Live axle steering wobble, they say it's tyres

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Originally Posted by Tank

The only "wheel alignment" that can be done is adjust Toe in or out, there is no other adjustment, it is set. How much have they been charging you for a "wheel alignment",
camber and castor can only be "set" using off set radius bushes or slotting the bolt holes where the hub assembly bolts onto the diff.
As Dave says could be tyres out of shape, check for any bumps, take off and roll along some flat concrete and watch for egg shape motion, Regards Frank.

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About $60 each time. I have fitted a RovingTracks tie rod which initially I though may have had something to do with things. It has confused the alignment guys a bit as the tie rod has a bent section in it to give better ground clearance. Toe in can be set by spinning a ball joint instead of spinning the tie rod. The ball joints are new, well 15K old. Car has only done 43K.
I had the caster corrected by a guy who has done all the armies defenders. It's a bit rough but a chain goes over the diff and a bit of pulling while the alignment gear is set up. My left wheel caster is now equal to the right according to goodyear. The car still drifts to the left with camber, but doesn't try and drive there anymore.

Yesterday it had yet another wheel balanced, and it does seem to have improved a fair bit. Goodyear showed me the alignment measurements, and though I can't recall them exactly, they were all small and equal. I think tow in was .8

I asked the guys would a new steering damper solve it, and they said not likely.
Maybe run a different set of tyres and see what transpires.

Regardless of toe in or toe out, a pair of wheels on a steering axle will tend to assume a parrallel attitude when rolling ,but toe out is usually the norm on vehicles with long trackrods behind the axle, in order to place the rod in tension. Standard spindly trackrods could bow if placed in compression. aftermarket ones with a cowbelly shape for clearance may be flexible enough in both compression and tension to cause shimmy. For Australian roads I believe it is desirable to have a little more castor on the left hand wheel.
I think the alignment shop is a bit suss, chaining and bending the axle to adjust god knows what!
Bill.

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Originally Posted by newhue

I had the caster corrected by a guy who has done all the armies defenders.

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Mate, I've got this bridge down in sydney I'd like to talk about selling to you, I'll even throw in a set of hiclones....

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Originally Posted by newhue

Toe in can be set by spinning a ball joint instead of spinning the tie rod.

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This results in a very coarse adjustment for toe in/out. You are limited to the thread pitch for a minimum adjustment, your actual toe change will be roughly twice the thread pitch. Possibly 3-4mm steps.

How have the wheels been balanced?
The best way to do any wheel balance is with flange plates.
What is the weights outer to inner on the rims if there is a big diff then they should spin the tyre on the rim to mate it less or at least the same..
In saying that all so see if the tyres are out of round and when you store the two tyres at home what psi are they at........

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Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

Mate, I've got this bridge down in sydney I'd like to talk about selling to you, I'll even throw in a set of hiclones....

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yeh I know Dave, tall stories. He runs the caster correction workshops on the back road out of the base. You know of him?
I come across him because a mate had his Defender done there, and that mate's father had busses done there. Seems to have worked though.

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Originally Posted by Dougal

This results in a very coarse adjustment for toe in/out. You are limited to the thread pitch for a minimum adjustment, your actual toe change will be roughly twice the thread pitch. Possibly 3-4mm steps.

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Yes I suspected this. I have spoken to Keith from RovingTracks about the above. It was his advice about turning the ball joint. Said it moves them 1/16 which is within LR tolerances. Not sure if this is correct or just lip service, but tow in can not be 0 with the current arrangement.
As the tie rod has one position, it almost needs I recon, some threaded shank with locking nuts on each side positioned somewhere along it to allow for fine adjustment. I have been pondering if I get it modified and who would do it. Or chuck it and go back to standard.
Trouble is the wobble has always been there so it's probably not the new tie rod.

Ever bumped a kerb?,you might have a bent rim. Pat

so, has anyone checked the swivel preloads or is this not applicable to this model?
dave?

i had a look at roving tracks website picture of the tie rod, it is obvoius that it can only be set one full turn,
so you can halve that adjustment with one turn of the ball joint, so that should bring the alignment into an acceptable area..
i think you said this truck has always had the problem, so it was there before you fitted this tie rod, so that is out of the way.

crap damper from new possibly, you can come down one day and swap mine (bilsteen) onto it if you like and go for a drive.

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Originally Posted by boofdtl

How have the wheels been balanced?
The best way to do any wheel balance is with flange plates.
What is the weights outer to inner on the rims if there is a big diff then they should spin the tyre on the rim to mate it less or at least the same..
In saying that all so see if the tyres are out of round and when you store the two tyres at home what psi are they at........

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According to Goodyear, each time the wheel goes on the machine it is not the same as the last. I got the impression this could happen 5 minutes apart, as I would expect it to be different after 10K km.

I just had a look and the weights are those that are slipped in between the rim and tyre bead. The outer weight is matched with an inner, but off set half way around the rim.
When I store the tyres, they come of the front, so 45psi. The tyre placard suggests they should run at 65psi, but it rides pretty hard and if the 3psi rule has any worth, 65psi is way out.