lawman65

Just completed the following suspension work: New upper & lower control arms (stock type), new 620# 1" drop coil springs, 1" sway bar, new shocks, roller perches and poly bushings. Alignment per opentracker.com street car specs. The only thing I didnt replace is the steering components. The car wanders depending on which way the cracks run in the road or over bumps it tend to go one way or the other slightly. I live in Maine where the road is higher in the center for rain / moisture run off. There is a little play in the steering wheel but not a lot. Manual steering car but seems like I'm adjusting left and right all the time to keep it in the middle of my lane. Is the steering box at fault here and worn out or is it the steering components under the car? It also has the Granada swap front disks. Thanks for any info.

urban_cowboy

It could be anything. Do you have bias-ply tires? Have you checked the rag joint, steering box, tie-rod ends, idler arm, and pitmam arm for wear or slack? When you did the Granada swap, what did you do to help eliminate the bump-steer from different steering geometry? There are different size tie-rod ends...do you have the right ones for the spindles?

67t5ponycoupe

Idler arm, or tie rod ends. The pitman arm should be a non-wearing item on a manual car so it won't be that. Looks like you are working on a 65 so you won't have a rag joint. A worn steering box could do it too but it really sounds like a tow out problem. Did the alignment guy check the steering componants? They usually will so they are not aligning a car that needs parts. Definitely check the outer tie rods to make sure they are seated in the spindles correctly.

Starfury

Whoever did the alignment should've checked out the steering for any play beforehand. Take it back and tell them what it's doing.

KMatch

2 things besides tires to cause wander are loose or binding parts or alignment. Jack up the front end and wiggle each wheel side to side as if you're turning them. Any play? More than about 1/8" to account for wheel bearings is bad. I hope not after replacing so much stuff. Can you turn the wheels from lock to lock (full left to right and back) by grabbing a tire? If so, good, if not, you have a bind somewhere and this will drive you nuts trying to keep it on the road. Did this start after the work was done or before? If after, look for something not installed right or toe-in not properly set.

You can visually check this - turn the wheels straight ahead and sight down each one from the front of the car. Use an imaginary line from the front most sidewall of the front tire to the rearmost sidewall of the front tire to the same points on the rear tires. All points should "touch" as in a straight line (as if a string were strung from the front tire to the back) on both sides of the car. I suspect one tire is more turned in or out than the other or something is binding as above.

A steering box is a common item to cause this, but it would likely have been doing the same before all the work was done.

groho

sounds like toe, too much or not enough. I simply use two 2' pieces of angle iron, and a buddy. square the angle iron against both wheels, and measure back side wheel to wheel, and then measure front side wheel to wheel. The front should be aprox 1/8" shorter then the back. Also, check your steering box and make sure it's not dry and needing adjustment.

JamesW

agree..you need to dial in a smidge more toe.
Also, I noted mine started doing the same thing when I changed to a roller idler arm. There was no rubber to pull it back to center.

KMatch

This, along with my "sighting" method are good for a ballpark check or to get it close enough to drive to an aligment shop, but if the rear axle isn't EXACTLY the same width as the front, it won't work for long term driving. Rarely is the rear axle exactly the right width. Earlier model GM trucks would have the front wheels towed out about 1 inch with this method. It's only good for getting an overall picture of how it's setup. Alignment equipment takes all of this into consideration.

lawman65

Thank you for the info guys! The car was wandering before I did all the front end work. I did talk to the alignment tech who worked on my car. He told me he checked all the linkage stuff, pitman, center link, ect. and it was all tight. He believes the most of the wandering is due to lash in the steering box. He suggested tightening the steering box one quarter turn and switching the front tires left to right / right to left and see if that helps. I did have some wear on the outside of the tires before the line up.

KMatch

Sounds good. I wouldn't bother with the tire swap, though. This is done to chase a pull, not a wander.

On adjusting the gear box, there's a couple of ways to do it and it's all a touchy feely thing. It'd be best to have the front wheels off the ground and adjust it in a 1/4 turn at a time while turning the wheel and checking for binding. Adjust it with the wheels straight ahead as many gear boxes are set loose on turns due to design and tightening it with the wheels turned will lock it up when straight. Anyway, adjust it until you feel the steering wheel shows some resistance then back off 1/4-1/2 turn. Check for binding through a complete right to left and back turn. If it binds, don't drive it. Find someone to help at this point as there are more issues which could be dangerous. A properly adjusted box will allow an inch or slightly more play in the steering wheel with the wheels on the ground. Less play can be dangerous as it leaves no room for expansion due to heat and can lead to a stuck wheel at a bad time.