Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

My lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
I just had the truck aligned and I am surprised by how it acts when turning sharp corners. Extra rpm is required just to get the truck to roll.
The truck has CCP 2.5" lower spindles and 2" lower springs on stock "A" arms.
Truck also has 20" X 8" wheels, on the front, with zero offset.
Is this just something I need to live with? Awful hard on tires.
Thanks

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Not sure what you mean by 'Turning hard over' (?)

Post up some pictures, specifically the view from the front corner of the grille area where it meets the Fender looking down the side of your truck.

Did you replace the balljoints and other steering components when you lowered it or are those original?

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

What size tires? Did you try out the tires before the suspension work?

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Everything is new. With the exception of the springs and spindles the suspension is stock.
What I mean is when I am turning sharp. The closer I am to the steering stop the more power it takes to move the truck. Straight it steers and seems to work just fine. Normal street driving is also fine. When you are parking or turning around I notice it big time. I's like the tires are tracking on two different radius. With the exception of the springs and spindles the suspension is stock.
I'll get some pictures and the exact tire sizes later today. I do know the tires are not hitting anywhere.
Thanks

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Sounds like your tires are fighting each other one hard turns . Some scrubbing is normal with suspension changes but to be really hard isnt normal. I lowered the front on my Chevelle with a complete UMI suspension they sent me all the angles needed on the alignment to track correctly . I gave them to the first "alignment" shop got the car back and it felt like I was in 4 wheel drive on dry pavement. Took it to another place that delt with street rods and lowered vehicles . They did it with the specs and tweaked it a little to my drop. Car has no power steering and is easy to park .

Sounds like a camber/caster problem

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Could be you got your Ackerman goofed up!
Look here.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackerm...ering_geometry

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Tell us about your truck. For example is this a 67-70 that you have converted to 5 lug, and maybe swapped over to a 71-72 front Steering setup? Maybe added power steering to a 67?

Sounds (to me) like something in the steering is binding up. Or the geometry is at an extreme angle when you turn.

Can you turn the wheel all the way to the lock, then turn the truck off, and maybe post up a few pictures of how it looks as it's turning? Maybe some pictures of the UCA / LCA in relation to the spindle?

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

I am with Geezer..sounds like a geometry issue.(too much castor).Some times wheel offset can cause issues also

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

That's what it sounds like to me.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Post a pic of your alignment sheet.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Any chance of the wheels rubbing when at full lock?

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Sounds like the center link is backwards.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

^^^ That's my thought

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

geezer#99 quoted "Could be you got your Ackerman goofed up!"

Thinking to my self, that makes sense. How can my Acherman get messed up. I thought of the board members, I had read about, that have gone before me and installed the center link backwards. I checked it out when I built my truck wanted it right. The first install I read the posts and didn't find a good explanation of what backwards looked like. So I installed it convinced it was correct. So today I did a little more research and found out how to tell. My is backwards! It installs "nuts forward". How hard can that be to remember? It has been aligned twice and they missed it both times. The other clue was an extended turning radius and a soft stop an the ends of steering travel.

And from KQQL IT ["I]Sounds like the center link is backwards"[/I].

From the archives.
lil hoodlum
It is very easy to install the center link backwards and the symptoms are the steering is very darty, or seems very easy to over-correct. Make sure the inner tie rod is installed through the back side of the center link, castle nut is facing forward and grease fitting is on the back side of the center link on the cross-member side.

Eating crow tonight, I like it well done and I have a specific bird in mind. Been dive bombing me all spring.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions and pointing me in the right direction. Now I'm out to the shop to see if I can get the joints apart without messing up the rubber cups and to catch a crow.
Cheers.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

The cups are pretty much guaranteed to rip, unless you use the right tool instead of a pickle fork. May be available for rent at an auto parts store.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Bfh or air hammer and a slight pry on the link is my go to not wreck the boot.
However the boots are available in urethane if you do resort to the pickle fork.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Go get your money back from the clown that did the alignment. Clearly she failed to road test the truck after. Not sure how you didn't turn right around and take it right back to her after you noticed how it steered.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

At the very least I will see if they will check the alignment again after I switch it around.

After going through the archives it is amazing how often this happens. It just doesn't seem correct with the center link so close to the front cross-member.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

You might want to replace the straight Zerk grease fittings with 90's on the inner tie rods so you can get a grease gun on them later on . :chevy:

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

^^^^^Grumpy speaks some good advice here. I did that on mine and it makes service on those inner units much easier.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Hopefully the alignment shop will re-do it for you.

There's not many alignment shops anymore that know what to look for on these old rigs. The shop that did my alignment when I first got the disc brake swap done 6 years ago and then again back in December when I did the caster mod failed to realize that the previous owner of my truck had put the uppers on backwards well before I bought the truck. I didn't pull the arms off when I did the disc swap, so I didn't know there was an issue until I did the caster mod and they couldn't get it anywhere near a reasonable alignment

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

At least they'll only have to adjust the toe-in.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

Grumpy's advice was timely. I was just putting the center link back in when Grumpy posted the 90 deg zert warning.
It's all back together with the zerts and cotters installed. Time for a ride tomorrow.
Hopefully to the alignment shop.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

That picture was very helpful.
The centerlink was definitely on backwards.

Re: Lowered truck requires extra power when turning hard over.
 

That would be my guess also, but sounds like you figured that out.