caster problems after lifting properly (80 series)

[mud4b]

hi all i really need some help before i rip this lift out.

lifted the cruiser on the weekend using the following 2daextreme drop arms, tough dog 4" lift springs, tough dog 6" lift shocks, adjustable panhards, x-link.

all the drop arm and panhards have new rubber bushes in them.

we measured the castor from the old mans stock 80 series and set the same on my diff using the x-link (the drop arms are for a 5- 6" lift) so it is factory spec castor (whatever that is)

today i ran off the road due to the steering wheel being ripped out of my hands from caster shake? we have rechecked everything but cant find anything loose. might need more castor than factory specs but really how do you measure degrees?

anyone got any ideas what it could be?

cheers mark

[balzackracing]

hey mark,
Unsure how every one else does it but I use a Snap-on angle meter across the top of the steering nuckle. try 3 degrees.

[taps]

Mud4b, i would check your tyres, condition and balance, try some stockers see if it helps

[dow50r]

Mark, i found that splitties worked real well on my 6 inch lift, and the 12r's were all over the place...the toe adjustment was the cause aswell as not enough caster adjustment in my setup. Whats the bet you have set it up too close to 0 caster, and you have left the swaybars off
Andrew

[mud4b]

hey mark,
Unsure how every one else does it but I use a Snap-on angle meter across the top of the steering nuckle. try 3 degrees.

hmmm i dont think i could justify the $ for a 1 off tool..

cheers anyway.

[mud4b]

Mud4b, i would check your tyres, condition and balance, try some stockers see if it helps

hi bud
mate got brand new 35 mtz on brand new 17 x 9 mickey thompson classic 2 rims, freshly fitted and balanced from ryano.

[mud4b]

Mark, i found that splitties worked real well on my 6 inch lift, and the 12r's were all over the place...the toe adjustment was the cause aswell as not enough caster adjustment in my setup. Whats the bet you have set it up too close to 0 caster, and you have left the swaybars off
Andrew

interesting

i was getting a full wheel alignment tomorrow but i cant even drive it 2 mins from my joint let alone 25 mins into town. toe could be it man as we did adjust the drag link to line the steering wheel back to centre. not sure on castor.

we used a level on top of the knuckle on the old mans and measured each end then worked out the difference it was 32mm. did the same to mine at the same measuring points.

yes sway bars are off but it done it driving in a strait line.

cheers mark

[guzzla]

Loose panhard rod bolts fixed my wheel wobbles. The bolts work loose as the new bushes settle under load. U need a long bar to get the tension not your standard socket wrench.

[balzackracing]

hey mark,
Unsure how every one else does it but I use a Snap-on angle meter across the top of the steering nuckle. try 3 degrees.

hmmm i dont think i could justify the $ for a 1 off tool..

cheers anyway.

This one off tool you will use end up using heaps. And its only 35 bucks. even for the Snap-on one.

[Tapage]

In a aligment shop can tell you the castor angle that you actually have ...

the factory angle come from .84 to 2.34 degrees of positive caster .. all close to 0 come unestable and hard to drive .. even more bigger tires more caster you need ..

You loose aprox 1.7 to 2.0 degrees of caster with each inch of lift .. lets figure.

[lux91]

Same as what Guzzla said, loose panhard rod bolts.

had the same prob, used a long bar and all was good

cheers
Wayne

[mud4b]

Loose panhard rod bolts fixed my wheel wobbles. The bolts work loose as the new bushes settle under load. U need a long bar to get the tension not your standard socket wrench.

i will recheck them this morning, but as stated it didnt even drive 2 mins away from my house, i done them up with a 1" rattlegun as i have had that before.

cheers mark

[mud4b]

In a aligment shop can tell you the castor angle that you actually have ...

the factory angle come from .84 to 2.34 degrees of positive caster .. all close to 0 come unestable and hard to drive .. even more bigger tires more caster you need ..

You loose aprox 1.7 to 2.0 degrees of caster with each inch of lift .. lets figure.

you positive on this? in my toyota manual it says 1.5 to 2 degree negative castor as factory

[treebruiser]

Use genuine toyota panhard bushes. I had crap aftermarket ones in mine and it broke my b@!!$ for months. Put in a set of factory bushes and it's been great ever since.

Got six inches of lift with castor plates.

Mick

[mud4b]

Use genuine toyota panhard bushes. I had crap aftermarket ones in mine and it broke my b@!!$ for months. Put in a set of factory bushes and it's been great ever since.

Got six inches of lift with castor plates.

Mick

they are factory bushes in the panhards.

[taps]

I would also suggest you check your panhard as they rely on them so much once there lifted.
check the captive nut on the diff end has not come a drift,this can ruin your day !!!!
If you have a spring loaded steering dampener this can cause steering bounce take it off also

[mud4b]

I would also suggest you check your panhard as they rely on them so much once there lifted.
check the captive nut on the diff end has not come a drift,this can ruin your day !!!!
If you have a spring loaded steering dampener this can cause steering bounce take it off also

will do, have had that before too and your spot on.

std steering dampner (aftermarket but not new)

going down now to suss it out.

