a BFH and give the female part a good solid knock along its perimeter. The male bit usually just falls right out, so be ready.

If everything in the steering system from steering wheel shaft to swivel pins checks OK, and the alignment is on in al directions, then I'd move on to the spring/axle assembly, checking spring and shackle bushings, and the center bolts in the spring packs, U-bolts for evidence of movement, etc.

[Mountain132]

take the nuts off the tie rod ends and place a bottle jack under the threads, jack them up; pop right out.

[rbonnett]

take the nuts off the tie rod ends and place a bottle jack under the threads, jack them up; pop right out.

Thanks for the tip :thumb-up: I'll give it a try in the morning

[NepentheSea]

Let us know what turns out to be the cause of the wonk!

[rbonnett]

Let us know what turns out to be the cause of the wonk!

Yeah. Definitely will do. The spring shackles, u-bolts, etc. all checked out. Everything was tight and I almost yanked the truck off the jack stands trying to get the axle to move.

Moving on to the swivels now - I decided I'd go ahead and take things apart rather than trying to un-do and the reuse the old swivel seals. I've been wanting to get rid of my locking hubs anyway.

[Eric W S]

What about the main steering box itself? If the relay and swivels are fine you could have some worn parts in it. Might as well tidy that up while your in there...

EwS

[I Leak Oil]

...or the steering box mounting bolts could be loose. The mounting brackets aren't exactly rigid to begin with. I've also had one of the box mounting ears break of.

[greenmeanie]

If your looking at the spring and axle it is worth checking the locating bolt that goes through the spring and locates the spring seat. These can become disclocated wihich allows the axle to move around even although the U-bolts seem tight. Check these front and rear.

[Andrew IIA]

...or the steering box mounting bolts could be loose.
Confirmed: I've had this happen several times; the steering box leaks (of course) and the oil (now replaced with swivel grease) runs all over the mounting bolts/nut. It feels like a quick 'knock' thru the steering wheel and then a return knock, usually when off-roading or hitting sharp road bumps.

[rbonnett]

As soon as I started checking from the top down I found it. The bulkhead clamp around the steering column was flopping loose on one side. With effort, I could twist the steering column a tiny amount - no doubt being amplified when on the move.

I tightened that up, and double checked the other fasteners, which were all nice and tight. A quick road test - and the truck now goes where I point it!

Now that my brakes are working good and I can steer, I can pay attention to things that are less likely to kill me.

Thanks for all the ideas/advice.

[NepentheSea]

awesome! glad you found your prob. Im going to check this on mine tomorrow