[River rat]

Guys i have a three inch lift in my 2013 GU with about 10,000 kays on it since new. For caster correction i have Superior 3" dropped radius arms. My problem is that it feels as though there is no caster correction at all! The car is fine around town but on the open road it wanders all over the place and i have to constantly correct it. Even worse on a bumpy road. I did everything i believed to be right for the lift which included extended brake lines, extended swaybar links, adjustable drag link, +11mm rear lowers, 3" Amada extreme shocks and 3" heavy duty kings springs.

This is how my older 07 Patrol felt with the 2" lift untill i fitted 2 deg caster bushes which made it beautful to drive on the open road! Nothing like my new one :-(

Anyone got any ideas what i should try? I'm seriously thinking about dropping it to 2" and see how that goes. The trouble is ive spent a lot of coin on this thing and i really can't be bothered having to climb under it again to pull it all out, again....

 

[simmoevo]

So you have done a 3" lift but you didn't do any caster correction when you installed the lift? Sounds like you need to put on 3 degree caster bushed, caster plates or drop boxes. You can also space the front diff forward to help a bit with bump steer.

 

[River rat]

Not sure if you read my post too good mate. I have 3" superior dropped radius arms fitted

 

[River rat]

And I also have those radius arm spacers fitted

 

[sim79]

What was castor measurement when you had a wheel alignment after fitting the suspension?

 

[simmoevo]

Not sure if you read my post too good mate. I have 3" superior dropped radius arms fitted

Sorry I'm not familiar with superior arms. Do they have caster correction built into them?

 

[River rat]

Yeah they are designed to have correct caster for 3" lift. You can buy them to suit all different height lifts

 

[parscheese]

Sorry I'm not familiar with superior arms. Do they have caster correction built into them?

In theory he should have no problems at all regarding caster.

Is the toe-in OK?

Cheers

Justin

 

[GQshayne]

Perhaps you have a problem with the installation, rather than having the wrong equipment? As you say, you have done the right things. Maybe something is not right.

If everything is correct, that leaves camber as not having been looked at, and also the possibility of mismatched spring and damping rates.

 

[ACMPatrol]

It's practically impossible to have an installation problem.

Remove radius arms, install replacements, etc for springs, shocks, and so on. These things are so agricultural anyone can do them.

Probably best to take it to an alignment shop and get an actual reading on the caster to be sure. I run 3" springs and drop boxes, giving a bit too much correction (1 degree too much) but tracks very well because of that.

The only left-field thing I can think of is did someone put caster bushes in the Superior arms to enable them to be used in a non-lifted vehicle? IE the opposite way which means you might have no correction.

 

[GQshayne]

I have seen enough over the years to have learned to never rule out any possibility.

 

[sim79]

What was castor measurement when you had a wheel alignment after fitting the suspension?

I take it you never did a wheel alignment?

 

[River rat]

I never did a wheel alignment because the tie rod is a single piece that doesn't change geometry with any size lift. Toe angle is the only thing that may be wrong. The car is still pretty new with under 10K on the clock, so I would be fair to rule out any bent or worn parts. The bushes in the radius arms are 0 deg for the fella that asked. I have checked the orientation of springs etc. nothing seems amiss. If I keep the 3" superior dropped arms in and change the lift back to 2" and discover it drives better with improved steering, I'll know it was a caster issue!

 

[Jamie4800]

Checked king pin bearing preload, if they worn / loose it can be a bit floaty

 

[River rat]

I don't know how to check that! Could king pin bearing be worn after 10,000 kays?
The only other thing I forgot to mention is my steering damper was kept from my 07 GU and put on this one. It was only 12 months old and still looked new. I think it's a suspension stuff one. Could a bad steering damper give similar effects to caster? If yes what are your thoughts on the Tuff Dog RTC?

 

[simmoevo]

Don't go Rtc. They tend to make things worse. I suppose the Dampner could make the car feel floaty if it's not soaking up the shocks and bumps in the road.

 

[River rat]

What is Rex?

 

[simmoevo]

RTC. I corrected it.

 

[River rat]

lol no probs

 

[ACMPatrol]

Another left field - are the superior arms really 3" arms?

Did you check them against the factory ones while installing?