Goofy steering issue

mcdozendriver · Post by **mcdozendriver** » Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:41 am

So 2 months back I put on a leveling kit on my '13 pw. This past monday, the steering started acting strange.

At around 40mph, the steering wheel develops a dead spot, about 15degrees left or right of center. Turning either way there is no resistanance on the wheel and no response to the steering. At the 15 degree mark, the steering will suddenly catch up and jerk in the direction. If I hit a bump or even expansion joint at these speeds when traveling straight, the truck feels as though it is about to start a death wobble. The steering wheel will shimmy and shake for a second but then calm down.

I have checked trackbar, balljoints, and all steering links and there is no play or apparent issues.

Of course this all develops a day before I deploy so I cant really trouble shoot.

But can a leveling kit throw off the geometry of the steering so much to cause this or is it a steering box issue? Any thoughts?

olyelr · Post by **olyelr** » Thu Jul 27, 2017 4:29 pm

Well, since you have had the leveling kit on for a few months with no issues until now, I would have to assume it is not from the geometry change.

Most likely worn parts that are starting to show their ugly face.

coder · Post by **coder** » Thu Jul 27, 2017 10:58 pm

Have you had an alignment done lately, if it was me I would start with that and go from there if the problem persists?

RustyPW · Post by **RustyPW** » Thu Jul 27, 2017 11:08 pm

I had the same feeling in the steering when my box went bad.

mcdozendriver · Post by **mcdozendriver** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 2:06 am

Well when I get back stateside I will see if an alignment will help but if not, I guess a new steering box is in my future.

Post by **DamageWagon** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 2:15 am

I went through the same thing, it sounds like your gearbox is worn and now that you've lifted it you have too little camber. My truck was the same way. The gearbox you can live with, it's not really going to change or hurt anything else, its just annoying. In regards to the lift giving issues, your 2013 with the 5-link front suspension (my 2011 as well) will lose camber as our axle droops out, because the upper links are shorter than the lowers. You've also angled the whole truck up a touch. You've probably dropped your caster angle very low, which takes away the stability that the truck gains by having the tires "shoving" into the ground, so when you hit a bump the tires move very easily and take a moment to correct. Get an alignment to Thurens specs when your truck is at normal driving weight and your wobble should go away

olyelr · Post by **olyelr** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 7:26 am

DamageWagon wrote:I went through the same thing, it sounds like your gearbox is worn and now that you've lifted it you have too little camber. My truck was the same way. The gearbox you can live with, it's not really going to change or hurt anything else, its just annoying. In regards to the lift giving issues, your 2013 with the 5-link front suspension (my 2011 as well) will lose camber as our axle droops out, because the upper links are shorter than the lowers. You've also angled the whole truck up a touch. You've probably dropped your caster angle very low, which takes away the stability that the truck gains by having the tires "shoving" into the ground, so when you hit a bump the tires move very easily and take a moment to correct. Get an alignment to Thurens specs when your truck is at normal driving weight and your wobble should go away

Camber should not have changed at all. Lower caster numbers, though, which will occur with a leveling/lift kit, can give a poor driving experience. However, he drove the truck for a few months without any issue.

Im with you guys... sounds like a steering box issue.

Post by **DamageWagon** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 10:55 am

you're right, I meant caster! I do have the same feeling from my steering box. I would check all your steering components with the usual test. Then engine on, crawl under the front and have someone turn the wheel left and right. Watch every joint and see if they pop up and down. I've never heard of a gearbox going "click" and being bad out of the blue. Your gearbox had absolutely nothing to do with tire shimmy either. There's two parts to this equation.

olyelr · Post by **olyelr** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 4:10 pm

DamageWagon wrote: Your gearbox had absolutely nothing to do with tire shimmy either. There's two parts to this equation.

Agreed. A bad box may allow the shimmy to show up easier, but there would be something else going on to cause that I would think (like an out of balance tire).

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