Steering is jumping all over!?!?

So i just got new wheels and tires. I know not many people on here aren't running 20x12 but thats the style i was looking for. Either way, while driving on the road it is completely fine but the other day i was on a trail and every little bump the steering wheel was bouncing left and right pretty bad. When i got the wheels put on i had an alignment done and everything was damn near perfect, so What could be the issue? Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

Did you lift at all? What are your caster numbers with the alignment? It could be the low profile tire just grabbing the imperfections of the driving surface more than your last tires. Low profiles have less flex on the sidewall which translates to them following crevices a bit more than a larger sidewall.

 

yes it is lifted. tires are 285/55r20..i have 5100s set at .85 with the 1.6" eibach springs and a 1/2 in top plate spacer in the front with Total Chaos UCAs. in the rear i have the toytec AAL with a 1/2 shim. dont have the alignment sheet on hand at the moment

 

So your combination lift in the front is just about 2.5", correct? That might be it. Caster can get out of whack and the factory UCAs arent adjustable. Typically caster cant be corrected at that height without aftermarket UCAs.

 

Just saw you have new UCAs. Do you know whats your caster numbers are?

 

its sitting at about 2.95 after the top plate spacer. and yea ill go grab the numbers out my truck real quick

 

Heres all the specs

 

did you see the specs i posted?

 

Your caster is pretty good. I would suspect the lower profile tire grabbing more. Does it pull hard enough to pull the steering out of you hand?

 

doesnt really pull but i do notice that the steering wheel is canted a little to the right. they said that it will be like that because my rear tow isnt 0

 

You may want to try another alignment shop. I did see some of the other numbers are close to the limit. I would try to find a shop that deals more with modified trucks that understand the different needs for lifts. You may need slightly more caster if it still pulls. Tour steering wheel being cocked isnt needed. They are just being lazy about correcting it. A good experienced tech can get everything right. There is a bit of finagling of the adjustments to get everything right. One thing we have to remember is that the specified alignment numbers are based on a factory truck.

 

makes sense. just been trying to save a bit of money since my first alignment i got a 6 month package to bring it back as many times as i want lol. ill see what the 4x4 shops around here charge for alignment. i been told that if the torque specs are off that it could throw the numbers..is that true? if so whats a round about price for torque specs checks ?

 

Im assuming they mean the torque of the bolts. Another words, if the bolts are loose then the adjustment is slipping. That's certainly possible. If thats the case, then the guy that did the alignment is really bad and sloppy. You can check the bolts yourself if you have a torque wrench. I can look up the torque specs on the bolts if you want them.

 

yes please that would be very appreciated. im assuming the torques on the control arms as well as the u bolts would be most important as far as suspension goes

 

Let me check. There has been some debate on the rear u bolts. The repair manuals state 37 ft lbs, but everyone seems to agree that the number is backwards. Atleast 73ft lbs for the u bolt nuts. Ill check the others.

 

thanks much

 

It looks to be 96 ft lbs for the lower control arm cam bolts. As for the adjustable upper control arms, that I wouldnt know. I would email Total Chaos for the torque on the ball joint, or someone here might jump in that has the same.

 

Just in case this helps.

 

Another thing is that you must be running wider wheels with those tires. Your scrub radius has probably changed and if you've got a larger offset it will impact this also.