65 Cj5 All Over The Road.

You have to go into Media and create an album, then upload pics to that album, then copy the 'share image' URL to the photo, then click on the photo icon at the top of your post here, then paste in the URL that you got from your media album.

I open two separate pages to link back and forth. A tiny bit tedious but works great.

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Welcome from Michigan. I think I would start by replacing the springs, your springs look worn out to me, flat and no arch. Springs are everything on a short wheelbase Jeep.

 

I feel like having the drag link connect to the tie rod instead of the outer knuckle hole is not ideal. That is how I have to do it on my dana 25 unless I get a two hole knuckle. The issue comes from the vertical difference between the pitman arm and the tie rod. The drag link typically acts to rotate the tie rod before it pushes side to side.

The steering box being outside the frame and spring over axle really needs a high steer setup to get the drag link level.

 

As JW60 said......
Assuming that you have already confirmed that all bushings and tie rod ends are in good shape....
It's time for high steer if you want it to have better road manners.

 

- I can almost tell by your pics that you don’t have nearly enough caster. Unless your inner Cs were turned, your pinion should be horizontal, or almost pointing down a little for the proper amount of caster. Many people who do SOA conversions just weld the perches on the tubes with driveline angle in mind, not caster.

- You have a tremendous amount of bump steer. Your tie rod ends on the drag link should be nearly parallel to the tie rod at ride height.

- Your pitman arm is way too long, especially when connected to the tie rod. A 2-hole knuckle would help by lengthening the distance between the TRE and the pivot point of the knuckle. But a high-steer setup in conjunction with a shorter pitman arm would be ideal.

SOA conversions can be set up correctly, but they’re much more sensitive to imperfections in geometry and worn parts.

 

What is “the cure”?

 

The cure is a poly bushing from Ruff Stuff.
https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/R2008.html

 

Ditto. Didn't cost that much either, and wasn't too hard to do.

 

Ah. Thanks. They’re “wobble stoppers” where I work.

 

He's got a D30, you can see the second steering knuckle hole in one of the pics....right in line with the leaf spring
I think that's a Scout steering box, with the corresponding long Scout pitman arm. A standard Saginaw arm should fit that steering box.

 

Still can't see if you have a tapered caster block between the spring and axle. From the picture it looks to be lacking caster. Steering component arrangement seems acceptable. Mine is very similar except I tie into the knuckle and more drop at the pitman. That is a fairly beefy spring pack so I wouldn't expect much horizontal flexing.

 

Yep. Mine for example. I'm maxed out on the caster adjuster. Hopefully I can improve my setup a little following this thread.

 

Here are some pics of a working SOA setup. Mine is not beautiful or perfect but it works. You'll notice what others are recommending with parallel tie and drag link. I have no bump steer and good tracking. Notice the camber block and axle is clearly rotated backwards.

 

I would fix the caster and do a high steer setup and utilize your two hole knuckle. Im not sure how it would work to get the tre's above the springs but im sure its possible with some spacers. Make sure your shakles arnt shifting an excessive amount. Also unluck the hubs and try it vs. locked in. I had one doing all sorts of eratic handling and it ended up being just a sticky u-joint pulling and tugging it around as it turned.

 

I put together a SPOA ecj5 in the early 90’s. Really liked the suspension articulation on trails…I was running 1” ecj5 rear springs in the front. It was some work to get it working properly. I’ve kind of always thought it wasn’t worth it unless a guy was going with longer and preferably wider springs (e.g. YJ springs).

Like others have posted, if I was to do it again, it would have a High Steer /OTT setup…and low arch YJ springs of some sort. Rocky Road Outfitters makes kit for our Dana 30s. Wonder if it’s a decent kit / solution?

Rocky Road High Steering

 

Refresh my memory, how do you do high steer on a 30?

 

Well, apparently with knuckle adapters…at least with the RRO kit.

 

You know, here's another thought.

I ran my CJ out for a test run on the highway after doing some carb and distributor adjustments last night. I'd mentioned earlier that I have some rear-end wobble from side-to-side once I get up to highway speeds. I was thinking it was due to some type of suspension woe, but last night I remembered something that I'd come with a while ago but forgot about since I haven't driven the rig for around a year due to electrical issues.

I have Toyota axles, and the CJ came to me with a rear-end diff modification, welded spider gears inside the diff. Essentially that makes it a full-time locker, like a solid axle rear-end. Not good for highway driving. What happens is with a little bump or variation in the roadway, or even a good wind, it makes the Jeep squat to one side which causes a slight steer angle in the rear-end. The other wheel then picks up to compensate and even the drive load, and it goes too far, switching back to the other wheel trying to catch back up, and so forth. So the wheels end up 'racing one another' as they go back and forth trying to even out. A limited-slip diff prevents this type of action.

The solution for me is to just slow down, putting an even load on both wheels, and then get back on it.

I kept trying to figure out if I had loose shackles, weak springs, weak shocks, or something similar, putting that on the list for future upgrades, but I think I'm going to have to leave it unless I get into that rear diff. The one thing that the PO did do to my leafs, however, is to remove the tops of the brackets that hold the leafs together, allowing them to further articulate offroad. That can contribute to loose highway handling conditions as well.

 

I thought Pre unit bearing D30 and D44 knuckles were interchangeable. You could use high-steer D44 knuckles on the D30 housing.

 

Make certain your tires are equal size and pressure. A spooled rear should actually push the vehicle down the road straighter than an open rear. If you’re getting variations in handling like that from the rear, there are likely other problems.

The tops of the spring clamps missing should have no affect on the street-ability of a rig. At ride hight while traveling on a flat surface, they’re in place to do their job.

Read this post. See if it’s what you’re feeling.
http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/116011/page-115#post-1609471