Seeking Cj5 Expert In Tahoe/truckee/reno Area

So sounds pretty unanimous that I need to get caster looked at. What are people's experiences with getting a typical alignment shop to look at these custom Jeeps? Or is that the kind of thing I really need to figure out how to do myself? I'm not ignorant when it comes to being mechanically inclined. I'm sure I've got the tools and could figure it out myself. But it's the kind of thing that I honestly just don't have the time for and when it comes to saving myself time there are some things I don't mind paying for. Working on this Jeep would be one of those things.

 

IMHO you will be hard pressed to find an alignment shop that will know what to do on an old Jeep. It is not really a hard job but it will take time. You never know what you are getting into until you start tearing it apart. If you were near me I would gladly give you a hand but I am 4+ hours from you. I will be in S Lake the 2nd week of June and could take a look. There are some members closer to you that may chime in.

 

The first step would be to take it to a shop and have them put it on the rack and give you a print out of where you’re starting from.

Tim

 

Welcome to the forum! I was born and raised in Tahoe on the west shore! BEAUTIFUL JEEP!!!! WOW

 

I am the OP on this thread. I have a question for those who suggested I address the caster to fix the super loose and wobbly steering. That's the kind of fix I want to pay somebody to take care of for me. I called a tire/suspension shop in my area (Placerville, CA) who was recommended to me as a good option for me. I talked to the guy who runs the shop. He asked me if the Jeep has a leaf spring front suspension and it does. This guy says that with the leaf springs there won't be a caster adjustment. He offered to still look at the job and do a front end inspection to see what might still be going on. So is it accurate that with leaf springs up front the caster will not be adjustable? Or is this a sign that this guy doesn't know as much about old Jeeps as I had been hoping? Any advice for me here?

 

Caster on leaf sprung suspension is adjusted via wedge shaped shims between the spring pad and the spring itself. I'd look for a different shop.

 

The factory had shims available that go between the springs and perches. That changes the caster. So, yes, the guy you talked to doesn't know a lot about CJs. He can still put the Jeep on the rack and tell you what the current caster is. Something you need to know. You can also do this yourself if you have an angle finder. The HF version would likely work fine for this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/digital-angle-gauge-63615.html

Probably easiest to put a flat plate over the king pin caps to measure off of. The Ross box steering system has abundant wear points and they ALL need addressed to get "tight" steering. It's never going to be like a modern vehicle but you can get them to the point where you are more or less comfortable at highway speed.

 

Fireball in post 3 said it looks like a Saginaw conversion. Verification? This will make a difference on getting everything tight. As suggested if you want to pay for someone to check the caster at least you have a starting point but I would look for someone else to do the work. Really not a hard job.

 

Get it down to Morgan Hill and I'll do it for you.

 

I'm just guessing based on the presence of a power steering pump. Pictures of the steering box would be very helpful.

As others have noted it's good to know the current state of things. The guy at the tire/alignment shop that doesn't know about caster shims can at least check the current state of things. He can measure the current caster value and inspect the ball joints (or king pin bearings depending on D30 or D27 front axle), wheel bearings, tie-rod ends, steering box, and fabric joint at the steering box if it has one. If any of that stuff has slop, it needs to be fixed along in addition to adding caster shims.

 

one of the 4 degree shims I put on my jeep recently, just for your reference. It helped the steering tremendously. I had to go to a narrower shock for more clearance. Few of the changes we make to our jeeps are a straight forward change. There are usually other repercussions on a mechanical change, just be aware.

 

I didn't build this Jeep but I've got notes from my dad that says it is indeed a saginaw power steering conversion. Picture included for somebody to verify. Also including a pic of the shim that's currently installed. Comparing this to the shim pic that @homersdog posted it appears like the one I have is not as large. So if that's true and his is a 4-degree shim, then I'm guessing I maybe have only a 2-degree shim here. And if everybody is telling me I should be at 5-7 degrees, I imagine that could make a big difference if I can find somebody to do that for me.

 

@jzeber That's not out of the question. I'd pay you for your time. You serious?

 

It sounds to me like you want to just take the thing to a shop rather than do it yourself. Most of us here like to project our Jeeps in our own garages, hence the type of responses you’re getting.

So…. WFO in Auburn….Yes this this the same shop referenced above in Fino’s post and is a custom 4x4 shop. The owner (Trevor) and some of his guys know and know how to build classic Jeeps for 4 wheeling. They could sort it out and recommend endless modifications.

 

WFO Concepts. If you YouTube “WFO Willys” or something like that, you’ll get an idea of some of the stuff they build.

EDIT: Actually here is a video to check out. They do all sorts of feature videos of their work. 1946 Flatfender

 

Yeah you are 100% right. My dad left me a lot of projects. I want to enjoy this Jeep but it needs to not become one of the projects. I'm just ready to write a check for this. LOL... I called WFO. They sound awesome. When I looked at Fino's post above it just looked like a parts supplier. Now I see they do the work. I called them and I'm going to get my Jeep in there in a few weeks. Sounds like exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for calling my attention to that. I really appreciate the help.

 

Maybe my eyes are deceiving me, but that shim looks flat… if it’s truly flat, the only thing it does is lower your ride height. In order to change the caster angle, you need a shim that’s shaped like a wedge. Bigger in front tapering down to thinner in the back will tilt the axle and increase the caster angle.

these Jeeps are incredibly simple. If it were me, I’d buy a cheap angle finder and then install some shims if needed. It would probably cost more in gas money to drive it to the shop and back.

 

Hey no worries! Glad they'll help you out. That shop comes out of a long legacy of hard-core Sierra four-wheeling. Definitely a top notch, custom 4x4 shop...they do some pretty impressive work. I believe you're in good hands.

 

I'm serious but sounds like you have it figured out. Good luck