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Radius arm axle bushing degree question ??

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,353
Stock was five or six (including the "overload" leaf) so your 11-pack is a later model (last twenty years or so) aftermarket spring.
Mostly indicates lifted too of course, as the stock height springs of that design are usually only 9 or 10 leaves.

Paul
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,353
Ok, now I see that you already knew it was an aftermarket spring (Deaver, from a previous post) but that you were wondering if the number of leaves is making it ride stiffer, or having any other negative effect on the handling?

The answer is that, in most cases, the newer 11-leaf packs ride better than the old 5 and 6-leaf packs did.
They are not "soft riding" by any means. But they are less "harsh riding" than the old springs. However even the good springs can settle down and ride worse than when they were knew. My 2.5's are not exactly Cadillac smooth by any stretch!

But they're not likely to be causing you to experience the wandering, unless their bushings or mounts are wearing out.
Even though not all, most wandering comes from the front.

I don't see where you did any other testing. Frankly, even your relatively low caster readings from the first post are not low enough to cause your problem. They're better than mine and I can run 80mph in a very steady fashion. I may not do it very often, but I can when I need to. And both of my caster readings are less than yours.

Tires, loose components, and incorrect comparisons/assumptions are perhaps the most common culprits.
So first of all, you need to do "the test" we used to call it, where with the tires fully on the ground, a helper racks the steering wheel back and forth about a half a turn in each direction while you crawl all around and under the rig to see if anything is moving that should not be.
If you're not sure what should, or should not be moving when doing this test, let us know and we can list down all the usual suspects.

And just as important as the more detailed testing, are you familiar with old trucks and utility vehicles? Or is all of your previous driving experience with newer vehicles? If newer only up until you got the Bronco, then perceptions are worth discussing.
If you've been around older vehicles all your life on the other hand, then you're familiar with how they should feel.

Either way still leaves us with the same things mentioned before. Tires type, tire quality, tire wear, tire damage, tire age, tire wear, bearings, ball-joints, u-joints, trackbar mounts, trackbar bushings, the other steering components, lockers and limited-slip differentials, rear wheel bearings, and tires.
Did I mention tires?;D%) Yeah, I know... But they are pretty important in this discussion.

Good luck.

Paul
 

rpmgarage22

Full Member
Joined
May 5, 2015
Messages
162
Matt,

Give me a call at James Duff. I can see several things in your pictures that contributed to to your issues.

I am sorry that I did not see this post sooner, as changing the springs was unnecessary and you could have kept the lift height where it was. I may have been able to save you some of the headache.

Paul and everyone here are giving some great advice.

The two pieces that means the most right now are patience and understanding. It will require BOTH to solve your issues, and your perception of what "caused" those issues. Steering geometry for a coil sprung, solid axle vehicle is extremely simple...but it is far from EASY.

I will be here until 6 tonight.

Mike
(865) 938-6696
 
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