leaf spring castor wedges

[94hzj75]

hey guys ive got a 75 series cruiser with extended shackles and speed wobbles was gonna try castor wedges but not sure which way to insert them (i know where they go) does the thick end of the wedge go towards the shackle or the pin? cheers

[WICKED]

Big end of the wedge too the steering side will increase your pinion angle but roll your steering towards the ground.

On a STOCK 75 (Shackle on the front out the front on the Grill, it would be towards the shackle/front of the car.

[BadMav]

Incorrect castor won't cause wobbles, it will however exacerbate another problem. You may want to check wheel bearing preload, steering tie rod end condition, steering box adjustment, King pin bearings' pre load and wheel balance.

You still need the wedges with extended shackles though and yes the thick end to the front.

[WICKED]

Incorrect castor won't cause wobbles, it will however exacerbate another problem. You may want to check wheel bearing preload, steering tie rod end condition, steering box adjustment, King pin bearings' pre load and wheel balance.

You still need the wedges with extended shackles though and yes the thick end to the front.

With the shackels being on the front it may have rolled the pinion towards the ground and causing issues with the drive shaft and or pinion. In saying that I don't think the 75's came full time till the 79*'s.

Check all over the above aswell as suspension bolt's and bushs and Drive shafts

[rockcrawler31]

Incorrect castor won't cause wobbles, it will however exacerbate another problem.

Erm.....wrong?

In my hack understanding of suspension theory, the back to centre effect of increased castor is what stabilises a wheel which is why shopping trolley wheels go apeshit.

Yes an unbalanced wheel may start the wobble but the less castor you have the less unbalanced a wheel has to be to get it all going. and the more castor you have the more out of balance a wheel can be and still run ok.

Ergo........since it is virtually impossible to have perfectly balanced wheels, or slop in steering components or perfectly dead flat roads, crap or no castor causes speed wobbles/slap.

[BadMav]

Incorrect castor won't cause wobbles, it will however exacerbate another problem.

Yes an unbalanced wheel may start the wobble but the less castor you have the less unbalanced a wheel has to be to get it all going. and the more castor you have the more out of balance a wheel can be and still run ok.
.

Without starting a pi55ing match, you just said what I did, just in a different way.

[94hzj75]

thanks for the help guys as i was getting conflicting answers from the manufacturer (don't want to name names). i will install them with the thick end to the front and get my mechanic to give the steering a going over. even if there isnt much wrong i will hopefully learn something from him of what to check and how to check it.

[rockcrawler31]

Incorrect castor won't cause wobbles, it will however exacerbate another problem.

Yes an unbalanced wheel may start the wobble but the less castor you have the less unbalanced a wheel has to be to get it all going. and the more castor you have the more out of balance a wheel can be and still run ok.
.

Without starting a pi55ing match, you just said what I did, just in a different way.

Mehh...

You say tomato, i say tom-ay-to

[toughnut]

Incorrect castor won't cause wobbles, it will however exacerbate another problem.

Yes an unbalanced wheel may start the wobble but the less castor you have the less unbalanced a wheel has to be to get it all going. and the more castor you have the more out of balance a wheel can be and still run ok.
.

Without starting a pi55ing match, you just said what I did, just in a different way.

If castor isn't a cause of this problem then why is so much time and money spent on correcting the castor on patrol to mitigate the nissan shimmy? You of all people should know this.

[sprungupcruiser]

After I put extended shackles in my bj73 I took it for a drive to see what it felt like, it didn't get death wobles as such, it was vague and floated all over the road and every bump felt like it was going to send you into the scrub. So I fitted castor wedges and fixed it right up, fat end to the front.

Rob

[rockcrawler31]

After I put extended shackles in my bj73 I took it for a drive to see what it felt like, it didn't get death wobles as such, it was vague and floated all over the road and every bump felt like it was going to send you into the scrub. So I fitted castor wedges and fixed it right up, fat end to the front.

Rob

yeah i found that getting around with my fatty out the front solved a lot of problems

[sprungupcruiser]

usually gets me in trouble

[BJMorgo]

How much correction do you need? Is it 3 degrees for 2 inch extended shackles? If you had 1 inch extended shackles would it be 1 or 2 degrees? Should even a 2 inch lift with no extended shackles have a small correction?

Thanks

[PFJ]

I've had a tracking problem with my 60 after a decent lift. It's not necessarily the longer front shackle but the amount the whole axle assembly has rolled forward as a result of dropping the axle away from the chassis (lift). This causes negative castor = easier / lighter to steer. In contrast drag cars run massive positive castor to run straight.

Get a proper wheel alignment (usually truck workshops can measure castor) and fit the appropriate wedge size - aim for about +1 - +3 degrees.
Be careful fitting thick wedges though as the locating pin may not be long enough....

Fitting much wider and aggressive tyres than stock will also cause a bit of tracking as well.

Hope this helps.
Dunc.

[shorty_f0rty]

After I put extended shackles in my bj73 I took it for a drive to see what it felt like, it didn't get death wobles as such, it was vague and floated all over the road and every bump felt like it was going to send you into the scrub. So I fitted castor wedges and fixed it right up, fat end to the front.

Rob

Had the same issue and 3deg castor wedges fixed it for me. It used to want to follow wheel tracks on the road and generally wonder a bit. No wobbles as such.

Be careful fitting thick wedges though as the locating pin may not be long enough....

I put them in using the standard spring center bolts and eventually had the castors move from out from under the diff perch cos the spring center bolt heads were too short. Got some spring center pins with about a 25mm head and it offered plenty of bolt head thru the castor wedges and into the locating hole on the diff.

You should be able to get them from any spring works/suspension place.

[RAY185]

As said get a wheel alignment first. Wheel aligner should let you know how many degrees out your caster is so you may buy the appropriate degree wedge to bring your caster angle back to the correct spec (+1 or +2?). Definately go with extended head spring pack bolts.

[chunks]

Get a proper wheel alignment (usually truck workshops can measure castor)

Any self respecting wheel alignment shop (e.g. not a tyre shop) should be able to read caster.

[Zuri92]

do not put the fat end of the wedge towards the shackle, the shackle pushed that end of the leaf down rotating the housing of the diff forward, so you need to put the fat end of the wedge towards the end of the spring without the shackle, rotating the diff housing backwards, returning it to correct position, this is not required on the rear diff. and yes wedges do work

[sprungupcruiser]

do not put the fat end of the wedge towards the shackle

I think you might find you're wrong mate, assuming the cruiser is still SUA, the fat end needs to go to the front.

[94hzj75]

hey guys, wedges fitted and truck is back in my control. here is a quote i found on the superior engineering website fitting instructions section
"If Caster wedges are to be fitted in the front end the thick end of the wedge goes forwards. There is no need to fit wedges in the rear."

[Zuri92]

turns out i am wrong and will admit it, sorry. i had my mind in the gutter thinking all about sprung over hiluxes like mine and did not register that we were talking cruiser. i appologise, carry on