Wandering Challenger

Hi Pete
The Mitsi has Bridgestone Dueler H/L on the back and Goodyear Wranglers on the front.

Regards
Leisa

Mmmn I wonder if the two diff threads patterns could be contribiting to your problem. Mind you My wifes Jack has two diff at patterns and it does not do this.
Good luck Pete

Thanks Ross for your invaluable info. We had checked and lowered the tyre pressure...haven't taken the vehicle off-road yet but plan to. Scarey to say the least when bringing the vehicle home to Bundy from Brisbane in wet conditions with many semi-trailers approaching and the Mitsi suddenly taking a move towards oncoming traffic.
Caster angle theory was something we hadn't thought of but makes sense. Sounds like we might have to go down the road of new shocks. Thanks again for your unbiased opinion...always difficult to know whether businesses are giving you the right information or just after a sale.

Best Regards
Leisa

Thanks for your take on the wandering situation. This is exactly our dilemna as we have had to change shocks in 2 other vehicles this year and their symptoms didn't involve wandering at all. Hard to know if its one thing or a combination of things and that's why we were hoping the experts would know. Tricky situation as we have expressed our disappointment with Dealer we purchased vehicle from as thought we were buying a safe "on the road" vehicle.

Ta!
Leisa

Thanks for your comment GT Campers!

Leisa

Hi Mick
Vehicle doesn't look to have had any height adjustment to suspension. "Tram Tracking" is a good description of what is going on. Thanks for your comment.


Leisa

Good to hear from someone who has experienced same problem...as would seem it is difficult one to diagnose unless inspector takes it for a drive on roads other than well maintained city streets.

Ta!
Leisa

Thanks Ron for your wealth of knowledge. Will certainly take all points into consideration.

Regards
Leisa

Finally a mention on suspension components other than shocks.
Me personally, I'd start with a check of excess play in the wheel bearings, the condition of the tie rod ends, ball joints, free play in the steering rack and the condition of the bushes on the radius arms if a Challenger has them???).

Changing tyres may seem like a short term solution but if your tyres have worn unusually due to a steering/suspension issue, it's only a matter of time before the new tyres take a set also.

Basic rule of thumb, check the condition of all the components, then check that they are all correctly alligned (especailly as others have said - caster). Nearly all wheel aligners these days only check toe in/toe out. Probably because in most instances, caster and camber angles can't be easily adjusted. Doesn't mean that they cant at least report out on their findings.

Ask the wheel aligner if they have specs for your type of vehicle, rather than the usual "standard" 1-2mm of toe in. That will be a good indicator to whether they actually know what they're checking.

Remember also that although the steering and alignment angles may be good at rest on a wheel aligner, worn bushes can cause a loss of castor when in motion.

Fab

Yes, this is a good thing to check, and it doesn't need to be a major accident, either.

The vehicle may have been stolen as some time and seriously abused (used in ram raid, driven across country at speed, avoiding Police, or just run off the road at speed, and into obstructions such as stumps and rocks).

Nose-diving into a washout at substantial speed, and having the front suspension bottom out heavily, can bend or twist front suspension components, such as wishbones, radius rods, and even the mounting points (lugs) on the chassis.
Simple checks such as precise measuring of the wheelbase (centre to centre of the hubs) on each side of the vehicle often shows up startling differences.

There are manufacturers reference dimensions, for various points on the chassis, that must be checked, if the vehicle has been in an accident.
These dimensions are to ensure that the chassis is in alignment, not out of square, or twisted.

You often see near-new vehicles going cheap (Fleabay) that appear to have mimimal damage.
Usually these vehicles have taken a heavy hit somewhere and the chassis or subframe is buckled, distorted, or concertinaed.
Often, these vehicles are put on the "written off" list by assessors - but a lot of times they are marked as "repairable", sold at auction to unscrupulous people - who then onsell them without bothering to straighten the subframe or chassis damage.

I've seen bolts come loose in suspension mounts, that then "wallowed" the holes out.
You can never keep this particular bolt tight again, nor stop it from moving, if this happens.
As result, the vehicle develops weird handling behaviour as the suspension moves around.

Rubber bushes in suspension links can often look good - but they can be softened by oil, or the rubber is starting to chew out - and this makes the suspension move around a lot more than the engineers planned. This affects the vehicle handling.

Fab is on the ball, about suspension checks. Wheel bearing adjustment, ball joint wear, tie rod joint wear, even steering rack wear, can all contribute to handling and steering problems.
That's why a thorough suspension and steering check is critical to pinpoint the precise problem.
It may be as simple as changing the tyres - but I'd suggest the problem is deeper than that.

Cheers - Ron.