While we're here, I'll tell you how to adjust your toe-in, because I'm
almost certain yours is off. It's pretty simple, but you'll have to do
alot of jacking, lowering, measuring, lather, rinse, repeat.
The adjustment is made at the tie rods. The tie rod sleeve is threaded
with opposite thread directions on each end. So you spin the sleeve,
you'll be expanding on contracting the length of the tie rod assembly.
It's mounted to the rear of the steering knuckle, so expanding it will
bring the toe in, contracting it will bring the toe out. You have to
figure out which way the threads go to know which direction to spin
the sleeve for your desired effect.
That's the theory. To apply, start by jacking the front tires off the
ground. Loosen the screws on each end of both tie rod sleeves. If
you're WAY out of alignment, start with a half turn on each tie rod
(after figuring out which way expands the assembly and which way
contracts it). Tighten the screws, lower the truck, drive around a
little, enough to settle out your changes, and take your measurement.
Now you've got an idea of how much to turn the tie rods for your
desired result. Change it, measure, fine tune, measure, repeat.
Something to pay attention to is that by measuring wheel to wheel,
you're not measuring the individual wheels' toe setting. This is
important too... I tend to judge it by eye with the steering wheel
centered, and apply it to my tie rod changes (ie I'll give my left tie
rod a 1/2 turn and the right one a 1/4 turn to bring the left tire in
a little more than the right.
Hope that made sense.
Don in CT
89 Dakota Convertible 318 NV3500 4x4
74 Dart Sport 340
On 5/25/07, Don Rey <radon220@gmail.com> wrote:
> If you get sqealing when you take corners, that sounds more like a
> toe-in/toe-out problem to me. You're dragging one of your wheels a
> little sideways around corners. With bad caster, good toe-in, I've
> never had squealing. On the other hand, I have had some nasty
> squealing (tire dragging) with toe-in problems. It's easy to check
> your toe-in. Measure the distance between the rear of your front
> tires, then measure the difference between the front of your front
> tires. I like to pick a tread block to hook the tape measure onto and
> just stick with that tread section. On my Dart, I keep the front
> measurement 1" less than the rear measurement and it's perfect (you
> want a little toe-in, usually). On my truck, it's a little more
> because the tires are bigger. If you get it between 1" and 2" you'll
> be in the ballpark. There's also some personal preference here...
> different toe-in settings will get you a little different performance,
> particularly in cornering. Don't ask me what the difference is.
>
> Don in CT
> 89 Dakota Convertible 318 NV3500 4x4
> 74 Dart Sport 340
>
> On 5/25/07, Jamie Calder <jcalder3@cfl.rr.com> wrote:
> >
> > It's very noticeable when I crank the wheels to either side. The top of the
> > wheels are slanted way out. It causes the outer edges to wear out very
> > fast. Tons of squealing when making tight turns. Tight turns made in lose
> > gravel or sand will leave skid marks where the tires are fighting the
> > ground. I actually has to give quite a bit of gas to get it to move when
> > turned all the way in either direction. Feels like the brakes are being
> > applied.
> > Does anyone with a 4X4 that hasn't messed with the bars have this problem?
> >
> > Thanks for the replies!
> >
> > James
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-dakota-truck@bent.twistedbits.net
> > [mailto:owner-dakota-truck@bent.twistedbits.net] On Behalf Of
> > Walt@Walt-n-Ingrid.Com
> > Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 7:42 AM
> > To: dakota-truck-moderator@bent.twistedbits.net
> > Subject: Re: DML: Different Question Regarding Torsion Bars
> >
> >
> > That is correct. The upper control arm is shorter and at more of an angle
> > than the lower arm which is almost horizontal. As the bars are cranked, the
> > geometry causes the caster to pull in towards the top (If I'd paid attention
> > in High School Geometry class, I'd know the formula for it). Lowering it
> > would have the opposite effect. There are 2 bolts that hold the upper
> > control arm shaft to the frame bracket with about an half inch of adjustment
> > there which allows the caster to be set. We've seen them come loose while
> > descending down Pikes Peak (I have photos of the DML NGTG road service on
> > Dom Mallet's Dakota at the half-way point).
> >
> > Walt
> >
> > In article <f41ff3ad0705250328m27797694pe7f0423fee3ab331@mail.gmail.com>,
> > radon220@gmail.com ("Don Rey") writes:
> > >
> > > Caster, btw, is the "wheel slant" that you're talking about, just to
> > > clarify. It's too early in the morning for me to remember whether your
> > > caster increases or decreases (which way they slant) when you crank
> > > the bars. After the morning cobwebs clear, think about the upper vs
> > > lower control arm lengths and what would happen when you pivot the LCA
> > > at the torsion bar mount.
> > >
> >
> >
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 01 2007 - 09:06:10 EDT