Hard to control in Heavy Winds

[Smurfeh]

Truck Specs:
1984 4x4 K5 Blazer
5.3L 4L65e
10 Bolt front and Rear
Stock height/ Stock steering set up

As the topic says I'm having a hell of a time keeping the truck under control in heavy winds and actually under various other circumstances.. I myself am a mechanic and I'm slightly at a loss as to whats causing this issue.

During light in town driving its easier to keep it between the lines but requires more wheel input than it should require.

On Highway, I'm sawing with the steering wheel to keep it under control, the wheels center seems to be changing from time to time... and the amount of force required to move the wheel left becomes greater after every Right hand turn I make.. the force required to move the wheel to the right always remains constant, unless I jerk the wheel to the left quickly and then the amount of force required to move the wheel both directions is equal.. that is until I do another right hand turn.

I'm also taken for a bit of a ride to the right when the right side tire takes a bump, havent been able to notice if it happens on the left tire.

I got to a point in my troubleshooting that I wasn't finding anything wrong however the only thing in the system I haven't really inspected would be the steering colum and rag joint.

Items that have been changed in the last year:
- Steering Gear (Huge slop was present, replaced.. sector gear is now worn again because of this snag)
- Ball Joints (slight amount of play, they were due anyways)
- Wheel bearings (replaced because they were due in accordance with time on truck limits)
- Front Axle U-joints (I thought this was the original cause of issue, U-joint was hanging up during turns)
- Sway Bar bushings (They were cracked and squeezed out they were due)
- Front Leaf spring bushings (The Leaf bushing were replaced, however I can not get the one that attaches to the frame off the shackle, this is the only part I am having trouble finding)
- New Ubolts (Changed when I had leafs off for bushing replacement, They have been re/check torqued since install)
- ALL rod ends..

Pitman arm has not been replaced as it is in serviceable condition.

One thing I will mention is I had a friend do the sway bar bushings (I used the OEM style and know they are an ass to change without a hydraulic press) as he was reinstalling the sway bar. I asked him to respect the torque values on the Bolts attaching it to the perch on the leafs... he properly torqued the right side, but however he cross threaded the left side and decided it was best to drive it home with an impact, I got on it with a torque wrench to see how much he layed on it.. I maxed out a 400 ft Lb torque wrench and still didnt get any movement out of it.. I havent removed it because I am unable to find a new perch to replace it.

I'm scratching my head here.. hope someone has some insight for me.

[CSHADES]

Have you replaced the steering damper that goes from the frame to the steering cross tie rod? Mine went bad once and the truck was doing all kinds of strange things.

[83GMCK2500]

Did you put in a new or reman steering box, or rebuild it yourself? I went through a couple reman ones on my old '86 when I was in high school.

Didn't see you mention it, but the rag joint coupler between the steering shaft and the box, common soft point. What shape is yours in?

[Jaysonb]

I have the EXACT problem with my 80 k10, I didn't notice the problem untill I put a 2" lift and 33" tires on. And just like you, I can not find anything at all loose in the front end. It seems like when I hit a bump the center line of the steering shifts, then I have to give it a little jerk the other way to "recenter" it. I hope you figure out what it is, I know it takes the fun out of driving my truck, and I don't dare let anyone else drive it.

[Keith Seymore]

I skimmed the detail above; without digging too deep I would crank the caster way up: like 10 or 12 degrees.

You do this by adding shims between the leaf spring and the axle pad. This will greatly help with straight line stability.

The other thing I would check is the steering gear torques, both at the ends and "over center". There is a procedure in the service manual that delineates how to do this.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

Didn't see you mention it, but the rag joint coupler between the steering shaft and the box, common soft point. What shape is yours in?

Yep - this too.

K

[Smurfeh]

Oh yes.. I replaced the Dampener a couple weeks ago as the other could be moved in both directions easily.

The Steering Gearbox was a Remaned unit.. can't get new here in Canada.. I've tried. Although I haven't made any adjustments to it regarding over center, or the torques.. its a finicky adjustment at times so I was saving that for last.

The Rag joint and Coloum was mentioned in the original post, as not having been checked yet and is the last things on my inspection list. I'll get back to you regarding their condition.

