Heavy steering in 80 series
Submitted: Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 17:49
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Timbobaroobob
Howdy all, i have just purchased myself another 80 series with all the fruit on board. its pretty much a monster truck. 7 inch spring lift(kings), long travel shocks, adj panhard rods, castor bushes, aftermarket steering damper etc. I have found the steering to be very heavy at low speed. It runs 35 inch tyres (15s) which i have set at 38psi, the ps pump is full, belt is tight, no signs of leaks etc on the steering box, lines etc. doesnt change when damper removed. it steers great at normal speeds but is very heavy at low speeds, feels like is doesnt have power steer at all. i have talked to friends running 35s and all their steering is light all the time. Should i be suspect of the pump being overworked and knackered or look elsewhere, ie steering geometry. any help would be fantastic
Reply By: Utemad - Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 18:13
Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 18:13
Is there an auto locker in the front?
AnswerID:
104041
Follow Up By: Timbobaroobob - Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 18:37
Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 18:37
No mate it is the standard single spinner. it is a full time 4wd model gxl aswell
FollowupID:
361539
Reply By: Diamond (Vic) - Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 20:30
Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 20:30
me thinks that with such a big lift even with the caster kits you may be running next to 0 caster which will make the steering heavy.
the less caster the heavier to steer.
take it to a wheel alignment place and
check out what caster there is.
ps with 35 inch tyres unless its pretty loaded id back the pressures off a little to say 28-30 psi
cheers
AnswerID:
104054
Follow Up By: Timbobaroobob - Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 20:46
Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 20:46
they reckon you lose a degree of caster for every inch you lift the truck. i have 3 degree offset bushes and the factory setting being about 3-4 degrees you would think the steering would be lighter rather than heavier as the caster should be around 5-6 degrees
FollowupID:
361555
Follow Up By: Diamond (Vic) - Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 20:57
Monday, Mar 28, 2005 at 20:57
if the factory settings are 3 degrees and you have 3 degree of set bushes.from my experience you will never get the full 3 degrees so even if it was 2.5 degrees you will have a total of 5.5 degrees foward caster.the less foward caster the heavier.now i think you said you have a 7 inch lift and if you lose 1 degree per inch lift you will now be running -2 degree caster.
cheers
FollowupID:
361556
Reply By: Member - DOZER- Tuesday, Mar 29, 2005 at 14:13
Tuesday, Mar 29, 2005 at 14:13
Drain your oil in the steering and replace it with power steering fluid, (not atf) this may give you more pressure at low rpm/s....if you can rev the motor and get better assistance, then this is what is going on....if not, it is a caster problem...the best way out of it is a part time conversion, and a set of flip arm brackets on the front diff....this will alow you to return the caster to std and not have problems with the steering arm hitting the lower contol arms....but in doing it, you will get driveshaft vibrations, which can be overcome with a hilux double cardon joint in the front or a part time conversion in the transfer....
Or you could lower it again :-) ever thought of a 2 inch body lift and a 4 inch
suspension lift??? no major worries with this setup.
Andrew
AnswerID:
104133