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Bumpsteer bad. Can someone check my angles

no trust me. its death wobble. There one spot on the road by my house that every single time i hit it i get death wobble so bad.

I am going to replace the traction bar with the RE HD and mount

also going to redo the hiem joints

and ill get an alignment soon.

I really need to get the drop brackets or long arms soon though

Find out what's bad first before you go on a replacement spree. Also try contacting RK about their steering. They usually have a lifetime on their parts but I'm not sure if they honor it if you didn't buy the parts but never hurts to ask.

One last thing, are you tires balanced properly? that can cause death wobble too.
 
clearly states the tie rod is on top of the knuckles
Maybe so, but I bet its supposed to have the draglink up there also. I think I've seen a couple setups that have both the draglink and tierod OTK and use a spacer between the heims so they don't bind on each other. I'd try flipping the tie rod over and moving the draglink above it on the knuckle. It won't solve the bumpsteer without relocating the tracbar axle end, but I think it would help the steering system overall.
 
I can't believe no one else mentioned it....but your tie rod is on upside down. That will fix all of your problems :D

You will be amazed at how much better your rig handles once you get your control arm angles leveled out. I would start with that trackbar TRE on the frame side.

Check and make sure that everything is tight - control arms, trackbar, tie rod/draglink, shock mounts (also can cause DW).

Sorry, I know I'm repeating some stuff here that's already been said....
 
Maybe so, but I bet its supposed to have the draglink up there also. I think I've seen a couple setups that have both the draglink and tierod OTK and use a spacer between the heims so they don't bind on each other. I'd try flipping the tie rod over and moving the draglink above it on the knuckle. It won't solve the bumpsteer without relocating the tracbar axle end, but I think it would help the steering system overall.

His steering is set up properly. The draglink goes under the knuckle and there's a bend on the tie rod to clear the draglink.

This is from RK's website:

Valid for most popular aftermarket lift kits from 4.0 to 6.5 inches

Clearly you are higher than the recommended height for the steering......but it could still work.
 
hmm ill go through everything soon then. I know for sure the heims need replaced.

the rough country replacement traction bar is so puny.

buying drop arm brackets soon!

I have alot of dead spots in my steering also. Itll be turning fine and then just bam its not going any farther without man handling it.

ya i am going to pull the damn 2 inch coil spacers soon.
 
hmm ill go through everything soon then. I know for sure the heims need replaced.

the rough country replacement traction bar is so puny.

buying drop arm brackets soon!

I have alot of dead spots in my steering also. Itll be turning fine and then just bam its not going any farther without man handling it.

ya i am going to pull the damn 2 inch coil spacers soon.

Good idea.
 
well i plan on probably removing all TRE. the traction bar bracket with new trac bar will eliminate that one and then probably put a heim on the pitman arm
 
Your angles look ok. Do you know what bumpsteer is? Riding on the highway and hitting cracks and holes that make your axle,tires, and steering wheel shake is not bumpsteer so let's not get that confused. Go flex your vehicle on big rocks or dirt mounds. If your steering wheel jerks or steers itself when you are flexing then you have bumpsteer. If you are getting a rough shake, rattle, and steering feedback, it's mostly due to your control arm angles. The road feedback goes straight up into the chassis instead of being absorbed by the springs and shocks. Don't confuse this with death wobble. Death wobble is when your tires starting shaking back and forth and you have to stop or slow down to get them back into control.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwiv23dLhMY

Are your tires doing that? if not, it's not death wobble.

You should be able to twist both draglink and tie rod up and down because heims allow that movement. You should not, however, have play side to side or clunking. Try to get someone to steer back and forth while you look at each heim and joint for play or clunking. Just put your hand on the bar and you'll feel it if its' there. I never really liked running heims on steering because they eventually develop slop and clunk, causing shakes and stuff.

It would also be wise to check your toe in and do an alignment, even if the tires look striaght and true. a 1/8" toe out looks very much like a 1/8" toe in so it's hard to tell visually if your alignment is in spec.

