Bronco wandering on high way.

[Bodudley]

What would cause a bronco to wander on the high way? New build and everything is new with 1200 miles on it. When accelerating it steers fine. But when it settles in at speed it is very hard to keep it in one lane without really driving it. The steering wheel seems to have some play in it. Any ideas?

 

[FlogginHarvey]

Well, no idea if this will help but I experienced something similar right after the initial total rebuild on mine last year. Prior to completely replacing the suspension it road and tracked pretty good - had the alignment redone in the spring just prior and it was pretty darn near spot on.

Finished the build and it was wandering past 45-50 all over. A closer look was that the toe was WAY OFF. In fact it was noticeably toe-out to the naked eye. Set the toe with a tape measure and tape per one of the vemder's how to and was night and day better. Still needs a proper alignment but it made a HUGE change. Not sure what you got but it's worth a quick look?...And you can do it in the driveway. I think it was either BC or WH.

Some good Pics and alignment numbers might help the more experienced here point you in the proper direction!!!

 

[KBUCK1]

Is the steering box centered?

 

[Whoaa]

Generally this is a bushing issues, and/or a combination of not having good alignment between the trac bar and the drag link, wore steering box, ect..

Is this for *real" that everything is NEW, "new with less 1,200 miles"? I ask this because a Bronco w/ NEW parts is a high dollar machine in the range of $180k - $200k that I wouldn't expect to have driving issues.
Or does this means some parts are rebuilt, and other parts that seemed fine were returned to service on this truck?

Pictures mean a lot here. If you can post lots of detailed pic's of the front end its much easier to identify the issue(s).

How much lift?
What size tires?
What year Bronco?
What style steering geometry parts? Y, or T, or 1 ton, or ?
Power or manual steering?

 

[Major Tom]

Is the steering box centered?

how do you do that

 

[Bodudley]

New lift and all parts either new or rebuilt. Has James duff 5-1/2 new suspension lift and 2 inch body lift

 

[Master Chief]

You say 1200 miles. Is that since the rebuild? If so, has it been this way for all 1200 miles or did it just begin to wander around?

 

[Bodudley]

I'm not sure I just bought it.

 

[-8]

Caster check please!

 

[Master Chief]

Bought mine '05, had the same issue.

I have a 3.5" lift. Prior owner installed the 7 degree offset c-bushings incorrectly. They are directional. Dude had them in so they offset each other resulting in zero caster change. I found this when I pulled the front end out trying to figure out what was wrong. Installed correctly my rig handles very well at all speeds.

Another issue that I found is tire pressure has a great effect on handling. Too much pressure results in the described wander.

Hope this helps.

 

[Whoaa]

Caster check please!

^......Ding, ding, ding..we have a winner!

After installing 5 1/2" of lift "fixing" the rear end is easy, shims under the leaf springs, or weld on new leaf spring perch's at the new corrected angle.

However making adjustments to "fix" the front end is very complicated because Caster and Pinion angle fight each other.

There is no C bushing in the world that can fix this. 7 degree C bushing work well up to 3 1/2" of lift. Long radius arms w/ some built-in Caster help http://www.dufftuff.com/Stage_3_Tubular_Extended_Radius_Arms_66_77_Bronco_p/5350.htm, but they still don't fully fix the Caster problem -which is the main contributing problem to the driveability issues you're having.

Understanding that you have 5 1/2" lift coils on the front, to make this Bronco sail down the road at highway speed with really good/excellent driving characteristic's you'll need to do some major work. The *best* solution is to cut the [inner] outter C structure from the Dana housing, rotate them about 10 degree's and then weld them back in place.

There are other ways to address the Caster issue you're having http://www.dufftuff.com/Adjustable_Radius_Arm_Drop_Bracket_66_77_Bronco_p/5430-sv.htm



Here's a good article to read http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Bronco_Wandering

And here's a video of what it takes to actually do the job, the diff housing shown in the video is for a leaf spring Jeep, but the same steering geometry applies to our coil spring Dana 44 found on Bronco's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHg3s_QZ5P4

 

[Broncobowsher]

Yep, caster check before we go any further.

While at it, what are your highway speeds? My last one was good doing 70. By 80 it was starting to get a little light in the front and at 100 it was spooky. All that after the 3½" lift where it was fine with no lift. That high speed instability was aero induced, wind packing under the front end combined with soft springs.

 

[blubuckaroo]

There are a lot of things that can cause wander. Loose steering and suspension components like the steering box, tie rods, and bushings can do it. Mine will wander when the tires have too much pressure.

Insufficient caster will cause wander, but I've noticed a trend to add too much caster.

Too much will cause harder steering if you have manual steering.

Also, too much caster can cause front driveline problems if you don't keep those angles in check too. You should be able to drive down the highway with the hubs locked in without noticing any difference.

 

[pcf_mark]

Yep, caster check before we go any further.

While at it, what are your highway speeds? My last one was good doing 70. By 80 it was starting to get a little light in the front and at 100 it was spooky. All that after the 3½" lift where it was fine with no lift. That high speed instability was aero induced, wind packing under the front end combined with soft springs.

Dude - you are brave man! 70 sounds like light speed to me in one of these!

 

[garberz]

Dude - you are brave man! 70 sounds like light speed to me in one of these!

I ran mine up over 80 once, handling was fine at that speed, just ran out of gear to cruise at that speed.

 

[blubuckaroo]

I ran mine up over 80 once, handling was fine at that speed, just ran out of gear to cruise at that speed.

Seriously? I routinely run that fast and don't feel like a daredevil.

I'm just keeping up with traffic.

Another thing to check is your toe-in. You can do it with a piece of chalk and a ruler.

 

[Bodudley]

It starts at about 45. Weird thing is when accelerating it stops wandering until you let out of the gas and settle in at a constant speed.

 

[pcf_mark]

If your issues changes with acceleration then you are getting rear steer of some type. The rear end may be loose or out of position? Loose rear spring shackles?

 

[Broncobowsher]

Seriously? I routinely run that fast and don't feel like a daredevil.

I'm just keeping up with traffic.

Another thing to check is your toe-in. You can do it with a piece of chalk and a ruler.

Freeways in AZ move along at a pretty good clip. When the limit is 75, most traffic is pushing 80. The 100 (the last time anyway) was actually done on a private closed course test track. I was trying to get into the high bank that has a neutral steer speed of 130 MPH but just couldn't push it fast enough. Steering left in a sweeping right hander while leaning to the right and looking at the horizon at a 45° angle out the windshield just isn't a good feeling. Along with the front getting light and that was also unloading the axle making the caster go away as well. Yea, it wasn't great.

But I could run 70 all day long comfortably. Had the caster and the rest of the suspension dialed in. The 80 run was running late to get to the trail and I could hold that speed, but you could really tell it wasn't happy. You could feel the front lifting and feel the air just fighting everything.

All that was with a lift. Without a lift I could do 100 easy. The 86 MPH on the drag strip wasn't dramatic at all.

I think everything I have ever owned that was capable of 100 MPH, has reached 100 MPH at least once. That is just something you do growing up in the Midwest. I never got out of it.

 

[Mtgrizzlymn]

I can easily run 75 to 80 but boy does it like the fuel when I do that. Drives nice though