Wanders All Over the Road

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I’ve developed a steering wander that has me pretty concerned, and I cannot put my finger on the reasoning behind it. It’s always been there, but it would only show up on takeoff and clear up within a few seconds. Hoping to make things more stable, I replaced my shot steering stabilizer with a new hydraulic unit out of worry that a gas charged unit would make it want to pull, and now it does it constantly. I’ve got a right pull on braking, and it seems to have improved somewhat after the stabilizer where it was bad before. Calipers and hoses are good.

There’s lower ball joint play within spec tolerances, appx. 1mm of movement on both sides, everything else feels as tight as can be. I’ve got the twist in the center link/tie rod assembly and drag link assembly, but there’s no side to side play. I’ve checked the axle u bolts and housing for signs of the axle walking back and forth, but there’s nothing visually apparent. I was concerned about wheel bearings, but I jacked one wheel up at a time, and both of those suckers are tight.

The wander gets harder to control at higher speeds, and it’s not there 100% of the time. More like 60-80%. It’s a battle to correct because if I overcorrect it, it seems to amplify the wander where I’m scared of running into the other lane or out of the road or losing control completely.

Someone else had this issue, and they retorqued the u bolts to some specification, and it cured it, and I can try that, but my gut tells me that I’m missing something in the steering. I was planning on taking it to an alignment shop so they could set up my camber shims and align it in one sitting, but I’m wondering now about the caster setting. Thoughts?

 

[Shorty81]

Try tightening up the last adjustment on your steering box.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Try tightening up the last adjustment on your steering box.

It is a reman unit from a couple years back. Hardly any miles. That’s not to say the lash is set properly on every remanufactured box, though.

 

[Nonstop]

Try rotating tires front to back. I have chased steering issues which led to the replacement of expensive parts when it turned out to be an issue with the tires. I felt dumb after that! Rotating them is free. Is the only Jimmy lifter? Lifts can throw off caster.

 

[75Monza]

Try rotating tires front to back. I have chased steering issues which led to the replacement of expensive parts when it turned out to be an issue with the tires. I felt dumb after that! Rotating them is free. Is the only Jimmy lifter? Lifts can throw off caster.

Agree with the tires, had a set last year that caused similar issue, they started de-lamming inside so had no clue till I took them off the rims.

 

[Snoots]

1. Remove the steering box and check for cracks in the frame.
2. Check the torque on the front axle bolts.
3. If you don't have a front axle, go to #1.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

No lift here. I was worried about the tires, but I havent moved them around yet. They are practically new, but that doesn’t mean they can’t go bad. No cracks at the Saginaw box. I torqued the front u-bolts and front shackle bolts down, and some took a good bit, some barely would. I aired up all the tires to match. It feels better to me. I was scared to drive it more than 45-50 the other day, and 65 felt perfectly safe this time around. It’s still having some issues. The wander is much more intermittent and closer to a normal feel even when it does seem to happen. I also noticed that some of the wander is manifesting itself as a slight jerk now but only sometimes. Not dangerous but it’s there.

I’m concerned about the wheel bearings because the hubcaps felt hot to the touch. Not scalding but hotter than I would expect them to. I also noticed an intermittent “woo” that sounded like it was coming from the front. Could be nothing, and I’ve only heard the bearings fail in the sealed hub and bearing assemblies. That, to me, makes more of a “wah” sound. And no play in the front that I can see to boot, but that doesn’t always mean it’s right. I’m going to give the steering one more careful look, and I’m gonna pay close attention to the drag link to make absolute sure that I’m not having a steering issue.

 

[Craig 85]

How's the rag joint? Mine was pretty soft and allowed the truck to wander. I did the Jeep steering shaft and took all the play out.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

How's the rag joint? Mine was pretty soft and allowed the truck to wander. I did the Jeep steering shaft and took all the play out.

Lol, I got rid of that crappy thing about two or three years ago.

I’m gonna fool with it some more today and see if I can find anything else.

 

[Snoots]

I’m concerned about the wheel bearings because the hubcaps felt hot to the touch. Not scalding but hotter than I would expect them to.

Pull the hub caps. If you can rest your hand on the hub, no worries. If you can't, replace them.

 

[Frankenchevy]

According the guys who infrared thermo their hubs on long trips, I think 140-150 isn't out of the question. I'd do a search to check my memory.

 

[Tmich396]

Most remanufactured steering boxes are crap, I always have used Red-Head Steering boxes they are the only company I know that will actually make the parts if they are not available. I had this issue on a 1979 Ford Bronco 3 different boxes and the Red-Head was the only one that worked. I was always told never to tighten down on the steering adjustment, it should be set when rebuilt.

 

[Snoots]

I was always told never to tighten down on the steering adjustment, it should be set when rebuilt.

You are very correct sir!
That ONLY sets the pre-load on the gear. It's like setting pinion depth on a rear axle.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

My PS fluid was pretty low, and I found that it was leaking out of the cap so I put a new one on and refilled. I was hoping for a miracle, but it’s the same. The input/output ratio is definitely not 1:1, but it doesn’t look that sloppy either. At worst, it’s no better than the original Saginaw box. I’ll see if I can get a video of things.

 

[ali_c20]

According the guys who infrared thermo their hubs on long trips, I think 140-150 isn't out of the question. I'd do a search to check my memory.

Found these on the internet: The normal operating temperature of hubcap grease or oil should not get above 225°F (107°C), notes Spectra. Dana and Meritor both recommend that when the temperature reaches 250°F (121°C) you’d better do a more detailed wheel-end inspection. 140-150 is normal. I checked my hub temperatures when I changed my bearings and it's between 140 - 180.

Have you checked your frame around the steering box? My k5 was wandering too and I had a huge cracks in the frame. I could only see them when someone was steering left and right while i was watching the frame.