Last, Expect a crappy bumpy ride with that much lift on short arms. 4.5" is the maximum amount of lift you'd want to run on short arms. Your suspension geometry is off and that throws off alot of other things. Drops brackets as you said you are working on, or long arms would be a very wise upgrade to get things back close to specs and proper working order. It wouldn't hurt to check your bearings too. Running oversized tires can wear down your bearings fast and slop in them will cause alot of bad shakes and shimmies.
That is incorrect. Nobody here has even touched what bump steer is.


Definition of bumpsteer: Bump-steer is a change in toe* angle caused by the suspension moving up or down. Bump-steer is built into the geometry of the suspension and steering system, and has nothing to do with turning the steering wheel. The effect of bump-steer is for the wheel to toe-in or toe-out when the suspension moves up or down. This toe change or "steering" occurs any time the suspension moves, whether it is from body roll, brake-dive, or hitting a bump in the road. Bump steer is undesirable because the suspension is steering the car instead of the driver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9_iuk4jCOM
 
That is incorrect. Nobody here has even touched what bump steer is.


Definition of bumpsteer: Bump-steer is a change in toe* angle caused by the suspension moving up or down. Bump-steer is built into the geometry of the suspension and steering system, and has nothing to do with turning the steering wheel. The effect of bump-steer is for the wheel to toe-in or toe-out when the suspension moves up or down. This toe change or "steering" occurs any time the suspension moves, whether it is from body roll, brake-dive, or hitting a bump in the road. Bump steer is undesirable because the suspension is steering the car instead of the driver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9_iuk4jCOM

That's not what I was told when I had my rig inspected by an off road specialty shop. They told me if the suspension cycles and your steering turns or jerks during this cycle then it's bumpsteer. For instance, when I would climb over this 1 foot rock, my steering would turn to the left on it's own and I would have to correct it. The cause of it was the drop pitman arm putting the draglink out of sync with the trackbar. Once I removed that drop arm, the bumpsteer was gone and i could cycle the suspension with zero movement in the steering. It made perfect sense to me. Perhaps the 22 year off road vet was wrong........or it's the same thing, explained differently??
 
Before anything else, go get your alignment (pay extra and get the lifetime plan). Then come back here and post what your caster is.

Hint, hint: what's your caster?
 
the wheel-to-wheel tie-rod is notorious for having some tre play that causes a 'dead spot' in the steering. it has been widely discussed in threads on this forum.

this is one possible solution: http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=1TNSTBSH&Category_Code=S6

I've read about plenty of people complaining about "dead spots" who are running that setup. You read lots of supposed solutions - from a super hard poly bushing b/t the draglink and tie rod connection - to using something even harder as a "bushing"....
 
You have the tierod and drag link flip floped. The tierod has to go under the draglink, and vise versa.
This is not the RK kit, but you get the idea.
20jli7c.jpg
 
That is a nice steering setup, 96JeepSpeed....
 
You have the tierod and drag link flip floped. The tierod has to go under the draglink, and vise versa.
This is not the RK kit, but you get the idea.
20jli7c.jpg

For the second time, his RK steering is set up correctly.

Finnally a real solution to the factory inverted Y assembly steering woes! The Rock Krawler X Factor Plus Steering System is the most innovative conversion available. It offers a true independent drag link and tie rod assembly. The new drag link maintains the OEM relationship while the tie rod is flipped on top of the steering knuckle for improved clearance! The new tie rod is made of solid alloy steel and offers a great place to mount your hydro assist if you would like to run one. All hardware connections use rugged 5/8 diameter bolts.


Jeepsteeringstuff001.jpg


putting the drag link on top requires moving the trackbar up too.
 
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Oh and also, i have as a under the knuckle setup, But you can still have it OTK if you just leave the tierod where it is and just put the draglink on top of the tierod.

Doing this puts too much stress on the passenger side knuckle.

Like was mentioned before, check your caster.
 
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