Steering wanders all over the place?

[Blue71]

I am trying to figure out why i can't keep it in the road. This '74 has a Duff's 2.5" lift. Coil springs and the track bar drop bracket too. Anyway, it is hard to keep it straight. It wanders to the left and right. If you hit a bump doing highway speeds you don't know which way you are gonna have to counter steer to keep it in the middle. Any hints???<br><br>Thanks Much,<br><br>Blue71

 

[Madgyver]

What degree C bushing you have on it? It should be 4 or 7 maybe better.

 

[ford67bronco]

Check the bushings, mine were shot when I first bought it and it was impossible to keep from wondering, made a world of difference with new bushings, also check the tie rod ends to make sure they are tight.<br><br>good luck

 

[75MIKE]

Always the first thing to look at is the track bar bushings. Lay under the rig while someone rocks the steering back and forth and see where the play is.Second,look at the tie-rod ends and the drag link.

 

[rjlougee]

Things to check, in the order I'd check them:<br><br>1. Bump steer. This is the track bar and drag link moving in different planes than one another. Correct by making them parallel with each other.<br>2. Caster. If you can't drive around a corner and release the steering wheel, and have it return to center on its own, then your caster is incorrect, usually too little. Correct with C-bushings.<br>3. Alignment. Too much toe in will cause the front wheels to follow the road ruts. Align it.<br>4. Loose spindles nuts. Tighten them.<br>5. Ball Joints. Check and replace if necessary.<br>Joe

 

[76Broncofromhell]

Wandering would be:<br>1) Upper track bar bushing<br>2) Bad Ball joints<br>3) Not aligned<br>4) loose steering box<br>5) wrong caster

 

[SteveL]

put the front end up on jack stands. Then get under there and see what's loose. Get new trak bar bushings while your at it. I always keep a set on the shelf. They like to wear out

 

[Blue71]

Thanks guys. I see some play in the drag link bushings. I can twist the drag link a little by hand, to and fro. Should it move a little or should it be <br>non-moveable by hand? You really have to twist it to get movement, but it will move if you try and rotate it.<br><br>Thanks Much<br>Blue71

 

[chuck]

The drag link movement sounds O.K. Joe and Steve covered about everything. I will add check the toe in and check that the steering box is centered

 

[rstgermaine]

This may sound obvious but don't forget to check the track bar bracket where it attaches to the frame. A long time ago I bought a '76 for parts because that bracket had ripped off the frame making it undriveable.

 

[dksroland]

When I bought my EB the guy had replaced the bushings in the front end because of wandering.<br>However , after test driving it I knew there was still a problem.The darn thing would run true then all of a sudden change freakin lanes on me. After I got it home I started looking at all the bushings and such and happened to notice that the C bushing clamps had at least 1/4 '' on one side and almost that much on the other to go before they contacted each other totally. I took all that apart and retightened the clamps untill all was tight and snugged together. That solved the problem. When replacing the C bushings he hadn't gotten the parts tight enough.<br>Just a little slack can make a huge difference.

 

[Mikey]

One final minor thing is the power steering U-joint (assuming it's p/s). It's a Spicer 5-92X. Made a huge difference on mine but not "lane change" amounts. <br>Mike