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Old 06-03-2019, 12:06 AM   #1
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Front End Success ... sorta, need stabilizer advice

Looking for steering stabilizer recommendations and have been reading threads here and other sites.

I have a Ford EB250 with a Salem Kroger front end. They are notorious for a rough ride with horrible bump steer. Couple that with a bunch of miles and you can beat yourself up driving down the road.

Had a high knuckle conversion and associated components rebuilt along with replacement of shocks with Fox 2.0s. Made all the difference in the world! It's actually nice to drive ... EXCEPT ... the Fox steering stabilizer is too stiff for the front end. It was literally fighting against F.E. on highway turns. Turn the wheel>little change> then darting into the turn (best I think I can describe it).

I thought it was the leaf springs being too loose ...

It took a bit to figure this out, but the problem was nearly cured by putting the old, worn OEM Ford stabilizer back on.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS welcomed, and appreciated. Could there be something else we are missing?

Soooo, not sure what to do? The stabilizer sent by Agile is the correct one for my van, but it just IS too stiff.

I'm looking for recommendations on another stabilizer to correct the little bit of looseness up front with the old OEM up front. A new OEM stabilizer may be what I need. Or anyone recommend an aftermarket stabilizer that might be cheaper and may work as well as OEM?

Additionally, I did have the alignment checked and camber is off a bit, and caster is out quite a bit more. Mechanic did set toe almost perfectly, the old fashioned way. I may keep going on this by having camber adjusters added and caster shims placed as well.

My new money pit ... sucks me in more than my house!

Thanks in advance!

WanderingBob

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Old 06-03-2019, 12:21 AM   #2
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Have you talked to Agile about revalving the Fox stabilizer to be a bit lighter? For that matter, try running lower pressure in it first.
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Old 06-03-2019, 07:16 AM   #3
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Is your Fox stabilizer the thru-sharft model?
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Old 06-03-2019, 10:46 AM   #4
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Is your Fox stabilizer the thru-sharft model?
Not sure what through shaft is? Agile called it loop to loop.

There is a shaft right down the center with holes to bolt through at either end. So, I guess, yes.

Looks like OEM Ford stabilizer
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Old 06-03-2019, 11:47 AM   #5
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Yup, send it back to John and have him loosen up the damping. Getting the alignment correct will help a bunch too.
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Old 06-03-2019, 11:50 PM   #6
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Have you talked to Agile about revalving the Fox stabilizer to be a bit lighter? For that matter, try running lower pressure in it first.
I do not see my response to this.

Long story, shocks were sent in January, high knuckle ordered, then returned after wrong, part received ... took a month. Second arrived too late to get done before mechanic had surgery, so it took 5 months to get the shocks on.

Still waiting for a response from Agile ...

Thanks,

Bob
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Old 06-04-2019, 12:23 AM   #7
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Dual opposing gas SHOCKS cancel each other and therefore put no stress on the steering box. Also look for Turbostew's thread here:

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...le-3996-3.html

"Bump Steer" is merely "baby death wobble" i.e., a death wobble that does not propagate.

So you already dealt with what carringb describes in post # 8 here?

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...le-3996-3.html

My version of Turbostew's design:
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Old 06-04-2019, 10:05 AM   #8
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Wanderingbob: Here is a pic of the through-shaft fox damper....it doesn't have any gas charge, and therefore doesn't bias the steering to one side.








Not sure that has anything to do with your issue, but I wanted to ask so others here have more info.


The one you have is essentially a shock, and if you compress the shaft it will extend back on it's own due to nitrogen pressure in the shock body. The through shaft design elminates the need for a gas charged body....and the shaft stays wherever you put it; it's not biased to full extended position.


E350's post above accomplishes the same thing but you need two dampers to cancel out the gas pressure bias of each unit...they work against each other.
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Old 06-04-2019, 10:59 AM   #9
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Hard to diagnose over the internet or driving it, but from your description, it sounds like the mounted steering stabilizer is in a bind.



I think you describe turning the steering wheel, something in the steering system is holding back, then after the power assist overcomes the resistance, it 'lets loose' and moves the front wheels too much, giving you that darting feeling. It goes away when you swap back to the old damper.


If tightening the damper mounting bolts puts it into 'bending' or 'a bind' you could get that symptom.


I'd loosen the Fox damper mounting bolts, and give it a try. If the issue gets better, I'd take a close look at the mounting scheme, check for anything contacting the Fox damper body.


This sort of thing is common in street cars converted to race cars, the new high-dollar, double adjustable shocks have larger bodies, one or more now hits a suspension member, and the car handles like crap. But it's an easy fix usually involving stacking washers and using longer bolts.
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Old 06-05-2019, 04:01 PM   #10
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Hard to diagnose over the internet or driving it, but from your description, it sounds like the mounted steering stabilizer is in a bind.



I think you describe turning the steering wheel, something in the steering system is holding back, then after the power assist overcomes the resistance, it 'lets loose' and moves the front wheels too much, giving you that darting feeling. It goes away when you swap back to the old damper.


If tightening the damper mounting bolts puts it into 'bending' or 'a bind' you could get that symptom.


I'd loosen the Fox damper mounting bolts, and give it a try. If the issue gets better, I'd take a close look at the mounting scheme, check for anything contacting the Fox damper body.


This sort of thing is common in street cars converted to race cars, the new high-dollar, double adjustable shocks have larger bodies, one or more now hits a suspension member, and the car handles like crap. But it's an easy fix usually involving stacking washers and using longer bolts.
Interesting, and thanks.

I don't think there was a bind. I honestly feel the shock is way too tight, I can barely move it by leaning down on it. And, as others have mentioned, it is a gas shock which kinda doesn't make sense to me or the mechanic.

The van is truly a dream to drive compared to before the mods, it does lean a bit on turns and will ask more questions about that, down the road.

Maybe through shaft or valving will correct the problem. I honestly think, not that the high knuckle was added to change the geometry, now the weakest link is the springs. They may be next.
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