fishtail

[jhk07]

after two weeks with RTE 2" lift, and new tires (copper 265/75-16 s/t-c) i am pretty happy with the ride.. At higher speeds though, 55 mph and up, is seems to "wonder" or "fishtail". It is a left to right or right to left body motion, kinda like "over correcting".. 38 psi in front and 45 in rear... Is this just the nature of the beast or is there anything i can do? I'm trying to describe this the best i can.. I'm sure there is a technical name, whatever it is...

 

[ArmyRover]

my RRC does about the same thing as your Disco. I lowered my tire pressures down to 32 and 36. It improved but still wonders a bit. I should have the steering stabilizer replaced on tues to see if that makes any difference.

 

[jhk07]

my RRC does about the same thing as your Disco. I lowered my tire pressures down to 32 and 36. It improved but still wonders a bit. I should have the steering stabilizer replaced on tues to see if that makes any difference.

lowering the tire pressure (again) is my next move.... let me know how your steering stabilizer works out... thanks for your input

 

[Phillip Lehn]

I changed all the tie rod ends to fix this problem. Also check the front ball swivels bearings and front wheel bearings for to much play.

 

[az_max]

how about front end alignment?

 

[rovercanus]

I changed all the tie rod ends to fix this problem. Also check the front ball swivels bearings and front wheel bearings for to much play.

He's in a D2.

 

[jhk07]

how about front end alignment?

last set of tires wore out true over 50k on em. I'll ask cause i dont know any better--
Does new springs, shocks and tires justify an alignment??

 

[adamsclarke]

Any of your front or rear links bent? If one is shorter than the other from a bent etc...it would easily cause the crab walk.

 

[jhmover]

I have an OME about 2" lift, it's a little toucher but nothing dramatic. I'd check what everyone else is talking about, something is amiss.

 

[christheroverguy]

I believe it has everything to do with castor angle. RTE sells corrected radius arms and adjustable pan hards to fix it. I just learned to live with it because I tried to figure it out and I guess im a little slow and it just confused me.
If you adjust the radius arms, then the angle on your prop will be greater and the risk of a u joint failure is increased. I dont have a clue what happens if you adjust the pan hard rod. Im sure somebody on here knows though.
I guess you just gotta find that happy medium.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

sounds like bad bushings to me. or maybe dead shocks...2" lift should not have any adverse driving condition let alone a wandering fishtail feeling.

 

[ArmyRover]

I'm at 3" and I think that might have something to do with it.

For me the alignment is good shocks are less than 8k on them. Steering components are in it's future this year as well as bearings and seals on the hubs.

 

[KyleT]

mine did that bad with no rear swaybar and sls and skinny 235's. with the swaybar it stopped. had to replace a swaybar link though.

 

[WILL.TILLERY]

Did you put new shocks on with the springs?

ON a D2 the RTE 2"SHOULD BE fine with stock arms front and rear.

 

[antichrist]

lowering the tire pressure (again) is my next move....

Lowering tire pressure is not a good way to sort out handling problems. Tires should be inflated to the right psi to support the weight of the vehicle.
Remember the Ford Exploders? They were running underinflated tires which over heated and failed.

 

[jhk07]

sounds like bad bushings to me. or maybe dead shocks...2" lift should not have any adverse driving condition let alone a wandering fishtail feeling.

WILL.TILLERYDid you put new shocks on with the springs?

ON a D2 the RTE 2"SHOULD BE fine with stock arms front and rear.05-12-2008 12:11 AM
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New OME shocks from RTE all the way around... I'm gonna try the tire pressure first (lowering) . I had no problems on 255/65-16's with no lift 3 weeks ago...


PS>>>>> how do you put two quotes in one post?????????

 

[p m]

Man, with 3" of lift you have no caster angle left. Nothing wrong with your truck, and don't even think of lowering tire pressures.
Search for Muskyman's posts on caster angle.

 

[jhk07]

Man, with 3" of lift you have no caster angle left. Nothing wrong with your truck, and don't even think of lowering tire pressures.
Search for Muskyman's posts on caster angle.

I've got a 2" lift... I understand the dangers/ consequences of driving on under inflated tires.... don't qoute me on this, but i think my door panel says to run 28psi front and 46 psi in rear, on a stock tire...

I running 38 in the front now, with a bigger tire.... I' m gonna knock her down to about 32psi front.... and see what happens for a day or two...
correct me if i'm wrong, but 32 psi in front hardly seems dangerous to me...

 

[p m]

You're running a tire with much taller sidewall now - about 8" vs. your old 6.5". 32 psi in front is not as safe as you may think, but, more importantly, less pressure in tires nearly universally means worse handling. What may be wrong is the relation between the front and rear tire pressures - although I've been relatively happy with 35/45 with the same size tire.
Also, 2" of lift takes away much of your caster. The ratio of 2" to the length of the radius arms, times ~57, will give you the approximate value of loss of caster angle.

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Its difficult to get an idea of exactly what you are experiencing. If the fishtailing happened right after installing the lift, I'd say its caster angle related. Like Musky wrote, it could also be rear link related: bad bushings, bent link, or loose bolts on the links.