sound like caster? where do we get shims?

I installed a 2.5" old man emu lift with 31x10.5 Trxus MT's on black soft-8's. I have it toed-in at 1/8". I noticed a problem with the steering ever since the lift/tires went on. When accelerating and getting to about 47 mph, the front end starts to wobble. I can see the front tires wobbling in and out while i drive. This shakes the steering wheel back and forth and gives the jeep a nasty vibration/shake. I had the tires balanced the wobble remained teh same. I rotated them all over the place and still no change. I am thinking my caster is off cuz i thought about how shopping carts have that constant wobble (when their wheels are bent or damaged inwards) and it's what i have. I haven't checked yet but i want to be prepared when i do so i believe i can adjust the caster a little using shims at teh frame end of the control arms. My question is where do i get these shims? Are they dealer only items?

I can't wait to fix this cuz the wobble prevents me from going over 45 now. The avg speed around here is 55-65. grrr.....

Could be the caster, you'll have to check it to be sure. The go-jeep site has a nice write up on that. It sounds more like you have something loose or worn out up front, that's not very much lift to be running into caster issues. I'd get under there and inspect everything very closely, put some jackstands under the front axle to get the weight off of it and look for loose components, especially tie rod ends. Double check your toe and make sure it's 1/16 to 1/8 IN. Front measurement smaller.

Good luck!

DougJ said:

Could be the caster, you'll have to check it to be sure. The go-jeep site has a nice write up on that. It sounds more like you have something loose or worn out up front, that's not very much lift to be running into caster issues. I'd get under there and inspect everything very closely, put some jackstands under the front axle to get the weight off of it and look for loose components, especially tie rod ends. Double check your toe and make sure it's 1/16 to 1/8 IN. Front measurement smaller.

Good luck!

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Thats pretty good advise, but you should put the jackstands under the "frame" and let the axle droop...that will take the weight off everything so you can check it.

Search "death wobble". You don't really have it from what you described, but you should find alot of helpful info to solve your problem.

Jess said:

but you should put the jackstands under the "frame" and let the axle droop...that will take the weight off everything so you can check it.

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Ya think? I allways put tape on the front of the tires and measure then roll the jeep and measure from tape mark to tape mark on the rear. I keep rolling it back and forth to measure so all the bearings and joints will be in their running position. I need to check it in the air to see if it changes much next time. Did your lift come with new shocks? Old shocks and a lift can cause ocillations. Credit to the all knowing "Led" for that.

I'm aware of death wobble and the possible fixes for it. I checked everything under the front end and can't seem to find any play in the joints. Shocks, coils, trackbar, tie rod tube and ends are all new. Everything is tight. I do the paint and line method for alignment, pretty similar to ur tape method. I got a new draglink, adjuster, and tie rod end ready to go in so I will se what that does before jumping to the caster. Where's a good place to measure caster? Diff bolts (side 2) or flat surface on ball joints?

The wobble seems to be in front and back of the front tires, not the top and bottom.

Check your steering box bolts and mounting area for cracks. I put an angle finder on the flat spot of the upper ball joint. Try the rear tires on front also just in case you have a tire or rim setting it off. Lug nuts? I'm only at 3 degrees of castor and it drives OK. 4 or 5 would be better. Anyting less would be too squirly for me.

I did the steering box inspection last week and it's all good. Lug nuts are on there 100 ft lbs. You may have missed it, but I mentioned in the first post that I rotated the tires all around a couple times and nothing changed.

Is there a neat way to check for play in the control arms without having to remove the bolts?