Why is my truck so squirrely?

[Keith Seymore]

Assuming everything checks out (regular maintenence items ok, no slop, etc) the other thing you can do is crank up the caster.

10 degrees/12 degrees is not unheard of for these beam axle front suspensions.

Again - assuming nothing else is mechanically wrong - this will make a big difference for on-center feel and straight line stability.

K

[76stepsidechevy]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Assuming everything checks out (regular maintenence items ok, no slop, etc) the other thing you can do is crank up the caster.

10 degrees/12 degrees is not unheard of for these beam axle front suspensions.

Again - assuming nothing else is mechanically wrong - this will make a big difference for on-center feel and straight line stability.

K

This,
I just replaced some old lift springs in my truck with new ones and the new ones came with shims to correct the front drive shaft angle. They overlooked that this also took out 4 degrees of caster. The truck was damn near uncontrollable and I removed them promptly. I'll deal with the driveshaft issue another way.

[tucsonjwt]

Free "safety inspections", especially with an oil change are common around here. Most of the tire stores do suspension work. Could be different elsewhere, but $20 is cheap insurance if that's what it costs, especially if you don't have a lift of your own.

[motornut]

my steering feel got loose and i changed the coupler sure helped me
it seemed the wheels were turning , but it tried to keep turning them when i was already straightening out

[Number21]

Thanks for the tips...I'll probably try and find a shop to at least give me an estimate, I'm not too familiar with the front end gear.