Bill Bailey wrote:
>
> Just wondering...could a bent tie rod cause this? I remember that, when my
>truck
> was on the straight axle suspension, the tie rod that runs under the truck
>had a
> serious kink in it. I always wondered how it got bent so bad and even
>theorized that
> maybe that is how someone aligned the front end..by bending it.
Yes I imagine it could Bill. Basically without getting too esoteric, a lot of
bumpsteer is caused by the fact that during the flexing of the suspension, the
drag link and/or steering arms and tie rods are flexing on a different radius
than the axle. So instead of the wheel just moving up and down in a single arc,
it gets pulled due to the different arc of the other suspension components.
This causes the caster angle to change and the wheel can also be pulled or
"steered" while it is flexing up and down, hence the wandering effect when
rolling over bumps. Tie rod and pitman arm location end up being critical to
each other, especially on vehicles with dropped front axles.
The Ackerman principle is based on the supposition that a straight line drawn
from the kingpin to the center of the rear end should pass directly through the
center of the steering arm rod end hole. This is needed because when turning a
corner, the front wheels turn in different radius circles. So you can see that
bent steering linkage can start throwing all this nifty alignment and perfect
steering geometry right out the window!
>
> Whew..all this typing has wore me out :-)
>
Me too! Time for a brain re-charge!!
Wally / Templeton, MA
53 3100
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