my sj wanders all over the road very bad

[Nasher]

hi guys, im new to this forum, iv just picked up a santana and it wanders all over the road really bad, it has a 3" lift kit. pro comp shocks front and back, spoa conversion, mudd terrain tyres. i have changed the steering box as i had another one from another vehicle but still no different, have you guys got any ideas? also it has a z-bar fitted, to be honest its really dangerous to drive on the road but off road its great! if you need any pictures let me know and ill post some up thanks matt

[ScottieJ]

Welcome to the forum

Can you give us a few more details about the type of lift please? lift shackles? lift springs? spoa?

I'm a bit confused by the fact it has a Z-bar with just 3" lift?? Has it had a spring over axle conversion? That will be more than 3" lift and that is the most common time that people us a Z-bar.

If however it only has 3" lift then you dont need a Zbar and that is probably one of the things that is causing your bumpsteer.

If it has 3" lift shackles then that will be another reason for lots of bump steer as they change your caster angle. if so I would ditch them asap and fit some standard ones as lift shackles do more harm than good and decrease your approach angle.

can you post up some pictures please as that will help.

Thanks

Scott

[twiss]

hi guys, im new to this forum, iv just picked up a santana and it wanders all over the road really bad, it has a 3" lift kit. pro comp shocks front and back, spoa conversion, mud terrain tyres. i have changed the steering box as i had another one from another vehicle but still no different, have you guys got any ideas? also it has a z-bar fitted, to be honest its really dangerous to drive on the road but off road its great! if you need any pictures let me know and ill post some up thanks matt

He's got SPOA and a 3" lift kit by the sounds of it?

I guess if you have 3" lifted springs and spoa that could cause some instability!!! If you have, I would probably say that the Z-bar isn't long enough!!!

In this set up I would strongly advise converting to over the top steering!
Another thing I would do is jack the front wheels off the ground and wobble them top to bottom. This should help you find out if the problem is wheel bearings or kingpin bearings.

[ScottieJ]

whoops I missed the spoa bit! jesus that must be high!!! It might be that when whoever did the conversion they tilted the diff pinion up towards the transfer box. this completely destroys your caster angle and will give you some terrible bump steer.

a few pictures of the diff angle and general set up would really help.

As well as what twiss said, check all the steering ball joints for play and check for excessively warn bushes.

[Nasher]

sorry guys, yes it has a 3" shackle kit and it has spoa modification, and yes scottie it is high but id rather it stter properly than be high to be honest, the rear diff is angles slightly to the transfer box to help the rear prop from breaking, the front is stadard position, should i take off the lift shackles? i will get some pictures of it all later when its up on the ramp, also it has a vitara 1.6 8v engine and the starter motor is a high torq one but it doesnt start nice at all any ideas on that one either it sounds like its laughing at me before is starts, im going to aldermaston the weekend so would be nice sort it out before then

[ScottieJ]

Yes first thing to do is remove the lift shackles. spoa + lift shackles = BAD!!!! have you got some standard ones to go on? If so fit them if not either buy some or make some out of some 4mm plate

I bet that will reduce the bumpsteer loads. then the best thing to do after that is convert to a half highsteer set up as twiss said. here's some info http://www.zukikrawlers.com/showthread. ... t=mercedes
IMO it's best to just do the half highsteer with this set up to avoid changing the ackerman angle.

the rear diff pointing up to the tbox isn't a problem really (just make sure you fill it with extra oil so the pinion bearing doesn't get starved of oil.) and as long as the front is as close as possible to the standard position the caster should be ok.

Scott

[Nasher]

ok thanks guys, any idea where to get that half high steer bits from or what mercedes model i need to look out for

[twiss]

DEFINITELY take those shackles off!!!

Whereabouts are you? I have a set if standard shackles sitting around if you're stuck

RE Starter motors, check out this thread.

http://www.suzukiclubuk.co.uk/phpBB3/ph ... =13&t=2643

I found this starter on my mates jap SJ413, it fits on samurais as well, and ones with the vit engine (like mine )

You should look for a D6RA62... with nine teeth. Like the first picture

[Nasher]

guys iv taken them shackles off and now its good as gold, bu i have lost a lot of height but hey i can put up with that cheers for your advice scottie and twiss

[ScottieJ]

glad to hear it matey. I wouldn't worry about the loss of height, as long as yo still have clearance for your tyres thats all that matters.


IMO lower is better, its more stable and you are less likely to roll it heck my trucks under 6ft tall yet I run 33s