ok thanks so much! I'm just going to put the stock arms back on for now and see how it rides i have all new bushings in them anyway.
Thanks so much though this is what i was looking for in order to do this.
Adjusting front pinion angle
- Thread starter Mazepam
- Start date
ok thanks so much! I'm just going to put the stock arms back on for now and see how it rides i have all new bushings in them anyway.
Thanks so much though this is what i was looking for in order to do this.
Keep in mind that the exact caster angle is not critical, you only need enough caster angle for good return-to-center and steady tracking on the highway.
Also, pinion angle always takes precedence over caster angle. A good way to set the caster angle is to increase it until you get vibrations from the front driveshaft which indicates an excessive pinion angle. Then back off the caster angle a half degree or so or until the vibrations stop.
Also, pinion angle always takes precedence over caster angle. A good way to set the caster angle is to increase it until you get vibrations from the front driveshaft which indicates an excessive pinion angle. Then back off the caster angle a half degree or so or until the vibrations stop.
Yup thanks so much for all the info on here I'm still a noob when it comes to jeep and cars in general but I'm really soaking up everything here and doing my own work a little at a time.
I know that you've said before when you have bigger tires you can get away with less caster, i don't think stock arms on the 2.5 inch lift is going to be an issue anymore as all my bushing on the front axel are now new and it drives great besides the wandering at highway speeds. I will start at the stock length then adjust as needed, going back to the drawing board here.
I also was reading the pinion thread and Blane mentioned that you should not set the pair of arms to the same length as it can cause binding an instability if the bushing are really stiff, i 100% set both upper arms to the same length and lowers to the same length when putting the aftermarket arms on, I'm wondering if this is causing an issue with them fighting each other to track straight.
ok.
In that case, while it would probably be good to get your caster down a bit, I don't believe it's contributing to your wandering issue. And I know the money is spent already, but I would absolutely run stock arms if my suspensions setup allowed for it.
Yeah for sure. It's only a 2.5 inch suspension lift and 1 inch body so I think stock arms would be just dandy now that everything else is tightened up. Thanks for your info btw. I was curious as to how the caster and pinon are related because i know its almost impossible to get a 100% accurate reading of caster without going to a shop.
If i know one thing its that these wandering issues start after 1 of 2 things
1. i installed the lower adjustable arms
2. right after i got it back from that shop and they replaced the 4 ball joints and the control arm bushings in the axel.
Its correlated to one of those 2 things because i installed the arms that morning then dropped it off at the shop later that night, when I got it back a few days later the wandering was there so maybe its a camber thing idk. All i know is my DW is totally gone so I'm happy.
Honestly its not to the point where I cant drive the jeep i can drive it just fine, i would just wanna fine tune it a little bit and not have to be extra careful when im on the highway. Below 60 mph it drives like stock.
Your before/after on the alignment shows that you were toed out pretty significantly. Is it possible you were just used to that and now that it's in spec it's actually more linear?
it was only toed out that much because I installed the arms and adjusted my track bar length and didn't do an alighemnt while i drove it to the shop so it was only toed out for an hour or so.
Is it possible that my 2 instances of death wobble loosen something in the steering box? I was pretty cautious about going fast until i know i solved the DW i had. Not sure though because its perfect under highway speeds.
Just going to be trail and error.
If you have 9 degrees of caster your pinion would be at 0 or slightly pointed down.
either way we have determined you have enough caster that it is most likely not your problem. Did you have the wandering issue before you changed all the steering and suspension parts?
either way we have determined you have enough caster that it is most likely not your problem. Did you have the wandering issue before you changed all the steering and suspension parts?
I really appreciate all the feedback on this, i konw it could be a ton of different thigns and itll just be trial and error so thanks for bearing with me on it.
In terms of the wandering I know for sure it started either after i got it back from the shop in which the alighemnt specs are listed above or after I had my 2 instance of death wobble.
After the DW i changed the track bar it seemed fine but the steering was a little loose
The morning before i took it to the shop i changed the lower 2 control arms out and they changed all 4 ball joints and the upper control arm bushing on the front axle.
For some reason i keep coming back to the idea that its the arms that are doing it.
Something else I noticed if i accelerate hard on the highway it will drift to the left, and then i let off the gas it drifts to the right, i can actually replicate this almost every time i accelerate and decelerate
I would say though this issue started after I had 2 instances of death wobble on the highway.
Sounds like your axles are not square. I would find a new shop. I don’t think it is possible to have 9 degrees caster with a pinion at 8 degrees.
So this is what my brain is telling me too, which is why I'm just gonna go back to the stock arms first and foremost and see if its still there.
OK so i put the stock arms back on which was incredibly easy with rachet straps, i just used heavy duty ones to line up the holes until everything went in easy took me about an hour to do all 8 of them.
Wow the ride is soooo much better... super smooth, apparently i did have driveline vibrations. It tracks way better on the highway now I'm not nervous anymore going 70 mph.
Only issue is that it doesn't drive straight i still have to sort of guide it when im going in a straight line, and it gives with the camber of uneven roads but i do have bigger tires so nbd.
So i guess in the end my real issue was the lengths of the control arms or something, or the RC ones are just crap.
Wow the ride is soooo much better... super smooth, apparently i did have driveline vibrations. It tracks way better on the highway now I'm not nervous anymore going 70 mph.
Only issue is that it doesn't drive straight i still have to sort of guide it when im going in a straight line, and it gives with the camber of uneven roads but i do have bigger tires so nbd.
So i guess in the end my real issue was the lengths of the control arms or something, or the RC ones are just crap.
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