I have 1953 chev 1/2 ton. stock. tends to wonder/drift while driving, also roll around corners.. typical for a 1953 stock truck i am sure. I see chevy duty has a steering stabilizer kit, and a sway bar kit. both are bolt on. has anyone installed these kits.. do they work well and improve the handling?
I don't have either YET but they are in the plans. From what most people say, yes they are worth it. The sway bar is a definite. The steering stabilizer is iffy, its not to be used as a bandage for worn steering and suspension parts.
thanks yep I am definatly going to add the sway bar. pickups nw (dreamers) has one for 150.00 locally so I am going to run down there and pick it up this weekend.. they dont carry the steering stabilizer kit.. but classics parts does... if it helps I will add it.. the truck wanders when driving so i am hopefully the stabilizer will would help. what are the tests to determine if steering linkage is warn?
Swaybar/stabilizer. Neither a swaybar or a stabilizer is going to correct a vehicle that wanders around the road. You need to jack it up and lift up under each front tire to determine if you've got king pin or wheel bearing play. If none....drop it back down on it's wheels and have someone gently turn the steering wheel back and forth about 20 degrees. Not hard but gently, so you can check the steering box, drag link, and then the tie rods for side to side play. Use your gloved hand gripping the joints to "feel" any extra play. If these are all snug then you need to check your toe-in. Even with a snug front end toe in that is "out" will give you "wander." The easiest method to check and verify your toe (with the weight of the truck on the front wheels) is to make a mark in the middle of the tread on each front tire....make it up about 12" off the level pavement you're working on. Use a tape measure and get a very accurate measurement. Step two is to roll the truck forward until the mark comes up on the BACKSIDE of the tire....about 12" up from the pavement. Subtract the front number from the back number and you should come up with about 1/8-1/4" difference for the front measurement. This TOE IN helps keep your truck from wandering. If everything is tight in the steering I'll adjust each end of the tie rod equal turns to get between 1/8 to 3/16" toe in. Adjusting only one end will give you the toe but will cause your steering wheel to be off-center. Once you correct any loose conditions and check the tire pressure, bearings, king pins, tie rod and drag link ends, as well as the steering box, add a stabilizer to absorb lateral road shock that wears out the above listed items. As for the sway bar....the bar sold by this vendor goes on with no holes to drill. They're already in the frame. You need to remove one of the front U-bolt nuts on each side and add the tab for the control links. Immediately you'll loose all the body roll.....and adding a rear bar will complement the front and you'll think you're driving a Porsche!!!! Naw...it'll still jar your gumstumps when you hit a bump but you won't feel the body lean you had before the bars. There is no reason why a straight axle truck shouldn't have a great feel even at high speeds and track as straight as an arrow. Routine grease jobs at 1000 miles are essential. Hope this helps you correct your wandering! Dave
Steering Geometry What Dave said ! The swaybar is the very best bang for your buck . I'd like to ad that toe-in is usually overdone by most DIY'ers , you only want the barest minimum that wil get the job done , 1/16" ~ 1/8" MAXIMUM , if you need more than 1/8" Toe-In , something's amiss . The absence of play cannot be over rated ! . FWIW , your 1953 3100series truck has tube typ shocks , adding Bilstein or WHITE KYB's will make an improvement you'll never forget and they'll last years and years too . grey KYB's are crap , they die in about 12 months regardless of milage so don't get hornswaggled . Monroe , O.K. , Gabriel , again , crap , don't wa$te your hard earned $ .
Like everybody said.BUT.....i find these trucks like about 1/8 to almost 1/4 toe out...not toe in. Also wedges to put 6-8 degrees of caster in the axle. I have done maybe 25 to 30 of these ole girls with axles and a steering stabilizer is not needed. Sway bar/ anti roll bar on the front only is a big help. Like i tell everbody.... what do you think is under that 90mph Peterbuilt has that just blew your doors off....LOL yep old sckool axle(maybe a few crossroads or meth but thats another story). I make a good living doing IFS and IRS on streetrods but a straight axle can be done soo as to drive well. Mine has over 380,000 on it know and very comfortable.
Steering Thanx Bruce ! . Toe out , eh ? I'd think that would increase wander and make it ' dive ' into lane changes and turns...... maybe even scrub the inside tread edges a bit . Certainly I have learned to adjust each one to where it drives thebest , there is no one single hard & fast rule on toe and caster etc. . I too have a beam axle and it rides and handles just fine thankyouverymuch .
Yep Nate i only see about 30,000 miles on front tires. But by than the tires are a little bit dry anyway. Like Nate says what ever works for you.(dont be afraid to try...you can always put it back) On another front watch those shocks.....if you have lowered the truck a little or a lot check travel. I most times end up moving upper front shock mounts up 2 maybe 4 inches.Just make sure the shock is in the middle of its travel at ride height. I most times cut thetop part of the shock off....the dust tube and put a wire tie on the shaft to check travel. Sway bars do help a bunch on the front.
Dave, shame on you; you have just nullified our excuse by saying to put a mark on the tire for checking tow in. Up to this point we could always say, " Honey I need four empty beverage cans," to hold the tape the same distance off the floor in front and back of the tires. Everyone is right about straight axles not wandering if set up right. Dragsters are running in the 330 mph range now with straight axles but they can have extreme caster since there is little weight on the axle while they are being manuevered in the pits and staging area. The front air foil gives down force at speed but at that point they BETTER be running in a straight line.
