klam07 Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 I was wondering what the consensus was on the 620's turn radius. I can't help but to feel that my 620's turn radius is pretty bad, at least turning left.. A 280zx I had a little while back could throw a 1-point u-turn in my tight residential street (~30 ft across), whereas my 620 is a 3-pointer. But even more telling is the fact that I can barely do a 1-point u-turn on another residential street I frequent that is especially wide (~40 ft). It feels tighter when turning right but I'd need to run a test on these streets to be sure.. also I'll have a look at the adjustment screw/stops on the LCA, but in the meantime, has anyone noticed their turning radius to be particularly booboo? Ill update with info next time Im in the truck Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 I'm sure that the pitman arm can only go on in 4 positions, every 900 so impossible to be a few splines off to one side making a left turn wider. However there are steering stops on the left and right side knuckle arm to prevent steering component damage caused the wheels digging into mud or sand and wrenching the steering wheel out of your hands and spinning it all the way to one side. Maybe the left side is adjusted out stopping the wheel from turning any further left. OR the right side too far in and allows too much right turn. This is NOT from a 620 but it shows what I mean. See the round headed bolt? Loosen the lock nut and adjust in for more travel. The round top of the head bottoms out on the LCA or something and prevents more turning. Quote Link to comment
klam07 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 13 hours ago, datzenmike said: Maybe the left side is adjusted out stopping the wheel from turning any further left. OR the right side too far in and allows too much right turn. So my left turn is definitely a bit funky. Tight right turns were much easier to complete but they're pretty useless on North American roads hah. I still need to take a look under the truck to see if anything seems obviously out of wack. A thought crossed my mind.. I installed adjustable 720 tie rods so each side is technically independently adjustable (center link is also adjustable).. maybe one side is longer/shorter than the other, meaning the center link, pitman and idler are skewed/biased to one side. I did my best to match each tie rod length to the old 620 one but they could have been re-adjusted since I had an alignment done. So maybe the steering being dead set down the middle was overlooked since the shop would just be looking for the final number by using the tie rods and not the center link..? Ill have to do some measuring it seems Quote Link to comment
thisismatt Posted August 1, 2020 Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 Is the pitman arm straight when wheels are centered? Maybe your entire steering is adjusted off center. Don't rely on the steering wheel since that can be reclocked on the splined shaft. You should put it up on jack stands and also check that the steering is freely able to go lock to lock - your box could be adjusted too tight and be binding in the less worn section, where full left wouldn't be too surprising as the least worn area. Quote Link to comment
klam07 Posted August 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2020 9 hours ago, thisismatt said: Is the pitman arm straight when wheels are centered? Maybe your entire steering is adjusted off center. Don't rely on the steering wheel since that can be reclocked on the splined shaft. You should put it up on jack stands and also check that the steering is freely able to go lock to lock - your box could be adjusted too tight and be binding in the less worn section, where full left wouldn't be too surprising as the least worn area. Yeah, Ill definitely run through these tests when I can get the truck off the ground. Im thinking that its adjusted off center or the arms are unequal length. Im hoping its not steering box related 😕 Quote Link to comment
thisismatt Posted August 2, 2020 Report Share Posted August 2, 2020 You can check the component positions sitting on the ground. Did you personally ever reclock the steering wheel? Quote Link to comment
klam07 Posted August 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2020 19 hours ago, thisismatt said: You can check the component positions sitting on the ground. Did you personally ever reclock the steering wheel? Yeah, the trucks just a bit low and ive got a lip. Its a bit hard to see clearly under there. I did have the steering wheel off to address a signal/brake light issue recently but I marked the wheel and column splines to make sure it was put back to its original position. Driving down the road the steering wheel is 'straight' but theres also a lot of side to side play in the steering wheel that doesnt translate to the wheels. Quote Link to comment
thisismatt Posted August 2, 2020 Report Share Posted August 2, 2020 Yeah, my thought is while the wheel might be straight, the pitman arm is not. Quote Link to comment
klam07 Posted August 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 5 hours ago, thisismatt said: Yeah, my thought is while the wheel might be straight, the pitman arm is not. Found my issue. As initially suspected it was the steering stops. The right side (left turns) was adjusted pretty far out I guess so I turned it in and it helped a lot. Turn radius feels closer to any other vehicle. The left side however is missing the screw all together, so ill just be mindful not to crank it on right turns. Does anyone know if one from another truck might fit? Like a hardbody? Also measured my tie rods and theyre more or less even, with my pitman/idler being pretty straight along the frame. So that and the steering wheel checks out, alignment is safe! Quote Link to comment
klam07 Posted August 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 Other side. Hit image size limit Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 3, 2020 Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 other side looks missing Quote Link to comment
klam07 Posted August 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 35 minutes ago, datzenmike said: other side looks missing Yes, it definitely is lol. Im wondering if one from a Hardbody would fit. But its not too big a deal since full crank right turns almost never happen. Ill just be mindful Quote Link to comment
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