[mud4b]

well ive cracked the shits for now, no bastard down here will do a wheel alignment on it, so for now its just going to sit and rot until i can find someone to do the wheel alignment and a bloody tilttray to tow it there or i rip the lift out and return it to stock...


back to driving the shitty nissan gu again..

cheers mark

[jessie928]

well ive cracked the shits for now, no bastard down here will do a wheel alignment on it, so for now its just going to sit and rot until i can find someone to do the wheel alignment and a bloody tilttray to tow it there or i rip the lift out and return it to stock...


back to driving the shitty nissan gu again..

cheers mark

serves you right for cheating on the patrol.

JEs

[mud4b]

well ive cracked the shits for now, no bastard down here will do a wheel alignment on it, so for now its just going to sit and rot until i can find someone to do the wheel alignment and a bloody tilttray to tow it there or i rip the lift out and return it to stock...


back to driving the shitty nissan gu again..

cheers mark

serves you right for cheating on the patrol.

JEs

bwahahahhahahaha classic, ive owned 3 gu patrols and sorry but they just are not built like the toyota quality or for that matter as tough as the gq was, they are cheap buckets of shit.

[mud4b]

well after my mate scuba got here and forced me to take it to the workshop to look at it again we might have worked the problem out.

every time i drove it scuba noticed the front left hand wheel shuddering.. we checked the wheel bearings again and kingpins and even if the rim was square onto the hub..

then scuba noticed the bushes (mainly the bush in the trailing arm that mounts to the chassis. they have 2 slots in them, both the old trailing arms and scubas trailing arms the bushes were fitted with the slots up and down, the left hand side has the bush slots fitted front to back. when parked and moving the tyre forward and backward the trailing arm (and whole diff for that matter) was moving forward and backwards 3 to 5 mm. i assume this is the problem as it would build up momentum.

the drivers side holes are close to up and down and it has little to no forward and back movement.

so in the morning the drop arm are coming out and we are aligning the bushes to factory specs, then for the test drive.

cheers mark
thanks scuba for what could be the solution to a very annoying problem.

[bj on roids]

you can leave that awful sahara to rot in the driveway at my place dude, seein im such a nice guy.

and by the way the rims from ryano are pimp!

[mud4b]

you can leave that awful sahara to rot in the driveway at my place dude, seein im such a nice guy.

and by the way the rims from ryano are pimp!

bwahahahahhaha no probs man
give me a buzz when ya ready to get that stuff..

[80's_delirious]

hey mud4b

is your manual genuine toyota?

My toyota manual has following caster specs for 1991 80series

tire size - 31x10.5 r15 - Caster spec = 1degree 40 minutes +or- 60 minutes

tire size - Other - Caster spec = 3degrees +or- 60minutes

(60minutes=1degree)

I recently cut and rotated steering knuckles on mine (has 4" lift) I set caster at 4degrees (upper limit of factory spec) I used same method with angle gauge on top of knuckle. make sure chassis and diff is sitting at ride height and also sitting level. I had to rotate knuckles on my diff by almost 7degrees to get 4degrees caster, why. . . dunno seems toyota had fairly wide tolerance on caster settings

Mine steers great, very direct feel, very predictable under brakes, cornering, on rough road surface. steering returns to centre naturally. Only need a relaxed light grip on steering wheel to drive with now

give us some more detail on the method you used. How long was level? (if length of level is known and how it was placed, ie was it centred on knuckle, the angle can be calculated easily) where did you measure to? floor or chassis? where both trucks sitting level?

[Tapage]

In a aligment shop can tell you the castor angle that you actually have ...

the factory angle come from .84 to 2.34 degrees of positive caster .. all close to 0 come unestable and hard to drive .. even more bigger tires more caster you need ..

You loose aprox 1.7 to 2.0 degrees of caster with each inch of lift .. lets figure.

you positive on this? in my toyota manual it says 1.5 to 2 degree negative castor as factory

Imposible to be negative the castor measurements .. I'm positive 100% that the castor must be positive.

I Check the " Bear " http://www.bearalign.com/ book from a Alignment Shop ( buddys Shop ) and found this values for Land Cruiser Solid front Axle ..

[mud4b]

well all it was the bushes in the rear of the front trailing arms that was the problem.


but not just the rotation of the holes. the bush itself on the lhs was soft.
we replaced them with the factory used bushes from my original trailing arms and no probs.

its going in to get a wheel alignment this arvo so hopefully it will fix a few little things for me.

cheers mark

[mud4b]

so after the wheel alignment it is driving way better, need a lockout on the xlink though, but it is still very drivable.


caster is not enough at 1.5 degree so im going to chop the xlink off and reset it once again.

cheers for all the help.

[+dj_hansen+]

so after the wheel alignment it is driving way better, need a lockout on the xlink though, but it is still very drivable.


caster is not enough at 1.5 degree so im going to chop the xlink off and reset it once again.

cheers for all the help.

Is the x-link giving you straight line trouble, or cornering..? (i assume roll on corners) try refitting the sway bar rather than trying to engineer a lockout system for the x-link, factory parts that you know work.

Good to hear you got it sorted tho!

[80's_delirious]

so after the wheel alignment it is driving way better, need a lockout on the xlink though, but it is still very drivable.

post up results of locking xlink, I am considering xlink but have concerns about reducing onroad handling. IMO pin the xlink and keep the sway bar with quick pins through the ends so when going offroad pull the pins and pin to a bracket on the chassis so sway bar is up out of the way

[bj on roids]

the standard sway bar shouldnt be a heap of effort to mod to a quick releaser etc