Castor problem?

[blakesrover]

I've posted on other forums but haven't posted here yet.

2" OME lift on disco 1. before the lift, truck drove great. now that it's lifted, truck drives "tight". No problems with wandering at all, only a VERY responsive steer..so much that any little touch changes the course of the vehicle. theres absolutely no play. a perfect example of the steering is when at a stop making a right hand turn, the truck will not correct itself back to center. I have to manually steer it back to center.

There is a very, very slight vibration upon acceleration but is not felt at constant speed, whether on streets or highway. (It's not bad at all)

so...what to do first? could it just be toe in/out and need adjusting? do i need to look at castor correct rad. arms, re-drilled swivel balls, DC drive shaft, DDC drive shaft?

thanks!

~Blake

[ntsqd]

Sounds like Caster to me. Lacxk of Return to Center is very indicative of that. If it were toe-in/out you'd be complaining of 'Dartiness' or excessive tire wear.
Sorry, no idea what the fix is. You can't be the first to run into this. Anything about this posted on Rover forums?

[Rovernut]

Normally a 2" lift won't cause that "driving on edge" feeling. 3" and up will, and requires caster correcting arms or caster corrected swivel balls. Try waiting on your springs to settle a bit before changing anything else on the front end. If they settle, and most do, maybe the problem will go away. If not, a good remedy is a TrueTrac limited slip in the front.

The vibration you feel is from the rubber donut at the rear of your rear drive shaft. Replace it with the drive shaft from a Range Rover ( SWB Classic) along with the yoke and spacer from the RR diff. That'll fix the vibes.

[MattScott]

The vibration you feel is from the rubber donut at the rear of your rear drive shaft. Replace it with the drive shaft from a Range Rover ( SWB Classic) along with the yoke and spacer from the RR diff. That'll fix the vibes.

The rotoflex would eat the vibes if it is in good shape, as well as the inner rubber bushing. The u-joint wouldn't eat the vibes up.

[blakesrover]

it's not that i'm looking for a changed answer. it's actually giving more and more insight when people offer comments/solutions/opinions. Because of more feedback on other forums, i've already concluded a few stock components which aren't causing problems i.e. rotoflex is fine

even your most recent post on

you are used to having caster...now you have almost none

that helps me understand a little bit more about caster in the sense that i must have lost caster with the lift and need to gain some back. how many degrees though? i dont know. all this stuff is brand spankin new to me..so the learning curve is in full affect.

[UK4X4]

castor angle, as others have mentioned,

the remedy

New suspension arms castor corrected, Rovertyme will advise on what you need and the large bill to suit

I had a 4" lift on my disco 2- yep never centered on its own- did I care - no

Its a truck, drive it like one with two hands.

As soon as you mess with a vehicles suspension, handling and steering feel changes, thats just a simple factoid

Vibe you also have a front d - shaft

[Snagger]

The lack of self centring and feel on the steering is definitely down to the reduction in castor angle. You can get the expensive corrected radius arms, or you could buy corrective bushes with eccentric centres to correct the castor angle while retaining the existing arms.

The vibration could be either prop shaft. The rotoflex used on RRC rear props is only problematic if perished and split/deformed. If it's in good order, it'll absorb vibration because it is made to act as a driveline damper - that's why it was fitted to the LR flagship before it went ontop the Discovery, and why it was never used on the more agricultural Defender. I'd take a close look at the UJs as well as the rotoflex.

[dallasrover]

With it being a D1, I assume it has fair milage on it. Has it ever had the motor/trans mounts changed out? This solved about 90% of my vibration concerns.

[Monkeyboy]

Be forewarned, if you "fix" the steering feel issue with a Tru-Trac and drive in snow and ice you will not be happy.

been there...done that...still driving the crazy thing.

[Mike_rupp]

I drove for years in Chicago and now for the last 3 winters here in WA with a True Trac and have never had any complaints in the snow and ice. I do agree though that the True Trac masks the caster problem. My complaint with the TT is that when you are in a long turn such as an on ramp and don't maintain constant throttle, the steering wheel gets really jumpy.