Thought I could get away with keeping the stoc Trac bar, but

[reamer]

I been fighting some steer wandering, all new bushing front and rear, 2.5 WH lift, caster and camber correct, new C bushings and ball joints. NO death wobble,, No bump steer. just a bit of "this wat and then that way" New Bluetop steering box too and with tight steering column. but I'm finding with the stock non-adjustable track bar, so the front end is 1.125" to the right (of center). Since the front end is not in line with the rear, could this be "destabilizing" the steering quality?

 

[Yeller]

You’ve been talking about this for a while but can’t remember what all you have done. Did you have an alignment done and get a print out? And I’m sure you’ve double checked all the bolts are tight. New rear springs or new spring bushings correct? The offset could contribute but it should be predictable.

 

[reamer]

Yep 4.9 caster, 1.00 camber, .15 toe,, New rear leafs, (2.5") bushings too

 

[Broncobowsher]

Tire pressure and wheel offset are both possible causes of wander.

 

[reamer]

we're gonna have to rip into this one with a new adjustable track bar I guess.

 

[Shimmy]

we're gonna have to rip into this one with a new adjustable track bar I guess.

being cocked 1" to a side would drive me nuts. not sure it is whats causing your wandering though. Make sure all your TB mount holes aren't ovaled out.

 

[.94 OR]

I'm sure your rear U-bolts are all good and tight too.

 

[reamer]

Yes, I have re-torqued them once but will again...

 

[Yeller]

Alignment is spot on and the rest of the mechanicals sound good. Having done all the right things it it can be really frustrating to still be chasing issues. IMO it is down to air pressure and/or track bar. Track bar should help and tire pressure should put the polish on it.

 

[DirtDonk]

I been fighting some steer wandering, all new bushing front and rear, 2.5 WH lift

Was it doing this before the lift at all? Did you change or add any other items? Steering linkage for example? What about tires and wheels? Brakes?

caster and camber correct

What is correct? What are the exact settings?

new C bushings

What degree?

and ball joints.

Did they give you any trouble with setting them up? Too loose, or even too tight?

No bump steer. just a bit of "this wat and then that way"

New Bluetop steering box too and with tight steering column. but I'm finding with the stock non-adjustable track bar, so the front end is 1.125" to the right (of center). Since the front end is not in line with the rear, could this be "destabilizing" the steering quality?

New Bluetop steering box too

When it was installed did you verify that the steering box was centered? Is your steering wheel offset to one side? It should be, with a 2.5" lift and no corrective measures.
The box could very well be off-center which will potentially contribute to wandering.

but I'm finding with the stock non-adjustable track bar, so the front end is 1.125" to the right (of center).

Do you mean to the left? Driver's side, correct?
The axle swings left when the truck is lifted.

Since the front end is not in line with the rear, could this be "destabilizing" the steering quality?

Definitely. But not much without other things putting their input in I would not think.
As others have said, air pressure, tire type, tire age, tire size, wheel size, wheel offset, trackbar ANGLE even more than length, looseness in the rear.
Those in addition to a steering box being off-center and ball joints being too loose or too tight.

What type of steering linkage are you running? Stock or aftermarket?
What is your actual toe-in setting, as well as actual tire diameter. Reason being is that factory toe-in specifications are not always correct for larger than stock tires. And toe can make a HUGE difference.
Enough of a difference in fact that you should be experimenting with toe-in variations just to see if your current setting is correct for your setup.

And definitely do the test with a helper turning the wheel back and forth while you watch things around the vehicle. Especially the upper and lower trackbar mounting points. You're looking for ANY SLIGHT movement of the bar, the bolts, the brackets and anything else. Even the tiniest movement of the trackbar will allow wandering on the road and an off-center steering box will just make it worse.

Paul

 

[reamer]

Hi Paul Post
Doing this before lift too.
#3 has specs on alignment,
4 degree C's
Ball Joints installed with no "issues"
Blue top Centers it from the factory and marks the shaft at 12 clock for you.
I agree with you, I thought the thing should pull the axle to the drivers side, but the pass side is what's sticking out, (body could have settled "Crooked") I need to string a center line between the frame rails and then find the true center of the axle...
New 33" BGF TKO's With WH Drag/ tie rods.
Chalk test showed 26 psi (for even wear, but too spongy,) I'm back to 32 psi...

 

[Yeller]

Some of it may be all the new parts too. I just did a build that drove okay but didn't feel great and had some weird quirks. It now has about 4000 miles on it and really starting to drive better and loose some of the quirkyness. The other thing to remember is the short wheel base and soft suspension will have some of its own quirks, but I know we all know that LOL

 

[reamer]

I went out and did some measuring mounted a 12" framing triangle to the frame by the front spring and ran a plum bob to the floor, Then used a 1/4" dia bolt 12' long and held that to the inside of the steering knuckle, On the driver side the string was 1/4" from the steering knuckle. On passenger side, with the same set-up the string is 1/2" over the knuckle. this is telling me the axle is 3/8" shifted to the pass side.... In Bronco land, I guess this is as good as a factory install? And the rest is the body slightly crooked on the frame, so I have to keep digging on the wandering thing

 

[DirtDonk]

While you are in measuring mode, maybe check that your front and rear axles are square to each other. If they’re the same 3/8” then at least you know your frame and rear axle mounting are good.
Not sure how best to accomplish this with what you have on hand, but there are multiple methods described on YouTube. As well no doubt by members here.

 

[gnpenning]

With everything above have you checked the leaf spring through bolts and mounting holes?

 

[reamer]

Just checked the leafs...still centered in the perches, but the pass side was not at 100 ft/lbs, took a half a turn to get to to the 100....

 

[savage]

Do you have another set of tires? If so see if the wandering changes. I bought a set of new tires and had one that had a defect.

 

[DirtDonk]

And definitely measure your toe in yourself.
Use inches instead of the rating in degrees.
When using degrees then the original specifications mean nothing with 33 inch tall tires.
You have to measure, or experiment with different settings.

 

[DirtDonk]

Are you running the same pressure in both front and rear tires? I had to raise the pressure in my front BFG‘s also because the usual 25 PSI was not cutting it.
I’m actually at 35 in the front now, but still using a much lower pressure in the back. I don’t remember what it is but it’s more normal in the 20s.

 

[Rustytruck]

shifted to the passengers side should not be possible. the trac bar is attached to the axle on the passengers side and the frame on the drivers side lifting the frame would pull the axle to the drivers side. what size tires? what size rims? and how old are the tires?