Caster

mbalbritton

mbalbritton

#@$%!
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Location
Lakeland, FL
Caster question. I measured the ground the jeep was sitting at 3* downhill to the front of the jeep. I then measured the caster at 6*+. That puts my caster at 3*+, same as was measured before burning the perches on. And the jeep was sitting in an entirely different location. So unless Dave Lambe and I both mis-measured the caster on two different occasions I'd say it's at 3*+ caster.

So with that why the hell am I wandering all over the road and have no return to center of the steering wheel?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
mbalbritton said:
Caster question. I measured the ground the jeep was sitting at 3* downhill to the front of the jeep. I then measured the caster at 6*+. That puts my caster at 3*+, same as was measured before burning the perches on. And the jeep was sitting in an entirely different location. So unless Dave Lambe and I both mis-measured the caster on two different occasions I'd say it's at 3*+ caster.

So with that why the hell am I wandering all over the road and have no return to center of the steering wheel?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Toe in can cause a wander too. Caster has the biggest affect on return to center, but I've seen trucks come in to the shop with slight toe out and you can barely keep them in a lane.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
I just did the tape measure method at home for toe in. 56.125 on the rear and 56 on the front. Not much, but I wanted to get it close enough to take it to the shop. With my symptoms I feel it's a caster issue. Agreed? Or should I give it more toe in before calling that ball?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
mbalbritton said:
I just did the tape measure method at home for toe in. 56.125 on the rear and 56 on the front. Not much, but I wanted to get it close enough to take it to the shop. With my symptoms I feel it's a caster issue. Agreed? Or should I give it more toe in before calling that ball?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
How big are the tires? On a lot of stock vehicles with smaller tires the specs are 0- 1/8" but on my crawler with 42s I usually set it up around 1/4".

It'd be a pretty easy thing to check just give it a little more toe in and see how it responds. If that doesn't work you may need to find someone with an alignment rack that knows how or is willing to work on modified vehicles.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
Caster can cause these symptoms too, but if you're sure it's still the same, I'd say maybe the toe changed. I've seen tight adjusted steering gears cause the wander and no return too.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
mbalbritton said:
I just did the tape measure method at home for toe in. 56.125 on the rear and 56 on the front. Not much, but I wanted to get it close enough to take it to the shop. With my symptoms I feel it's a caster issue. Agreed? Or should I give it more toe in before calling that ball?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


What tires, wheels, and axle?

The reason I ask, when I still had unit bearings with 35x15.5 x 15 tires on 15x10s, I had to go to 1/4" toe in, as the wind pushed greatly on that combo, and the unit bearing had more play.

Now with 42s on a 60, with heim joint steering, I only need 1/8 toe in.

When i still had Dana 30, I had between 6-9 degrees caster as it was street driven way more.

Now with the 60 I have 5 iirc.

I would install a 3* shim, bump the caster up some and note the changes driving.

Could also separately increase the toe in to 1/4" and note changes.

Also check for steering play in the box at center, usually the play is greater there and then tightens up some as you turn.
 
This is on my Commando. I just got done doing new leaf springs up front, shackle reversal, swapped the outer knuckles and disc brakes from a CJ onto my stock D30.New ball joints and TREs. Running 31" mud terrains.

From above comments here and my jeepster board it sounds like 3* is far from enough. 6-10 is preferred.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You should ask @CasterTroy since that's apparently his thang.
 
More caster. I have between 8° and 9° and it tracks very straight. Self-centering is not crazy aggressive with this much caster because of my hydraulic steering ram which slows things down just a tad. If you are running without a ram I would vote with the others around 7°.
 
mbalbritton said:
This is on my Commando. I just got done doing new leaf springs up front, shackle reversal, swapped the outer knuckles and disc brakes from a CJ onto my stock D30.New ball joints and TREs. Running 31" mud terrains.

From above comments here and my jeepster board it sounds like 3* is far from enough. 6-10 is preferred.
Click to expand...

Do you know how the CJ knuckles compare to the stock knuckles for kingpin inclination (KPI) and mechanical trail? Caster doesn't tell the whole story for self-centering, especially if you've swapped knuckles with slightly different geometry. Adding some caster or toe may correct things just fine. But if you're searching for answers about what's different before/after with the same caster, the knuckles may be the answer.

I would definitely have the toe checked though. You've changed knuckes and TREs, so chances are you just happen to have it set for pretty neutral toe, which doesn't preload the tire carcass laterally and can make it feel lazy.
 
jeepinmatt said:
You should ask @CasterTroy since that's apparently his thang.
Click to expand...
Hell no!!!

I got in this debacle 20 yrs ago when transplanting a '71 chevy front clip onto a '62 to get disc brakes. Forum name was JUST Troy....and by the end of my quest the admin had changed my username to CasterTroy (faceoff had come out a couple of years before)

I didn't ask about Caster after that o_O
 
One thing to note is with higher caster comes caster wobble at low speeds.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
Chris_Keziah said:
One thing to note is with higher caster comes caster wobble at low speeds.
Click to expand...

ESPECIALLY after Tequila! Some SERIOUS death wobble when I'm too high on THAT stuff
 
So I'm thinking I have a couple things going on. I picked up some shims and installed them. This improved things somewhat but I'm still not happy with it. I checked and adjusted my toe in a little what I could do. Then I took it to the shop for a proper alignment and to get a report of where I'm at with all the measurements with proper equipment.

My caster is still only at 5.7*. Where I thought I'd be closer to 7*

He said that my ball joints were tight. I torqued them to spec but guess I may have pooched them on install or had the wrong spec. Looking back I thought the cotter pin hole was awful high up in the castle nut.

I am working on a front bumper and don't have one on it right now and he said my frame is moving. He suggested getting the bumper on it soon to help strengthen and to get the ball joints loose/replaced to free things up.

At this point I'm ready to rip the axle out again, put new ball joints in it AGAIN, and cut the perches out and fix the caster angle....again. Why do things once when you can do them twice and learn some shit. :bang head:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Back
Top