Regarding caster/camber everytime I have brought my truck in for an alignment after I had changed a component the place keeps neglecting to give me a printout of the values... I feel like all they are checking or even adjusting is the Toe in/out..

[nonstop]

Two things come to mind - first being shackle bushings and shackles. I would contact Off-road Design for both. Second, and more likely, if not already done, have you rotated your tires? I have all sorts of new steering components on my truck, including a steering box, ends, and a bunch of other parts because my (used) tires had uneven wear to the naked eye. Rotated them, and the truck now drives great! Sometimes it's the simplest things that we overlook.

[Mattchu60]

I have this same issue - put a reman box in this summer and it helped some but there is still a lot of play in my steering.

I think one thing to consider is new drag link ends from the box to the steering arm.

I never thought of messing with the caster like Keith mentioned above, I figured the only thing we could adjust was the toe in/out since everything is non-adjustable on the axle.

One question on the Toe In/Out - what is the recommended setting here? I lined up mine so its strait (same distances on the back/front of the tires when adjusting).

[Ski-me]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

I skimmed the detail above; without digging too deep I would crank the caster way up: like 10 or 12 degrees.

You do this by adding shims between the leaf spring and the axle pad. This will greatly help with straight line stability.

The other thing I would check is the steering gear torques, both at the ends and "over center". There is a procedure in the service manual that delineates how to do this.

K

This could help. I would bring it into an alignment shop and get your true values. Each side is going to be different (Caster and Camber). The printout will give you details where your truck is at and the recommended windows. I've done this a lot messing around with tapered ball joint sleeves. Takes a lot of work to align these solid axle trucks.

Over bumps on the freeway, my blazer does not spring straight up in the air, it does go to one direction slightly. I think it needs fine tuning as Keith has described above. Mine isn't really bad but could use a slight shim (on one side).

You also need to see where your Toe is at. This is the least amount of work to adjust (either yourself or an alignment shop). You want it slightly toe "in".

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Mattchu60

One question on the Toe In/Out - what is the recommended setting here? I lined up mine so its strait (same distances on the back/front of the tires when adjusting).

No - you want it toe'd in slightly (like 1/8"), to account for deflection.

With zero toe the deflection in the system will cause the wheels to toe out under load, which contributes to instability.

K

[Ski-me]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

No - you want it toe'd in slightly (like 1/8"), to account for deflection.

With zero toe the deflection in the system will cause the wheels to toe out under load, which contributes to instability.

K

^^^ agreed!

[mongocanfly]

Don't forget your driving a square box in high wind...not the most aerodynamic design..especially if you've gotten used to driving a newer vehicle

[Smurfeh]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Don't forget your driving a square box in high wind...not the most aerodynamic design..especially if you've gotten used to driving a newer vehicle

Although you're correct, the only vehicles I have owned since the 90s have been k5s, save for that one time I drove a mini van.. we're not going to talk about that haha

I'm going to bring it in and get a print out of my current alignment specs and see what the story is there.. my tires are well worn on the inside as well they could be exaggerating the problem as well.
Anyone happen to know the proper alignment specs for a K5?

I remember 0.12" for toe in (1/8th) There was a TSB for these specs at one point and I think it had to do with increasing a degree or so on the caster.. someone mentioned above about cranking up the caster and thats what reminded me..

[Ski-me]

If you are wearing the insides of your front tires, then I suspect you are out of alignment by a good bit.

For Toe, about 1/8" in works for me. Get two pieces of tape and put in center of tire and make a pen mark on each. Just measure the two marks, center of tire to tire in the front (3 o'clock), and then rotate to rear (9 o'clock) and measure again. The 3 o'clock position should be 1/8" shorter.

[Ski-me]

I had to do some digging but found one of my original alignment sheets. It shows where my truck was at and the acceptable parameters per the factory.

[83GMCK2500]

Update?

[Mattchu60]

This thread inspired me to replace my drag link and tie rod ends on my k10 this week. I found one drag link end had some play in it, very minor amount. After replacing and also adjusting the toe-in to about 1/8" it improved the steering feel, no more play in the steering when driving.

I would recommend looking at the drag link ends as a possible item to replace to help with the steering feel.