tie rod/drag link?

[saddlup]

I lifted my 72 sport with a 3 1/2 inch duff. I also put a dropped pitman arm on it. My question, when I turn the wheel to the right, the tie rod will roll down, and vice versa when turned left (that is the best way to describe it). This gives approximately 1/8 of a turn of play in the wheel. I have a manual steering box, and with the play in the wheel when traveling down a blacktop road you have to be wide awake. The tie rods are tight as far as back and forth. Is this normal? The track bar and drag link are parallel. I'm not sure where to go from here.It drove straight before the lift, didn't wander at all. ANY help will be appreciated!!!!!!!!

 

[spixican07]

Did you happen to change tires when you lifted the truck? The contact patch on a 12.5" tire is a lot bigger than that of a 10.5". Could be showing up in your tie rod.

 

[Naildriver111]

Mt 76 did that when I added the drop pitman arm, the pitman arm was actually sliding up and down the splines causing the tie-rod to roll. I had to put a big-ass washer on it to stop the roll.

 

[spixican07]

May be a "duh" thing, but make sure the cotter pin in the castle nut is still intact...and that the nuts are still tight. That's a tapered fit, so if the pin goes you could have them backing out, which could cause the whole thing to roll when the drag link pushes on it.

If the look ok from the outside, you might try taking them off and doing a spot-check. Its a 10 minute job if you have a tie rod puller / pickle fork and a BFH. Most auto parts stores will loan the puller to you for free.

Don't forget to replace the pin if you do take them off before you drive anywhere

 

[broncomaster]

The movement you are seeing on the tie rods is normal. they pivot slightly on the ball when you turn. did you replace the track bar bushings when you lifted it? When those are worn it will make it wander big time then the death wobble will start. When you lift these old vehicles it will put more stress on all of the parts and make you rebuild the whole front end to make it safe to drive again.

 

[broncomaster]

Welcome new saddlup. I thought that name was taken?

 

[broncnaz]

Yes Welcome
We could confuse you with another member here but he uses a e in his screen name. As was posted the tie rod roll is normal. your wandering problem is more likely due to incorrect caster most EB's had poor caster from the factory and when lifted the bushing that come with the kit usually keep it about the same you may need different C bushings to correct it. You also need to make sure that the toe in is set properly. One other thing to play with is tire pressure if your running to much it can cause wandering.

 

[ObscureMachine]

You also need to make sure that the toe in is set properly. One other thing to play with is tire pressure if your running to much it can cause wandering.

Welcome!

X2 on what naz said. My toe-in was off by 3/4 - 1 inch, and the bronco was real squirrely on the road. And my tires were fully inflated (to reccomended psi). I fixed the toe-in, let some air out of the tires, and the wander is gone. Still gonna replace the drag-link and tie-rods, though.

Good luck!

JiM

 

[blubuckaroo]

When you say recomended tire pressure just where did you go for the recomendation? If you use the max pressure on the sidewall it is usually way too much. For example, my ten ply tires call for 80 psi. Might as well use solid rubber tires. I like to use the wet pavement method to find the right tire pressure. Gives the correct tread contact for the weight applied to large tires.

 

[ObscureMachine]

The guys who balanced my tires filled it to 35 (I think) which is what's listed on the sidewalls. I lowered it to about 28, if I remember correctly. I'm not familiar with "the wet pavement method." Can you enlighten me?

 

[blubuckaroo]

Air up to the max, drive over a wet spot and look at the pattern it prints. You will usually see little or no print from the outside treads because it is riding on the center of the tire. Lower the pressure just until you get an even pattern. With that said I still wouldn't drive on the street with less than 26 psi.

 

[surfer-b]

You say the track bar and drag link are the same angle, did you add a drop bracket to the track bar or raise it at the axle side? Make sure there is no play at either end, which ever you did, this will cause major handling probs. I would have someone turn the steering wheel just enough back and forth to get the front end to move and see if anything is loose. Also make sure you put the c-bushings in correct.

 

[saddlup]

First of all, thanks for all the input. I was curious as to if this was normal, and it appears as though it is not uncommon. As far as what I installed --3 1/2 inch springs, shocks, steering stabilizer, dropped pitman arm(had to, bump steer was terrible),track bar drop bracket, track bar bushings, c-bushings(I'm 98 percent sure I installed them the right way), and radius arm bushings. I did put on some 11.50 tires also. Not fun at 60 anymore. Anyhow, thanks for all your input, I'm sure I'll be using your brains quite abit this summer.

 

[DirtDonk]

It is common, but it's not correct.
What you're describing though, at about an eighth of a turn, is not as much as I've seen on some. It's not good, but it's not necessarily out of line with what you've done.
There are still a couple of things you can check out though, to make sure it's at least minimized and the system is working up to it's potential.

As pointed out, it's a physical property of the pitman arm follwing it's arc while steering.
To keep it to a minimum though, Ford designed it so that the point where the draglink mounts to the tierod sat at a modest upward-facing angle (let's say 40° up, just for discussion). And the steering box was located, and the pitman arm was sized, so that when it travels through it's arc it would also minimize the rotational pulling effect on the tierod.

If your tierod is rotated down (so that the mounting pad/boss is facing more forward), or your pitman arm is much longer or shorter than stock, you'll get more rod rotation than normal.

It's a slight problem with the popular Chevy TRO setup. Since the new passenger side rod end has the mounting boss for the draglink facing pretty much straight forward (since it was actually for a stabilizer mount), instead of angled slightly back/up, you get more rotation of the tierod.

What angle does the pad on your tierod ride at? Is it sitting at a slight upward angle to better align with the pitman arm?

When setting toe-in, it's possible to lock the adjusting sleeve down in such a position that the main rod is rotated farther down than it should be. You can see that not only in what angle the draglink mount sits at, but also if the passenger side rod end looks twisted instead of in a "neutral" position.
When that's the case, it's as simple as loosening the clamps and rotating the rod back into a more correct position.
That'll at least help, if it's part of the problem.

Even the length of the pitman arm might be aggravating things. Many dropped arms are "longer" as well, so the point of rotation of the upper draglink end is farther behind the plane of the tierod, which will cause more twisting still as it actually tries to rotate the tierod as it pulls the draglink back as well as to the side.

Hope you didn't go all glassy-eyed after the first forty three paragraphs.

Paul

 

[saddlup]

Believe or not I understood it all. Without going to the shop, I can tell ya that the tie rod pad does not point directly forward. It's angled up. As far as the rest, I'll check it all out Saturday. Thanks for the help.