I have a 86 ifs 4x4 truck. It has 35x12.50s on it and it is a pian in the ass to keep in one lane once you start going above 45mph. Is there anything I can do to combat this problem? Will a steering stablizer help? Or should I just go to a smaller tire such as a 33x10.50?

 

why is it a pain? is it drifting to the left or right? does it make the steering wheel shake and no matter what you do to the steering wheel, you drift? Little more info needed on the situation.

Gonna say its probably not the tires but an alignment issue or something steering wise.

 

I bought the truck with the tires on it, but it had been sitting with 10 psi in each tire for about 4 months the guy said. After driving for a couple hundred miles it smoothed out a bit. The tires have some very slight dry rot but it is so slight that you really have to get down and stare at them to see it. They have about 80% tread left.
Now for what the truck does going down the road. When you get up to about 40-45 mph it gets a little bounce going on and starts to wander (your constantly correcting one way or another) when you get to about 55-60 mph the bounceing goes away but the truck still feel very unstable. Some bumps will make it dart one way or another suddenly.
As for the steering it isn't very sloppy but there is what I would call adverage play for a gear box set up with 170k miles. Both front wheels appear to have excess negative camber, with the right one being worst. I plan to check the ball joints and wheel bearings this Monday, but I won't have time to till then.
I have always been told that the wider the tires the harder it is to control the truck, and with the bounceing it does I'm kinda convinced that the tires are not in as good of shape as they look.
I was wanting to go from a 3in body lift to a 1 in and run 33x10.50s as most of the trucks miles will be on road back and forth to work. I might go off road once or twice a month, then with winter we tend to get atleast one good snow of 10in or more.
I was wondering if it was normal for a smaller truck to behave like this with tires that big on it or not.

 

bias ply tires?

 

I don't think so, they are cooper all terrians. But thats what I thought the first time I drove it because it reminded me of bias ply's. I'm pretty sure that they said radial on the sideway though, I would check but I'm at work
EDIT: yep, there radials, you can see in this picture

 

No..
If you can't check yourself (don't know how, etc.,) then take it to a shop and have all the front end suspension and steering components checked for wear.
Get it aligned.




Fred

 

What pressure are you at now?
I would try higher pressure - prob somewhere 30-35 psi.

Bad shocks?
Get the truck rocking by pushing down on one corner and see how many oscillations before it stops. Should be 2 or less.

Alignment.

 

I used to be a mechanic so I know how to check the stuff out.
I'm running 31 psi in each tire
I didn't think about the shocks
also I forgot to mention that the sway bar in the front is disconnected
I'm gonna cut the body mounts down to 1.5in after I find some 33s for it, but monday I'm gonna go over the hole thing pretty good before I drive it anymore

 

- Connect the sway bar.

- Have someone turn the steering wheel while you watch/check every TRE, component, etc., for looseness.

- Your tire pressure should be fine, though you fail to mention what size wheels (width) you're running.


Shocks, in and of themselves, are unlikely to be causing your "wandering" problems, as it sounds like it happens on relatively smooth roads.



Fred

 

I think the wheels are 10in wide but I could be wrong.

 

If i were you i would look into some sway bar quick disconects, that way you will have more stability and cornering on road but you can disconect them when you stop to lock your hubs for offroad.

also id get it aligned and check your campfer in the front, see if the tires are leaning in or out.

 

I'd have to agree. I had my rear swaybar off and it felt really unstable at high speed (including unwanted wandering). Reconnected and problem went away.

 

Hmmm. I don't remember seeing a rear sway bar on this truck, I'll look Monday, from what I have seen so far on the truck it wouldn't surprise me if the guy took the sway bar off of the back and never bothered to put it back on

 

I'd guess your idler arm is bad, causing the wandering. Check your tie rods too or have a shop do it, but be prepared they will tell you everything is wrong and it all needs to be replaced.

 

Wow.

If the truck won't hold a lane, then something is wrong.

IFS steering is really awesome. Check idler and tire rods.

Tire balance will make it shake, but it will not result in feeling like you are losing a lane hold with small tires at street pressure.

 

Keep us updated. I am curious to hear what fixes it. I feel like I sometimes have trouble holding a lane. I have new tires on the way. Was hoping that was the problem.

Camber may be an issue. My tires are worn excessively on the outsides, not so much on the insides, but I assumed my tires were slapped on there pretty late in their life.

 

how old are the tires?

 

i have no clue

 

31 psi seems awefully high for 35's... I have never had mine above about 28 and thats with a FULL bed... but if you have a 10" rim you can probally go a bit higher. I usually have 18 rear and 24 front around town.. a little higher on the fwy depending on load...

Connect the front swaybar.. that wont sovle the lane wondering but will help swaying...

My guess is you need new BJ's and tie rod ends, probally a idler arm... My truck with 35's is rock solid at speeds up to, well way to fast for 117 hp and 35's....

 

If you've read last month's issue of 4Wheeler then you know that a steering stabilizer is a band aid for other issues for steering. To me it sounds more like a tie rod problem. Do you feel a "bump" in the steering wheel when hitting a pothole or anything?