jeff_wright said:
How does the caster affect steering?
First, research what caster is.
Then, address the caster as the caster is almost most certainly your problem. If you lifted your truck and never addressed the caster, then this is your problem.
You can drop $250.00 on new caster corrected radius arms, or you can get a little more involved and spend $300.00 on a better solution from Rovertym and get the caster corrected swivel balls.
The swivel balls are a bit more complex to install, but overall, it's a better option.
Depending on your lift and how tall it is, you may need both the swivel balls and radius arms to get your steering and pinion angle back the way it should be. A 2" lift, typically, does not "require" re-worked radius arms - the pinion angle is not all that far out of wack. But, even with a small 2" lift, the axle is rotating (pinion up) and your caster is being thrown off. The caster is what affects your steering.
One last option is the Detroit Truetrac carrier. The truetrac, too, has it's pro's and con's. For you, this may kill two birds with one stone.
1) It will correct your caster problem. The truetrac has a return-to-center characteristic, meaning, it likes to track straight. The truetrac is not "correcting" the caster problem, rather, it's putting a band-aid on it. The band-aid is not a bad thing in this circumstance.
2) It allows you to get rid of the weak Rover front carrier. The truetrac is wicked strong, whereas the stock rover carrier is junk, basically. If you have not broken a stock Rover carrier, don't worry, you will. You also gain a bit more traction up front, but this is not a locker.
Upgrading the steering linkage is all fine and dandy, and its almost a must at some point. But it's not going to correct your steering problem. If it were my truck, I'd first get the Rovertym swivel balls. I'd still replace the front carrier, too, when monies allowed it - but I like the ARB (although word on the street is Eaton is making an E-locker for the Rover, so that sounds interesting)
