Frank in Norway - Caster Comment

**Frank in Norway** · 09-16-2004, 02:07 PM

Caster is a directional control angle that keeps the front tires turned straight and self-center the steering after cornering.

Too much caster will result in a car that is hard to steer, but keep in line well. Also too much have been said to introduce death wobble.

Too little caster will give you a vehichle that wanders and don't do much self-centering. It will feel very unstable.
This is what happens when you shim the axle for zero pinion angle.

So, when I said that caster beeing more important thatn pinion angle this is because it's better to have a car that's safe at speed than long ujoint life.

**imported_Big Red** · 09-17-2004, 03:35 AM

frank, after my spring over, we changed the angle of the pinion (of course) but my jeep feels as if it likes to wonder. What do I need to do to help correct it? Thanks!

**FSJ Thing** · 09-17-2004, 03:48 AM

Alot of big words in this thread. I made a bad drawing to try and help explain:

When you rotate the axle to correct pinion angle, you're rotating the whole axle. This rotates your steering knuckles and effects your steering. 3 degrees isn't that big of a deal, but if you're noticing it and feel uncomfortable with it, the only fix is to cut off the knuckles and reweld them to the axle tubes at the correct angle.

**Frank in Norway** · 09-17-2004, 04:27 AM

Just as Matt says, the only way to correct it is to do a "cut'n'turn".

But, remember that the pinion angle was not optimal when the Jeep came of the factory. In my point of view it's more important with a correct caster than pinion angle.
This is because a vehichle that doesn't handle good is unsafe on the street. A pinion angle out of alignement only gives slight vibration and more frequently u-joint change.
So if a cut'n'turn is out of the question, rotate the axle for correct caster.

And a picture says more than a 1000 big words

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