How do I know if my steering linkage is going out?

Long story short- lift, alignment, and again, and once more. Drives straight with little effort on the wheel. Like too little.

P/S fluid changed 10k kms ago with Valvoline MaxLife syn ATF. Alignment is WAAAAY better than the previous 2. There is a little play in the steering linkage where it goes into the rack, not sure how to check the rest.

Help or questions welcome.

 

just an fyi - when you lift the truck your caster is usually reduced / creates a steeper angle =
twitchy steering that may be part of what you are feeling

 

My caster is 3.5-4*. Would that still be the case?

 

Haha, yeah that looks wrong! How about 3 to 4.5*, settling close to 4*, makes more sense, no?

 

do you have an alignment print out you can snap a pic of and post ?

 

That is a very minimal difference it should not be making your steering feel excessively light as you described ?

 

Overinflated tires can make steering feel a bit light.

Your alignment numbers are better than many we see posted around here. And if steering components had a wear problem, a good alignment tech is going to spot and report that. Before they complete the alignment.

 

Your caster is way too high. Based on my research, below is what I have stolen from the following thread (based on post #39): The mystery of loose steering | Page 2 | Tacoma World. My truck is aligned within this range and drives perfect. Side note: I'm on a 3" lift with Dobinsons UCAs which give me the right amount of caster "for lifts over 1.5". Your truck may have too much lift on stock UCAs, caster is not adjustable. You will want to buy some SPC UCAs which are very adjustable, or something like what I got which are ready to go out as they are.

Caster= 2.3-2.5 (more/higher end for bigger tires)

Camber=0 (but within -.3 to +.3)

Toe=0 (or .05 ideal)

 

Interesting replies.

I guess I should have mentioned my tires are 27psi, and I have JBA HC UCAs. I was curious about the caster, but at $160CAD for an alignment, it cuts into the budget quick. That, and it's winter tire changeover season, and the shop is busy. Maybe I'll talk to the tech when he's not doing a pile of alignments a day.

Any other ideas? Thank you @Clearwater Bill for letting me know I'm not in for replacement parts for now.

 

Wow so those UCAs add 3 degrees caster, same as my Dobinsons, but our alignment numbers are very different. You must be running different LCAs too right? I don't know what else would cause such high caster angle. I'm runnning stock LCAs.

Also, from what I understand, a low caster angle will cause "wandering" and i'm assuming this also goes along with a lighter steering feel. A high/positive caster will result in heavier steering but more stability on the highway. But you say your steering feel is light despite the high caster angle. Not sure how to explain it but not sure if it is a bad thing, more so just a "different feel" than before you worked on it?

 

It may be. I have stock LCAs, and I asked, the bushings are still good with 180k kms on them. I asked to achieve those numbers, as JBA stated 3-4.5° to achieve. The original 2 alignments I had, I was told I was maxed out at ~4.3° on both sides. THAT was some serious wandering and bumpsteer. I still have some bumpsteer and wandering, but I don't need a death grip on the wheel to keep it straight. I did record your numbers, for when I can get in to talk to the tech, to see if they will help, I do appreciate the help.

 

FWIW op, I just had an alignment done yesterday and it's stable, drives great. Sitting on 255/85/16s. Different years, I know. Still wanted to share numbers with ya. Also agree with Bill. A good alignment shop/tech checks every bit of the suspension as part of the alignment.

Note: my caster was above 4 because I didn't mark my UBJs when I replaced them (SPC UCAs). Stock LCAs with 20 year old adjusters.