Straighten Me Out!

[nonstop]

Hey guys,

I am trying to chase an annoying steerimg issue with my truck. Background is this - truck is a 1985 k2500 with a 4" lift. It now sports a 14 bolt and Dana 60 front. The knuckles have new bushings and springs. I have had cross over steering and the steering felt fair. It also pulled. I had it on for years, but took it off because I wanted to run a sway bar and had no need for it. I put the 4 wheel drive steering box on. To compensate for the lift, I am running a dropped drag link. Now the steering pulls slightly to the right. I have tried centering the box. The truck still pulls. It has done this with different sets of tires. I set my toe at 1/8 inch in. Bearings have little wear. The steering is tight, but it is pulling. I am wondering if it is caused by the drag link. Both the cross over steering link and the drop drag link have a bend in them, which I am thinking is causing a problem where I can't fine tune the length due to the fact the rod end needs to be turned 1 full turn to make any length adjustment so the end is oriented correctly. I have a steering block, but refuse to run it. Before I buy a drop pitman arm to get rid of the drop drag link, I wanted to see if I was overlooking anything. I have searched, but can't find anything. Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Nick

[nonstop]

Hey guys, I have to bump this up for some help. I have put in a dropped pitman arm and adjusted my steering box. Only two things that haven't been touched in the steering system are the pump and front axle itself (besides new king pin bushings). Am I overlooking anything? Can the pump cause a pull? I am going to measure wheel base later to make sure it is the same on both sides.

[bealaddison]

None of the steering components you mentioned should cause a "pull." Have you checked to make sure you don't have a caliper sticking? If you are looking to center your steering wheel and it is still off after making a full turn, you can unhook one end of the draglink and adjust that one end for a finer adjustment. I am currently running an '87 V20 Suburban with 6in lift, dana 60 front, and crossover steering with a bent draglink. It drives better than it did with the lift and the original push/pull steering, plus I have my full turning radius.

[nonstop]

Thanks. I was somewhat figuring that they shouldn't cause the problem, but was at my wits end. After posting, I went out and tried adjusting the drag link again. One end was a little long and the ends were bottoming out against each other. I cut about an 1/8 inch off one end and gained a little more adjustment. It straightened out the wheel somewhat and doesn't seem to pull as much. I think I'm on to something and might screw with it some more.

[El Dorado Jim]

post this in the 4x4 section and you will get alot more help I think

[swissarmychainsaw]

Have you had it to a shop for an alignment?