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feelin the road through my steering wheel

CameronB

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Tacoma, WA
I just put spacers on my front Procomp 3"coils, to net about 4.5". Now my ride is harsher, as I expected to a degree. But I'm feeling every bump through my steering wheel now. It just vibrates alot, no bumpsteer or anything. I was cruising up some forest service roads this weekend (washboard and rocky etc) and got a very thorough hand massage... It doesn't feel right.

Is this normal? Is there a problem area that would cause this? My only thought is that since the stock drag link is now at a steeper angle to the pitman arm, it transmits vibrations more so (at least from the pass wheel.)

This is a 95 w/ teraflex adj ucas and lcas, 31x10.50s, Procomp es3000 shocks, older rustys adj trackbar.... Hmmmm, could the track bar be transmitting the vibes?
 
More than anything its probably just the increased control arm angles!
 
That could be, as far as a harsh ride. But why through the steering wheel?

I do more dirt road driving that actual '4-wheeling', so would like a nicer ride. I do plan on getting good springs all around eventually.

But w/4.5" and 33s, would RE's CA drop brackets work, at least for a smoother ride?
 
CameronB said:
But w/4.5" and 33s, would RE's CA drop brackets work, at least for a smoother ride?

Yes.
 
How about a quality steering damper? I have some feedback although nothing harsh, I was thinking damper and when in the dirt about 18#s of air (dirt road stuff) Too much air, not enough? What about the damper?
 
did you adjust your lca's and uca's after the spacers were installed?
 
Still the stock dampener, but remember these vibrations felt increased after the additional 1.5 " lift. Plus, doesn't the dampener take care of back and forth movement only; not road vibrations. Right?
I've messed around w/air pressures, like down to about 20psi or so, and suprisingly, I get less traction, especially around corners. The rear end slides around more. This is at 25-55mph on dirt roads. So I keep it about 25+

Yes, I adjusted my lower control arms to the recomended 16.5". The ucas are still the same (forgot..) I got the chart from someone here.

I'm still lost as to why I feel so much through the steering wheel...
How on earth could the drag link transmit these road vibrations? It's not like it's pushing up, or pulling down on the pitman arm, is it? Shouldn't it almost 'float' up and down in relation to the pitman arm?
 
Adjusting your lower control arms longer without adjusting the uppers longer will increase castor. Too much castor will cause a lot of feedback thru the streering wheel because positive castor causes the tire contact patch to be behind the steering axis (trail). this increased "trail" increases the leverage bumps and road hits have around the steering axis. Play with backing off your castor to 4 degrees and see what and improvement this will make on the ride. at your lift this will also probably get your pinion aligned back up with your drive shaft
 
CameronB, This has happened to me once before. It turned out to be the worn out tires. Evidently, the suspension changes had an effect on the wear pattern. Also, more recently, I did not rotate the tires as soon as I should have and the front tires were beginning to cup. When I put them on the back, I also got some of this shacking that you are experiencing. I think the tires are often overlooked as the culprit to suspension problems. Just my opinion, I could be wrong.
 
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