Land Cruiser: Sick Front End

[Gav75]

Hi, I have front end problems

My Cruiser (BJ74) has a wheel alignment issue. It has always pulled a little to the left since I've had it. Also when I first got it I noticed the tie rod end rubbers were being chewed out by the wheels (balance weights) as there wasn't any room between them.

To try and rectify the issue I have done the following:
Rebuilt the steering knuckles
Put on spacers to clear the tie rod ends
Moved the diff forward an inch and 1" body lift for tyres to clear the body after the spacers went in.
Caster Shims to add more positive caster.

After all this I still have the same problem. The Cruiser pulls to the left. It is not necessarily unsafe, I just have to hold the steering wheel straight otherwise I'll end up off the road within 30 -50 meters.

I have been told that it could be the camber of the left front wheel but after taking it to the mechanic and wheel alignment specialist no one has given me a solid answer. Its all, this might work or that might work. I thought a specialist might "know" how to fix it. The left wheel does not look quite straight to the eye.

My latest thought is to get rid of all the crap I've put on there and get rims with less negative offset. Going from-24 offet (currently on there) to -15 to 20 offset or something

My question is what can I do to rectify the pull to the left? After all the mods I've done to the front end nothing has changed to the steering so I don't think what I've done has made anything worse. Has anyone dealt with this issue on a 60 0r 70 series Cruiser? There has got to be an answer and I'm hoping someone might be able to offer some insight into my problem.

Cheers, hope someone can shed some light on the situation.

[TheBigBoy]

I dont really think you can get a solid answer without anyone looking at it. And it can always be a number of things. If it was incorrect caster too much possitive would cause it to wonder all over the road (but both ways eqaully). To less and it would vibrate and shake.

If its had a wheel alignment, ballance and castor check (with in tollerance) it shouldnt be too bad. If it looks off already from just your eye, then it must be way off. Maybe take it to another guy and put standard tyres on for wheel alignment this time. Other things that can cause it is tyres tracking, under braking, too much torque (does it not do it when you take you foot off the pedal?). etc

My guess would be bad wheel alignment, bad rim and tyre, too much friction on left side either bearings or shims too tight. The big offset of the tyre could be putting the king pins/swivel hub bearings under alot of stress and pressure.
But cant say forsure

[thrashlux]

have you tried driving on the wrong side of the road when no traffic is about just to make sure it is not related to the lean of the road (always to the left)

could be normal or could be wear related when it leans to that side

[Auto-Craft]

Hows the steering damper ?

Are the tyres wearing scollapped, or is the left front wearing the outer edge?

Have you swapped the fronts side to side to see if it chanes ?

Do you have Coopers ? [or MT's?]

What is the castor and camber readings per side?

[BeauGQ]

yeah mine does the same thing

[dow50r]

Do as assasin said and swap left to right tyres....sometimes it is the tyres...and considering you have had an alignment, that should negate any issues with the diff being bent.....the rims on there now r probably 80 series offset.....
Andrew

[Gav75]

I'll swap the wheels tomorrow. Gotta do a rotation. Didn't do much last time tho. The wheels are Performance Wheels - Outlaw 15x8. They have a neg 24 offset. Apparently thats the correct offset for this model cruiser. I'm doing a bit of research on offset to try and work out the perfect offset for mine.

What does neg 24 offset mean anyways? does the 24 equate to mm? would help to know when finding new rims.

When i got the cruiser it had a bent tie rod, which has been fix, but I might have a closer look to see if the knuckle arms or something else is bent. Didn't noticed anything when i rebuilt the knuckles tho.

Thanks for the responses. I'll keep looking tho.

Cheers,

Gav.

[TheBigBoy]

A 0 offset means the centre of the wheel/rim is directly centre to the inside of the wheel centre (where the holes are for the wheel studs). So neg 24 means the rim is sitting outside of the centre by 24mm and so on. Different offsets are used for different purposses. A big offset is used for a wider track - better for articulation and stops chassi binding solong as it doesnt touch your flares if you have any. And when using 10" wide rims it helps clear the tierod ends.

[Gav75]

Thanks BigBoy,

I'm running 2" spacers with the -24 offset mags. So in reality I'm at about a -75 offset. Three inches. The spacers give it a mean stance and clear the TRE's but could be adding to my steering troubles. Although the problem is the same since I had the cruiser and did al the mods. It hasn't changed the steering prob one bit. Thing is I hear of other cruisers with spacers not having probs. I'm either gonna get -19 offset to clear the TRE's by an extra 5mm or look for an alignment/steering mechanic who can fix the problem.

Cheers,

Gav.