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Drilling pitman arm

Tech Talk for Suzuki owners.

Moderators: lay80n, sierrajim

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Posts: 247
Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:48 am
Location: Brisbane

Drilling pitman arm

Post by zooki »

Has anyone that has done a power steer conversion drilled the pitman arm to take the stabiliser bracket?
The reason I ask is that I have just fitted power steer of a jap spec sierra and there is no provision for a steering stabilser and I am getting some really hairy speed wobbles that start when hitting bumps in the road that I think would be caused by running no stabiliser
Would I be better off making up something similar to a Hilux setup and going with that?
I am guessing that this box is similar to a Jimny one, to they run a stabiliser?
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Post by No Idea »

I wouldn't drill the pitman, get a steering damper that mounts from the steering arm to either the diff housing or the chassis.
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Post by N*A*M »

what's your drag link angle like? steep?
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Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:48 am
Location: Brisbane

Post by zooki »

no different to any other mild lift sierra
What happens is when you hit a bump at an angle IE a bit of side loading the hole front end gets a huge shake up that you can see, the only way to stop it is to stop the car. It only happens though if you don't have a good grip of the wheel I'm thinking that a stabiliser would slow down the wobble and stop it from happening
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Post by N*A*M »

what's your front suspension? spoa?

is your castor angle reasonable?
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Post by Bazooka »

You really shouldnt need the stabiliser as the power steering should do the job its supposed to. I have Vitara power steering and have experienced absolutely no problems with bump steer or vibrations. Is there any play in the steering at all?
Did you get a wheel alignment after the power steer install?
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Post by mtzook »

FRONT CASTER ANGLE

a few years back, i was trying to fix a front driveshaft binding, and this did not work. I had some shims made, put them in, welded in place, and drove it, and it was like having permanent bumpiness on the road. The shims were maybe 7mm thick, down to zero, but it killed the stabilization. A few hours later, I pulled it all out and it was fine again.

If you are SPOA, then you may need to readjust, or shim the front, to lean the diff back down a little.
My tires were rubbing in the front, so I trimmed the hood, and now they're fine...
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Post by zooki »

The car SPUA+RUF with offset 7inch rims and 31 MTR's
Last time I checked the wheel allignment was fine and castor was within specs (Have access to alignment gear at work) I thought it could be a caster thing as well and I am going to put some wedges in to see what happens but it was fine before I put the power steer on, It used to kick back in the steering a bit but not like this
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Post by Guy »

Get a wheel allignment and a tyre balance .. take it form there before you start stuffing around with shims .. as you have only messed with the steering .. start there
" If governments are involved in the covering up the knowledge of aliens, Then they are doing a much better job of it than they do of everything else "
Posts: 125
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Location: Seattle, Washington

Post by mtzook »

Just a thought...

Steering progresses from light to heavy as the car moves from stationary, to actually driving.

So maybe the steering you put in there is not progressing like it should. Either the pump or the steering box may have a problem. I've driven an old ute before that the steering was just as light at 100kph as 0kph, and I wouldn't really say it shook a lot, but it was very loose around the road.

Where did you get the setup for the power steering, and what kind of condition was it in??
My tires were rubbing in the front, so I trimmed the hood, and now they're fine...
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Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:48 am
Location: Brisbane

Post by zooki »

OK have wedges to try tommorow and will check allignment and balance as well

The steering setup is all factory issue japanese suzuki sierra, all bolt in nothing modified with under 10000k's on it

I am begining to think it may be a problem with the internals of the box as it was fine today but the steering did seem a little light?
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Post by mtzook »

so did you figure it out over the weekend??
My tires were rubbing in the front, so I trimmed the hood, and now they're fine...
Posts: 247
Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:48 am
Location: Brisbane

Post by zooki »

Ok,
Caster bushes, no change
wheel allignment, no change
wheel balance, no change
adjust on trunion bearing that might be a bit suss and a shackle that could be a bit loose, no change
Bang head on wall and swear a bit :bad-words: , go to outerlimits and search for death wobble (trust me you can't call it anything else) and hit the jackpot, something is creating a harmonic shake in the front
Make a mount to attach stabiliser between tie rod and diff in the rain, So for so good, fingers crossed :armsup:
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Post by mtzook »

This one time, at band camp, i was playing in the mud with my lwb, and some cheap AT tires, and mud managed to press itself into the bead or the wheels, throwing them off balance pretty bad. Had to have the tires taken off, then chisel the dried mud off, and reinstall.

I've also seen mud so thick and sticky that it stuck to the inside of the wheels and as we drove, it kinda evened out, but then when we went to clean it off, we missed a few grams of mud here and there, and it felt like we were on square tires.

Just thought i'd mention this in case it's more simply some bad wheel balance.

Sucks that you're having so much trouble figuring this one out...
My tires were rubbing in the front, so I trimmed the hood, and now they're fine...
Posts: 247
Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:48 am
Location: Brisbane

Post by zooki »

Iv'e had mud wobbles before, this was as if you were movin the wheel left to right a few times per second, and a mate who watched out the window as we drove reckons the wheels were moving te same as 1 full turn of the wheel :shock: the tires would squeel as they got pushed sideways
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