I have a 1994 truck and when I back up the front tires plow. They both turn outwards on the backside of the tires while backing up. If I back up a few feet, it stops me. I searched for a thread to find some one else that has had this issue and corrected it, but nothing came up. The truck drives fine going forward. I do have a two-inch lift with springs I just installed. It has caster adjustment, and I have the caster set with a level on the rim and its very close. I set it straight up and down but did not alter my tie rod alignment. I believe I had this issue before but didn't notice it as much? Any help would be much appreciated.
You adjusted the camber. Now, you definitely need to adjust the toe... take it to an alignment shop and have them adjust the toe
I installed a qty of 3 washers. 5/8” ID onto the the front stabilizer bar on the back side of the rubber bushing. This made up the difference of how far the rubber bushing was being compressed from the added aggressive tire and possibly the lift. I had this issue with the stock tires I see now it just wasn’t nearly as dramatic after the tires. The alignment is right on, and I did not have to change it. I installed the mich mini trucks kit from eBay. I talked with Steven on the phone he told me half-inch adjustment on the camber. That's probably about right. I came up with 14mm. Drives perfect now no CV bind, so I'm pleased. I'm going out in it for a few days next weekend camping if anything changes I'll update the post. The ride with the 250 springs feels much better.
Check the tie rod ends for wear. That could cause the issue. Also, the larger tires might be putting enough load on the tie rods to deflect them.
I don't understand why my alignment is still correct. I did not checked it before, but I had driven it all over and on the freeway at 60mph, and it drove hands-off no issues straight steering wheel, and the tires look like they're wearing correctly at 55k miles (stock 12"). All the front end parts are tight and like new. My guess is the lift is so little it barely changes the angle of the wheel to the pitman's arm. I also put in the 1.5 " lift front and rear into my Geo Metro ( Suzuki swift rally kit) and it was perfect at the alignment shop on tow and camber as well. I'm not too worried about it; the measurement is right, and it drives excellent. I'm sure having fun with it. Just wish I had taller 5th gear. I'm running the DOt rated DMG1 Grippa tires off my rally car on it, and they work perfectly on this little truck. I had a bit of rub backing and turning with them on 13" rims 22.5" tall and 7" wide on stock Geo Metro rims. I bought a stereo off eBay that has the speakers built into the front of the deck. I'm looking at this dash and not seeing how this stock stereo comes out. Anyone took this out. I don't want to break any plastic. I also have Mattracks for it that I need to get installed soon.
How have you fixed this issue? I am having the same issue on my dk51t scrum (dd51t carry). I just installed the 2 inch lift kit. Any help is appreciated. Thank you all.
Going forward the tie rods and strut rods are under tension. In reverse they are under compression. They are flexing, allowing the backs of the tires to push out. If you have added wider tires or wheels with more offset, the loads get worse. Because you have more leverage against the rods. In the picture above, you can see both the tie rods and the strut rods. Check all the bushings and ends for wear, and see if there is something worn. But, you may not find anything.
If nothing is worn, what is the solution? The plan was to put some 24x8x12 tires on it, they should be here Monday. Right now it only has the stock tires (155 r12)
So if nothing is worn, camber and toe is good, no tire rub, everything should work fine. I rolled my cv boots back and checked out the cv joints for wear, any possible metal shavings, thoroughly checking them out! Then I repacked them with a special non friction grease, and re installed the rubber boots, with stainless steel zip ties, like original. Sometimes when we check things, we don't see everything the first time, so double check and try to think outside the box, by double checking again! It's easier to fix these problems, naturally, while were initially doing it the first time, than to have a problem, and have to go back and do it again! I sometimes have to remind myself, when at first I'm not seeing anything, to look again, and check it at a different angle! Again, my older friend Tim, with many yrs. experience has told me many times in jest, "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when are you going to have time to do it right again!" I will be following this post closely, as My mini is still on blocks and in the air, while being restored. Limestone
Back when I was building rally cars, and offroad runners, we would take the ends off the tie rods, and slip a larger diameter piece of pipe over the tie rods, to stiffen them up. We’d cut the pipe to about a half inch less length than the didstance between the threads on the rod, and clean up the ends of the pipe to get rid of any burrs or high spots. One end would get a bit extra reaming to bell it slightly. Then the pipe was slipped over the rod, and one end welded. The one with the bigger reaming was left free floating, and filled with RTV silicone, to keep junk out. But, I’m guessing that if you ceck the componenets with a dial indicator, you’ll find something that is loosened up.
