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Question
In march I had a rough country lift kit put on my 05 F250 4X4. Since that day I had death wobble. I purchased a after market track bar and this was cured. However I also have what is possibly bump steer. I have 2 after market steering stabilizers on it. What do I do to correct this? The shop that put it on refuses to admit to a problem even after they drove it and saw how bad it was.
Jim,
I can't say for sure what is causing your specific problem, as this is common with large lifts and large tires, but I will try to give you some ideas to check out.
How much lift, and what size tires are you running. Large tires (33's) and larger are very hard to balance and bias ply tires can get flat spots, even when sitting just a few days. If it's due to flat spots, after several miles of pavement, the ride should smooth out.
Check out all of your steering components including the ball joints and bearings. Also, check the wheel alignment.
Check the shocks and make sure that they are heavy duty and the right length for your lift.
I have a '96 F250 with a 6" lift and 36" Military Hummer Tires that are bias ply. They are great off road, but when I drive it after sitting, and hitting a speed of 35 - 40 mph, it just about shakes the front end off of the road until the tires warm up and smooth out. Part of my problem, though, is bad shocks.
A reputable shop, especially one that installs lifts, should be able to trouble shoot your problem and fix it. It's totally unreasonable for a shop to install a lift and not do follow up repairs, and make sure that everything is road worthy and safe. I'm sure that this problem was not there prior to them installing the lift.
Carl
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Carl Brandt
Expertise
Will discuss suspensions, lifts, lockers along with tire suggestions. Trail ratings and possible requirements needed for specific type of trails. Safety equipment and what you should carry with you. Certified off-road instructor. I am not a mechanic, and 4-Wheeling is a hobby, so if I can't answer a technical question it is due to my mechanical knowledge being related to vehicles that I have owned, or have worked on. I do not have manuals on all vehicles.
Experience
40 plus years of 4 wheeling in a variety of vehicles. At the present time, my major off-road rig is a 94 Jeep Wrangler with a spring over and a 1 1/2" suspension lift. This gives me a total lift of 7" or so. I have lockers front and rear. I have removed the track bars, and sway bar for maximum articulation. I am running a stock 2.5 ltr 4 cylinder with a Jacobs ignition along with a cold air high flow filter. It has 4.56:1 gears with a Dodge NV4500 transmission along with a 3.8:1 Atlas II transfer case. This gives me a final ratio of 105:1 in low gear/low range.
Other vehicles I own, are a 96 Ford F-250 with a 6" lift, posi rear end, 36" Hummer tires, 5 speed with a fuel injected 460 ci engine, an 87 Samurai with an 8" lift, Ford 9" rear end with a spool, Chevy Dana 44 front end with an electric locker, 5.88 gears, 16% reduction in high range and a 6.5:1 low range with 35" Baja Claws, and a stock 2003 Grand Cherokee Overland.
Trails I have run are the Rubicon (10 times), Dusey Ershim, Fordyce Creek trail, McGrew trail, several trails in Moab, Utah along with local monthly runs.
Organizations
Lost Coast 4x4's
Cal 4-Wheel
Corva
UFWDA
Blue Ribbon Coalition
Education/Credentials
Certified off-road instructor - Certificates in engineering/electronics
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