Caster Question

Recently installed a BDS 2.5" lift with 1/2" shackles. Alignment shop measured caster at .06 and .0, does this sound correct. Would you all recommend going with 6 degree shims?

The wander has improved since I got it aligned but I still have some wandering depending on the road I am on.

 

Four to five seems to work good most times. too much and it is hard to steer not enough and it wanders. Contact the member mcgruff he makes really nice shims.

 

Thanks, should i have the toe rechecked after I install the shims?

 

If it’s around zero now and you know how much shim it’s all math. A six degree shim should equal six degrees.

 

Your Camber is whats off. IMHO, that's where your wander is comin' from

 

Lockman, why do you think so? Camber will only be off if the axle is broken. Camber is welded-in to the axle housing.

 

Looking at the numbers tells me to think that .

 

Or bent ? Camber differences can cause wandering. Just say'n.

 

I don't think Lockman is totally wrong, but I would fix the caster because that will affect wander. Normal adjustment order is caster, camber, toe. On an independent front suspension caster adjustment, as will camber will affect toe. Solid axle it shouldn't, It may affect steering wheel position/center point. Camber being off .5 degrees may affect tire wear, fix the caster, as mentioned above, and monitor tire wear. I've had bad experiences with aluminum shims, but I'm abusive with my YJ. I don't plan on abusing my CJ5 like I do the YJ. Hope this helps, Ron

 

Check your steering box bolts. Mine were loose last year, and it wandered all over.. Then last winter I replaced my spring pads with new ones. I added just a touch of caster. Don't ask how much as I was trying to get it the same as it was. But I tried to error on the adding some side. Yesterday I could go 75 on the 2 lane out south coming home. most of the time I was doing 65-70. Usually that road is so bad I can barely do 60. Guess my seat of the pants locations helped me out. Not to mention I corrected another problem in the process.

 

Camber is not an issue here. It's not off far enough to cause tire wear, IMO. A vehicle will pull to the side with the most camber. This is set just about right to offset for road crown. It's off a little, but not enough to worry about. I recently installed a skyjacker 2.5" lift on mine. Caster was less than 1 degree. It did wander. Then installed 4 degree shims and it made a night and day difference.

 

Rotating the axle affects all three parameters, caster, camber, and toe. But rotating it 6 degrees to correct the caster will have very little impact on camber or toe. I wouldn't worry about the camber. You can measure the Toe yourself before and after installing the shims. Or if a shop is doing the work for you, they should remeasure the alignment to verify the change to geometry.

Mike

 

If it is wandering, or not returning to center; it is a caster issue and usually not enough of it. My experience with every swb jeep with leafs that I have owned is that 5-6 degrees positive caster is about right. That covered everything from stock to 37" tires. Please do not use aluminum or bronze shims, they do break. Steel ones won't. McGruff can make some fine ones, or a local machine shop. I have done some myself but are not worth the time and trouble.

 

If you try this, make sure to use the Organic kind. The synthetic ones are two slippery and will worsen your handling problems.

Mike

 

You guys understand that caster and castor are different words with different meanings?

 

Do you have manual or power steering? I've heard that more caster makes it harder to steer, so maybe do less aggressive shims with manual steering. It's all compromise.

 

I could have written nothing.