Slack In The Wheel

I've got my jeep running really really good. The new locker works great except for the fact that it's pretty hard to steer when in four wheel drive and the hubs locked in.

Now I'm kinda chasing the small stuff and I've got a little slack in my steering. Kinda wanders some on the highway and I have to catch it with the steering.

I have an aftermarket steering shaft and an aftermarket steering pump and gear box. I think the shaft is by Borgeson and the pump and gear box is by AGR. Is there a good way to inspect the linkage to find the slack? Any adjustment perhaps in that gear box?

 

Not sure on the steering...however, you may want to make sure that your caster is correct... I have mine at 6* using shims and it drives pretty straight.

 

Slack in the tie rods too !!!!

 

Yeah, I'm sure I'll have to check the tie rod ends too. I evened out my tire pressure this weekend and it made a big difference.

 

The usual advice is to put the jeep on stands and have a helper move the wheel back and forth slowly, while you examine the steering for slop. Start at the steering shaft and look at everything in order, down to the wheels. Often it's the combination of two or more loose parts that make the steering sloppy.

If you don't have enough caster, the car won't go straight on its own. You will constantly need to correct to keep it pointed straight down the road. But that isn't the same as slop in the steering, but it will make the car seem less responsive to the wheel.

 

Thanks fellas. I'm not 100% sure what caster is. I know when I first bought the jeep it drove straight as an arrow and everything was good and tight. Jeep hasn't seen much driving time in the past few years because it's been one break after another, but I've got it in pretty good shape now.

I'll get it up on stands and do some testing and see if anything jumps out. I was considering having a front end alignment done as well.

 

Caster is the tilt of the turning axis of the front wheels. A chopper has lots of caster, about 60 degrees.

If you go for the alignment, tell them you want the printout from the machine. They will only be able to set the toe-in and center the steering without a lot of work, but you want the information about the steering geometry. Once you have the printout, we can comment.

 

having a locker in the front will defenetly make turning harder.

When i lock up the front i started having issues burning ps pump. You may want to put a oil cooler on the return line if you dont want problem. Only solution to get a soft turning for me was a ram assist set-up. Work as a charm since two year i'm running it .

Also having the front lock you will have problem with the bolt that holding the manual lock in place. I suggest to look at them often and even during a trail because when bolt are getting loose it easy to snap an axle, the manual lock or breaking the bolt in the hub making it difficult to fix on a trail.

For the loose steering you will need a helper to turn the wheel and having you looking for every part of the direction looking for something loose.

 

Check the condition of your spring bushings and shackles/bolts too. Old jeeps don't have a panhard bar to keep the axle positively centered under the vehicle like the newer ones do; it's relying on these spring and hanger bushings to keep your axle centered side-to-side while going down the road, and not swinging like a pendulum while trying to follow ridges in the road.

Don't know if it applies to you, but a shackle reversal tends to multiply the effects.