Steering is scary .. Tried everything ..help

[70_Steve]

Please see pictures in my gallery.

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[brewchief]

pics from his gallery
http://classicbroncos.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/32691/size/big/cat/
http://classicbroncos.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/32692/size/big/cat/

A front view pic would help, need to be able to see trac bar and drag link

 

[Kyle.malone]

I had the toyo mud terrains too before i went crazy with my rig and they were all over the placeat full air pressure. OUr rigs dont weigh that much. I dropped mine to 25 front and 20 rear and it rode like a dream.

 

[Macmillan]

Ok u have a few pictures in gallery that are now able to be viewed.
I have to get back in front of truck to answer most of the other questions.
I have new tires and have tried another set of just to make sure that it was not the tires per say.
Performed the "sawing " test with helper and no play.7 degree "C" bushings are in correctly I checked and its obvious they are. I will check tire pressures, drop pitman arm, pictures and post print out from alignment . Renewed hope that I can let me friends drive without a training course..

 

[Macmillan]

Tires new: toyo open country mt 305/70r16
All set at 23 pounds

Frame to axle is 11"
pitman appears to be around 3" but not sure how to measure or what to look for

Frame is very solid not cracked or rusted but does have some "flex"
Still looking for alignment printout

 

[rjrobin2002]

The best and easiest test I have found is to jump on hte front bumper and watch the steering wheel. If the steering wheel is moving left and right, you have bump steer and need to make your drag link and track bar parallel.

 

[jw0747]

why 23 lbs air in tires? is that too low? my 35s rode bad at 30 lbs so went to 35 and no more street steering/ride problems.

is steering box bolted down tight and no cracked frame behind it?

 

[rustbucket]

Frame is very solid not cracked or rusted but does have some "flex"
Still looking for alignment printout

Where is this "flex" you speak of?

 

[DirtDonk]

Ok, you do have a dropped pitman arm, but not a matching lowering bracket or riser for the trackbar. On a pre-'76 Bronco, that's an almost absolute requirement. Only exceptions are if you have other custom mods or TRO or other things where one does not necessarily have to coincide with the other.
I see you have an adjustable trackbar, which is good, but it's only there to help center the axle. Has no effect on the angle of the dangle, and that's what's even more important.
So, add a drop, or better yet, a riser bracket to help get your trackbar more parallel with your draglink.

Don't know why it should, but that just looks like more than 4" of lift. The angles on the steering links are pretty steep for having a dropped pitman arm. Still, I'll trust your 11" measurement as that's going to be more accurate than just looking at an image on the computer.

Shallower angles are important too of course, but parallel angles are more important. Especially while you have your stock draglink and trackbar lengths relatively intact.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

And I should add, that while your stuff is not quite right, there are plenty of others here who have similar setups that don't have the issues you're having. So either there is something else still yet to be found, or it's just a matter of what others will accept as "normal" handling for a Bronco.
I know this has an effect as well. I've driven Broncos I thought were dangerous and shouldn't even be on the road, where the owners thought they were fine!
Personal points of reference I guess.

Good luck.

Paul

 

[Macmillan]

Track bar riser on order. I will update once installed . Thanks for the renewed hope.

 

[DirtDonk]

Good deal. Should help quite a bit.

Another thing I just noticed when viewing your pics again. The double steering stabilizer may or may not be helping. You should be able to drive a Bronco just fine without any stabilizers on there at all, so during some experimental driving, you might just take one or both of them off to make sure they're not masking another issue.

They could have been installed because they're cool, or maybe to help hide some tire shimmy, or maybe because the PO thought they might be needed.
Either way, try it without at least one of them. The upper one is the stock one, but the mount on the draglink end (driver's side) has been modified. Most likely to compensate visually for the dropped pitman arm and lift having put it at a slight angle.
No harm, no foul, but only if it was done right.

I've seen instances where dual stabilizers had turned into "dueling stabilizers" instead!
Next time you're under there with them both intact, have someone turn the wheel back and forth again and watch what the links do. If they rotate in different planes or look funky in some other way, then you probably have dueling shocks.

Met a Bronco-friend for the first time when he brought his new-to-him Bronco over after a drive up from L.A. to San Jose. It had 3 shocks(!) all mounted in such a way as to literally bind up the linkage. Took them off and had instant "Death Wobble" so it was obvious why they'd mounted the shocks the way they did.
Too bad they went to all the trouble instead of just changing the tires, but at least they saved a bunch of money that way!

Paul