Knowledgeable Suspension Shop in Southeast

[Alabamabowman]

I'm looking for a shop that can work on my 77 suspension. It wants to wander all over the road. I live in Auburn, Al but will trailer it to the right shop.

Thanks

Russ

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[eb-nutt1]

I'm looking for a shop that can work on my 77 suspension. It wants to wander all over the road. I live in Auburn, Al but will trailer it to the right shop.

Thanks

Russ

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More likely c bushings, or loose steering components. I'm in the lake Martin area.

Brian

 

[DirtDonk]

Wandering can be due to a lot of things unfortunately. Especially with Broncos.
Has it always done this since you’ve owned it? Or is it something that has happened more recently?
What age are the tires? Not the mileage, but the actual years as indicated with a DOT markings on the sidewall.
Older tires are very hard to keep that nice linear motion going down the road.

C-bushings are definitely something because most Broncos didn’t have enough caster built into them when they were new. Add a suspension lift, or bigger tires, I just old age of other stuff, and you get more wandering.
A loose track bar mount can do it as well.
As well as many other things, including toe in adjustments. So there’s a lot going on that it might help us to drill down first.
Before you send it off to someone to spend money with.

 

[Alabamabowman]

Tires are less than 3 years old. I haven't owned the vehicle long, but definitely handled like this prior to me owning it. 3" suspension lift. All steering linkages seem tight, also not very old. Not sure the current caster degree. Need to get alignment read for more info.

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[Alabamabowman]

More likely c bushings, or loose steering components. I'm in the lake Martin area.

Brian

Cool, right down the road.

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[DirtDonk]

Well I can tell at least a couple of problems from your pictures.
The steering was converted from the original 77 style to the earlier style, using a custom set up, possibly one of ours. But it was not set up properly for good steering.
You need a dropped Pitman Arm with less drop first of all. Yours is probably designed for a 77, but with stock linkage.

Second your tie rod needs to be rotated so that the drag link is pointed upward at 60°, or approximately the bottom of the radiator.
Pretty simple to do with normal home tools.
But that will highlight the misalignment from the Pitman Arm even further.

Never seen a trackbar bent like that. Does it have spherical rod ends/Heim joints at both ends?

 

[Alabamabowman]

Well I can tell at least a couple of problems from your pictures.
The steering was converted from the original 77 style to the earlier style, using a custom set up, possibly one of ours. But it was not set up properly for good steering.
You need a dropped Pitman Arm with less drop first of all. Yours is probably designed for a 77, but with stock linkage.

Second your tie rod needs to be rotated so that the drag link is pointed upward at 60°, or approximately the bottom of the radiator.
Pretty simple to do with normal home tools.
But that will highlight the misalignment from the Pitman Arm even further.

Never seen a trackbar bent like that. Does it have spherical rod ends/Heim joints at both ends?

I believe it does have heim at both ends, but will double check. What drop do you recommend for the pitman arm? Also, should I replace the trackbar?

 

[DirtDonk]

I wouldn’t necessarily replace it unless you find that it’s worn out or causing other problems.
If you check relatively carefully and find that your axle is still centered between the frame rails then it’s doing its job.

If you do the Steering test that we have described many times here where a helper turns that wheel back-and-forth a little bit while the tires are fully on the ground, you can watch both trackbar ends and mounts to see if there’s any movement.
If there is noticeable side to side movement, even a tiny bit, then you need to address that. Whether with new ends, new bolts, or whatever.

 

[DirtDonk]

In fact, that Steering test is not a bad idea right now.
If your tie rod and drag link are newer then they are probably OK, but they look like they could’ve been on there for an unknown amount of time and when it’s set up the way it is there is excess rotational movement when you steer.
That accelerates wear and tear on the tie rod ends. Might as well find out now if anything is loose in the suspension. That test will show you what’s loose and what’s not in every part of the suspension.