Lifted 06' 2500hd Steering wander

[dieselkidd04]

First of all let me start by saying i know my truck is lifted and has oversize wheels/tires and this can cause premature steering component failures and i know it will never ride or handle like a stock truck. Now that thats out of the way i bought my 06' lbz in august of last year and overall i am very happy with it, Currently 70,xxx miles on the truck it is a CCSB with a 6" RCD suspension lift and 35" Nitto trail grapplers on 20" XD wheels. Since i purchased it i have noticed that it does have tight steering when going down the road at any speed, if i am driving straight the truck seems to want to wander all over the road back and fourth, if i turn the wheel slightly to correct it the wheel sticks in that spot or almost over corrects and basically you have to twitch the wheel a little back and fourth to stay on the road. This is especially noticeable when the girlfriend is driving it lol as she has a hard time keeping it straight. I dont have any aftermarket steering parts but i know i need to install HD tie rod sleeves for the larger tires, i have not found any play in any of the steering components as of now and i am starting to wonder if this is just the nature of the beast with larger wheels/tires, for now i am going to start by doing a full P/S flush and use either the BD fluid or transynd and possibly installing a new steering stabilizer from bilstein but i am wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this with a lifted 3/4 ton? I do not have any whining or noise from the P/S system however the pedal does pulsate at low speeds when turning the wheel i.e parking or turning around. I appreciate any ideas guys, thanks.

 

[ak diesel driver]

My experience with big/wide tires is they follow/fight every rut or imperfection in the road

 

[Will L.]

I'm not a steering/ suspension diagnostic guy- I can't tell you what exactly is wrong with the geometry- but something is wrong in the geometry of you set up. Bigger tie rods are just because your to bend the stock ones off-roading.

I've had friends with the "sticky steering" and wander problem you talk about. I know exactly what you mean. Nothing is wrong with the steering box or pump, I watched my friend go through replacing his entire set up with no results.
If I remember right the only thing that fixed one guys problem involved a spindle with a different height arm on it, and something with how the a arms mounted.

The 02 2500 that I owned had 38s about 11" wide and drove perfectly. It had a high $ lift on it, but don't remember what it was, but I remember paying 30% more than a basic kit after talking to the mechanics at 4Wheel Parts when I was on the tool truck and them warning me of cheap kit pitfalls and having flashbacks to poor driving lifted trucks over the years compared to good ones.

My hummer has 37x12.50x16.5 on it and with GSA tires handled like a dream.(I miss those tires) the MT/MTR tires loose a lot of that feel I know different animal, but the point is big tires are not the problem. I've owned many tires in the over 3' category, on different trucks and never put up with the issue like this. Something is wrong in the lift kit design or installation, unless the tires you are running have some freaky design flaw.

Swap tires/rim with stock size from somebody in your area for a 10 minute test drive. You'll eliminate tire theory real quick.

Is there a High Country or 4Wheel Parts shop near you? Those companies do lift installs all the time and could nail the problem & fix down fast.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

Wandering across the road can also be due to the rear wheel track being narrower than the front. My BURB completely stock used to wander from side to side CONSTANTLY! Installed 2" rear wheel spacers, and now the rear tires fall in the same track as the front, and it doesn't wander anymore. Sometimes the simplest of things can make HUGE differences. And I believe some of the higher dollar lift kits narrow the front wheel track as the require cutting of the tie rod ends to run them.

 

[dieselkidd04]

Thanks for all the info guys, Ferminator you might be onto something there i cant beleive i didnt think about that, looks like the previous owner must have installed spacers just in the front as my front tire is clearly out further than the rear, ill have to get the wheels off and check, will update with more info. Thanks again

 

[btfarm]

What does the alignment look like. With a lift you affect caster frequently and neutral caster makes it wander around.

 

[dieselkidd04]

Good point... Ive already checked it with the ole tape measure but it would probably be wise to have it put on the lazers, other than this issue the truck rides like a cadillac for what it is...