[corkmt]

while driving if i turn the wheel to the right even just a little and let it go it stays there and doesn't come back to center... happens more so to the right, front end parts are tight, power steering seems to work real well (easy to steer). anything in the steering box or column that help return the wheel? thanks

[corkmt]

while driving if i turn the wheel to the right even just a little and let it go it stays there and doesn't come back to center... happens more so to the right, front end parts are tight, power steering seems to work real well (easy to steer). anything in the steering box or column that help return the wheel? thanks

[engineer]

alignment and the wheel being centered and watch the type of road where you do the testing, most are usually crowned or sloped.

[einstein]

Sounds like somebody "adjusted" the steering center aduster screw. That's a no-no! Usually wears the box out quickly, while making the car drive weird.

You'll need to check that properly (info is in the factory service manual), also check for binding steering components. I've seen unlubed ball joints cause that problem also, but that's unusual.

After testing all front end components for wear and other difficulties, have the alignment checked. Zero caster or a slight negative caster will seriously contribute to no steering return. But rarely will the alignment be set that way, and it's difficult for negative caster to just "happen" to both sides of the suspension. That's why I suggest checking the steering gearbox first.

Glenn Uettwiller
http://home.earthlink.net/~birdman8/index.html

Life is like a dog sled team - if you're not the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

[RAJ7395]

The steering on my 95 GMC truck was very loose and I was affraid to drive it on the highway as the slightest cross wind seemed to blow me all over the place. The steering wheel was real sloppy and had an excessive amount of play in it.

I inspected everything on the suspension and narrowed the slop down to the gear box. I contacted the local dealer and he indicated that I had two choices. First I could replace the gear box with a reman piece for an astronomical price or I could try adjusting the steering gear box centering screw.

As Einst indicates, I had also heard the adjusting the gear box was a big NO-NO. I decided to adjust the box any way just to see if the box really was the problem and it worked. Now the car tracks straight, returns to center, and is stable enough to drive on the highway.

All may be fine now but I am still planning to replace the box. The dealer explained the risks associated with adjusting the box as follows: During normal use, the gear teeth develop a wear pattern on the contact surfaces. Adjusting the centering screw will shift the gear alignment and change where the gears contact one another. This will temporarily correct the slopinesss in the box but you can run into problems when a second wear pattern forms on the gear teeth. The problems could be a total loss of steering, steering lock up, or varying steering forces.

I want everone to be safe and consider this topic to be very serious. If the dealer supplied info is not correct please voice your concerns so that we all can benefit..

RAJ

[lrosen]

The '67 service manual describes how to adjust the lash adjuster correctly.

If you like I can hunt it up & post procedure here. Maybe kinda long tho.

[corkmt]

thanks for the help, i think i may start by rebalancing tires (car's been sitting since 88). and then get a front end alignment. all joints are well greased and are all tight (also had mass inspector check em' real good). I have the 69 pontiac service man. and will see if i can completly understand the adjusting procedure for teh cenetr screw, if and only if, i can't get it right first with these other solutions first. car tracks nice and straight but it just feels weird, like the wheel is very sensitive and i keep oversteering or i guess forcing it back to center unknowingly. i will take it out again in a day and see what more info i can get.....

[sviguy]

my 69 bird has the very sweet tight quick ratio touchy power steering.....re-centers fine...no pull...could almost just blow at the wheel to turn....drives great....just took me a while to get used to it

can you hear me now? is this thing on? test 1 2 1 2

[einstein]

Tomas, I certainly hope your tires are not 15 years old. If so, don't waste your money balancing them. They'll start to delaminate in short order.

That twitchy feeling surely sounds like a tight screw. Before you go ahead and try to figure out the proper procedure, loosen the locknut and back off the allen screw about 1/8 of a turn and see if the problem is reduced. If so, then separate the pitman arm to center lick connection, and the steering coupler joint, then follow the procedure in the manual.

It might be easier with the steering gearbox on the bench, but you might be able to leave it on the frame with the hydraulic lines attached while checking the torque load.

Glenn Uettwiller
http://home.earthlink.net/~birdman8/index.html

Life is like a dog sled team - if you're not the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

[TweetyBird]

Idler Arm?