wheel alignment

[Kim K Kaiser]

Hi all,, i fianlly got appointment to get wheels aligned after the center link replacement.  Iread somewhere, I dont  think here though, that the settings set out in the book for allignment may be diffent for biased and radial tires.  If that is true, adn i have no idea if it is,, what if any addl adjustment should be set in to accomodate the particular tire,

Thanks

[Jason Edge]

Specs are on our Help Page at the following link:
- Alignment: Front-End Alignment Specs for Bias Ply and Radials

[Kim K Kaiser]

Thanks,   i passed it on to the alignment man

[Kim K Kaiser]

I got wheels aligned this morning.   Little to no difference in wheel play

Attached.  Video at rest

https://youtu.be/tYd1U5vXiRg

Video slow. Notice slop

https://youtu.be/6spnoU0fj-g

At highway speed

https://youtu.be/1BepnHE83fY

You can see the movement w no steering affect is about the same,  5 or so inchs at rest and at sp.

So given this after center and outer links chged with alignment,  what woukd be next step, i kno this is not correct steering.    Before i replaced thecsteering gear for bad leak, it did same thing.  So can it be looseness or worn part in column inside the cabin, not below the firewall.   I hv a 73 eldo, and as has been mentioned, its night and day in steering ease.  So i think i know that feeling yall often speak of driving w one finger

Any thoughts

[Kurt]

Are you sure the rag joint is good? Have someone crank the steering wheel (engine off) while you observe the rag joint. You should see both sides that are joined by the rubber coupling move simultaneously if the coupling is in good shape.

[Jason Edge]

A decent front end shop should be able to run it up on the rack and give you some ideas. From what I remember you have only replaced a couple of parts... maybe the inner tie rods, and control link? You also have the outers, the idler arm, steering gear to steering column coupler (rag joint) as Kurt mentioned. The bottom line is if you have a chain with several weak links and only replaced a couple of the weak links you still have a weak chain.

[Kim K Kaiser]

the rag joint was fine,,

do we have saginaw steering gears in our year cars or is it another make??

[Jason Edge]

These are Saginaw gears.

[0arka4mob2ql7]

Your steering gear is shot. My car had the same problem when I bought it. B.A. Baracus steering, as we call it.

After the steering gear was replaced it was completely tight and straight as an arrow.

[Kim K Kaiser]

Tthere is this guyvdownnstreet from me.   Hecwirks on everything from jihn deerevtractors to snow machines.  Kinda freelance,   we hv become friends overvlast couple months.  Well, i asked him whatbhe thought,  showed him the videos, he said gear woukd be first thing he would try, so today, we undid that bolt and nut on top of gear,  gave it a touch over 1/4 turn, tightened it all down and it is a huge difference, all those micro steering adjustments to keep car strait are basically gone.  The wheels actually respond! But quickly, not after a 6 inch movement were nothing happened.  So much nicer to drive.  Hopefully it will hold, Mark,  this is a replacement for another one that was bad, but it was leaking a lot of ps fluid. 

While there, he got yo looking around engine,  asked if i had truble going up hills or the transmission not downshifting.  I said yes,  i hv to really hit it to get it to shift.  He said my kickdown rod was not set right.   So he gave me the theory behind it, set it differently,  and makes big diff there as well.   It quckly gets tona lower gearvto climb the hill.   So,  i learmed a little, got a little better ride out of it.  

Thanks for zll the help

[Kim K Kaiser]

Hey Tony,

Yes,, car is fine now.  It really made a difference.  I can drive with my left hand on my knee and just work the wheel with my finger, as you have said many times.  So much nicer to drive now, none of the micro adjustments to stop from over steer,

thanks for the input