Steering issues

I noticed that some of us are having steering issues and thought we can discuss different types of setups and such.  The PSC reps did give me ideas about hydro-assist to help steer but what about crossover and adjustable parts vs changing mounts positions and other helpful info.  

I'm always jacking with steering issues.  The culprit on mine is that the track bar works itself loose at the frame.  Usually a good wheeling trip will work that nut loose.  i'd like a better system but I just have to remember to snug it up from time to time.
 
Other than that the 3 major factors in steering are:
 
Toe-in - you want about 1/8 inch.
Caster - Sources vary but most agree between 4-8 degrees on a jeep.  6 is a happy medium.
Parts - Track bar is snug at both ends, Ball joints are good, wheel bearings are good, control arm bushings are good.
 
I recently rebuilt my front end with respect to control arm bushings, ball joints, and wheel bearings.  Drives pretty good now even with two lockers.

and to add to clints list for us leaf sprung folks
 
shackle bushings
 
 which i found out recently was why my jeep felt dagerous on the road

you need one of these, this is the cheap version or there are ones that replace the whole knuckle

http://www.jeepin.com/features/uturn/index.asp

then you can add the psc if you want

I did replace the bushings on the lower control arms whiched helped but the upper ones are still stock and the bushings I had would not have worked.  I now have Currie tierod and ends and a procomp steering stabilzer and a procomp tracbar but the stock draglink.  Thanks for the info and keep it coming y'all. 

ORIGINAL: ClintB

I'm always jacking with steering issues.  The culprit on mine is that the track bar works itself loose at the frame.  Usually a good wheeling trip will work that nut loose.  i'd like a better system but I just have to remember to snug it up from time to time.

Other than that the 3 major factors in steering are:

Toe-in - you want about 1/8 inch.
Caster - Sources vary but most agree between 4-8 degrees on a jeep.  6 is a happy medium.
Parts - Track bar is snug at both ends, Ball joints are good, wheel bearings are good, control arm bushings are good.

I recently rebuilt my front end with respect to control arm bushings, ball joints, and wheel bearings.  Drives pretty good now even with two lockers.

 
On the toe-in, it should only be about 1/8 inch if your steering system is the inverted Y setup like the factory or the Currie steering setup.  If you are running the U-Turn (which I am) or another crossover type steering system, your toe-in should be right at 0.  Reason being is with the inverted Y setup, the front of the tires pulls out a little when driving, thus making the actual toe-in while driving very close to 0.  With the crossover style tierod, which ridgidly connects both steering knuckles, there is no such movement while driving and if the toe-in is set at something other than 0, you will have rapid tire wear.
 
Ask me how I know.

I'm running the Currie setup.
 
 

Crossover would be sweet though!

I have found for those pesky nuts that like to work loose, a nylock nut helps. I had a non 4wd car that did this to me. It scared the tar out of me when it would let go. The nylock nut trick finally took care of it...

Good point....i have seen other trucks and cars loose stuff when they go over a RR track too fast and it shakes what was loose off or just snaps it.   An upgrade is in order.

Rusty's now makes a pretty cool conversion

http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=rustys&Product_Code=RS-SC250-UV&Category_Code=ste

Thats what I'm running plus two of these to make it into a Over the knuckle flip:

http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=rustys&Product_Code=RS-SS90&Category_Code=ste

Works pretty good except the tie rod tends to rotate around the knuckles pulling the drag link along with it. I guess I need to look into getting some nylock nuts like clem said, but they need to be very narrow and one of them is reverse thread. Maybe some locktight would work??

I am not a machinist and have spent a great deal of time here lately around/with one while he is working. It has been a HUGE learning experience. Maybe Mark from CEO can shed some light on the best type of lock tite for an automotive suspension application?

The bad thing about nylock nuts is that they don't do heat and they can not be reused. Another option is to use a single use type nut that deforms when it is torqued properly. I would buy a couple of extras for just in case.

What about drilling the end of the bolt and using a cotter key with a castleated nut? It wouldn't be too hard to load the bolt up in a drill press, carefully punch the hole, then "machine" a slot in the nut with a cut off wheel... You would have to chase the threads on the bolt after drilling them to do it right.

As soon as I get all the bugs worked out I will have a really cool crossover set up for a whole lot cheaper than the stuff out there on the market........
I need to reset the castor angles by adjusting the control arm lengths to my lift height, and tweek the toe a little and I should be in tall cotton......
I think that Ken and I have come up with a really good design...It didn't do to bad concidering we designed it, built it for both Ken's and My XJ's in less than 14 days......Then drove both of them to Mega Run, Wheeled them, and drove them home.........

I wonder if that setup from Rustys will work/help my TJ Rubicon with the new hydro assist I just bought?