<VV> Loose Steering

[RoboMan91324 at aol.com]

Ignacio,
 
Your problem may lie in your steering box or elsewhere or in a  combination 
of components.
 
How far does the steering wheel turn before it starts turning  the wheels?  
There should be a small amount of play.
 
First, does the screw (not nut) seem to bottom out when you  tighten it?  
If so, the problem may not be in your box but you should check  further.  
When I adjust the screw, I check it at several steering  positions.  You may 
find that a worn steering box may be tighter at the far  ends of right/left 
steering than in the center.  If there is too much  difference between the 
center position and the extreme positions the box may be  bad.  Do not tighten 
the screw too much, especially in the center because  it will cause more 
wear.
 
Second, you need to define where the play is.  The play  may be in one or 
more components of your steering system.  Here is a  procedure.
 
You will need a partner.  Someone should be under the car  looking at the 
steering components.  The places to check are the steering  box input/output 
and any joint that moves like tie rod ends.  The person  inside the car 
should rock your steering wheel back and forth but only in the  range of free 
play/slop.  The wheels may twitch but should not turn against  the pavement.  
It is best if the wheels are on the ground or on a set of  ramps.  If they 
are in the air, you may have difficulty causing a bad  component to show you 
its free play.
 
The first place you look is at the input and output of the  steering box.  
If the input shaft turns a fair amount but the output shaft  does not turn, 
the play, or at least some of the play, is in the box.  As  stated above, 
there should be a little play.  If there is too much play,  try to adjust the 
screw.  Loosen the nut and turn the screw in while your  helper is rocking 
the steering wheel back and forth.  What is next is  important.  If there is 
rust or road slop on the screw/nut, you may need to hold the nut stationary 
with a wrench while you turn the  adjusting screw.  If the nut and screw 
turn together, this will give a  false impression that you are tightening the 
box.  Do NOT over tighten the  screw.  There should be a little play.  Also, 
when you are done with  the adjustment and are re-tightening the lock nut, 
you will probably need to  hold the screw in place with the screwdriver while 
you tighten the nut.   The screw may over tighten if it turns with the nut.
 
Next, check the joints in the steering system even if the play  is reduced 
at the box.  As stated above, there can be accumulated play from  several 
locations.  You are already under the car so checking everything  while you 
are there makes sense.  Keep in mind that a loose tie rod end on  one side of 
the car may not be apparent at the steering wheel because the tight  side of 
the car disguises the play.  As stated, this should be done while  the 
tires are on the ground so that there is resistance on every movable  component 
while your helper rocks the steering wheel.
 
I hope this helps.
 
Doc
 
1960 Corvette, 1961 Rampside, 1962 Rampside, 1964 Spyder  coupe, 1965 
Greenbrier, 1966 Canadian Corsa turbo coupe, 1967 Nova SS, 1968  Camaro ragtop

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
In a message dated 2/23/2014 6:07:40 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
virtualvairs-request at corvair.org writes:

Message:  5
Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2014 20:04:38 -0600
From: Ignacio Valdes  <ivaldes at hal-pc.org>
Subject: <VV> Loose steering.
To:  virtualvairs at corvair.org
Message-ID:
<CANPWqJFp0k0AJhrtXbn7HX_Mv0pm-4L9YsyGxkmT=uHZ5F3rvg at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type:  text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hi, My 64 coupe steering is loose.  Tightened the little nut in the trunk as
far as it will go. Still loose.  What to do/check? --  IV


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