Mr. Pickles Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 So I'm looking for more suggestions on what to try next. Over the weekend, I installed the new UCA's, upper ball joints, poly bushings, and adjusted that screw thing for the steering box at my father in laws' suggestion. The tie rod ends appear to be fine, so I didn't swap them although I have them. Got her aligned yesterday, and the wobble is still there between 40-55mph or so. The remaining suspect part would be the center link and ????, but the thing that gets me is there is still play up top at the shaft going into the steering box. I can turn the wheel for about a 2" range where there is movement in the shaft going into the box that isn't translated through the box to the link below. So, could it be the geers in there are worn? Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheel366 Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 Calmini Steering upgrade?????? :cool2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filthy Luker Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 screw Calmini (and their fantastic customer service) and go straight for SAS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 yeah, i bet your CL is shot.. that's the weakest part of the steering.. get one from L&P or fab something similar... not sure about your pitman.. could be but any looseness in the wheels is most likely the CL... if one tire moves while the other is not (resting on the ground) it's most likely the CL.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 If you're saying you turn the wheel 2" or more and see no movement in the CL, then I'd say it is your steering box. If your CL is moving, but the tires aren't, your steering box is probably okay. If your CL is shot, you can usually feel some play if you get under there and grab it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 (edited) not necessarily at all.. if one tire moves but not the other the CL is shot... the CL itself may not move though except a bit upwods as a whole assembly (w/ the TREs) Edited August 23, 2005 by mzxtreme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 Have someone else turn the wheel back and forth rapidly for you while you look at the steering components. That way you can see what moves that isn't supposed to. Your tension rod bushings in good shape? That'd give you some problems as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Boy Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 With the obviouse steering box problem aside, are you sure your front wheels are balenced correctly?? I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but you may have already?? Its usualy a sign that they aren't when every time you hit a certain speed you get a wobble through the steering. Wheel shimmy often only occurs during breaking, of when you have hit a bump and you can then accelerate out of it. Consistent wobble at a certain speed is usually wheel balence, check for bulges in your tyres, mud on the back of the rims and if thats all good, get a balence done, its cheap and atleast you can rule out that from the list of possible causes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted August 24, 2005 Author Share Posted August 24, 2005 Have someone else turn the wheel back and forth rapidly for you while you look at the steering components. That way you can see what moves that isn't supposed to. Your tension rod bushings in good shape? That'd give you some problems as well... We did the back and forth with the wheel, and the tie rod ends seemed tight and solid. Not sure about the whole CL. There's enough going on that a light movement could be overlooked. Time for another view I suppose. The tension rod bushings are suspect as well, forgot to mention that. They're pretty nasty and cracked, and I've got a set of poly replacements sitting on the passenger seat as I write this, but half the bolts were frozen in place so I haven't replaced them yet. The tire balancing may be toast and I've though about that, as they haven't been checked lately. But, I'm hoping for new shoes pretty quick here anyways as we head into fall. The wobble used to be mild till 40mph-55 zone, then it got pretty bad. Now, its pretty much gone altogether except in that zone. I don't notice any cause like a bump, braking, etc., as it just goes with speed. However, cornering or a load on the steering like turning out of a rut or truck groove does eliminate it. It seems to be that the side force on the steering pulls in the slack, wherever it is. Sooooo.... I'm still thinking steering box, or maybe center link. We turned that adjust screw till it maxed out and its actually a bit better than it was before, or could be my imagination. Could be that the gearing in there is just worn beyond adjustment, as I drove it so long without dealing with it. I know, that's what you get, but I've had bigger fish to fry lately. As it is, its livable so I'm gonna roll it for now, hoping to hold out for new tires, balancing, the install of those tension rod bushings, etc. Oh, and the Firestone lifetime alignment rocks, especially since their shop is like 3 blocks from work. I had it done originally in May, and just dropped it off yesterday morning and picked it up at lunch, no hassle or questions asked. Mind you, that was after taking it in with very obviously brand new UCA's and ball joints, and all their shims removed. Works for me. :contract: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 We turned that adjust screw till it maxed out and its actually a bit better than it was before, or could be my imagination. Could be that the gearing in there is just worn beyond adjustment From my experience, the worm gear is only good for 1/4-3/4 turn or so before the steering gets a little stiff. If you get to that point, back it of 1/16-1/8 turn and thats as good as it is going to get. Hopefully it is the tire ballance, CL, before the steering gear box. GL Bud... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Ok after reading through this thread I think I am in agreement about the Steering box, possibly the center link or otherwise bushings. I had a car once that busted an outer band on one of the tires and it made my steering a little like you are talking about. Take a look over your tires for bulges.. Sometimes they are hard to find, until they get really bad. Overall I suspect the box though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted August 24, 2005 Author Share Posted August 24, 2005 From my experience, the worm gear is only good for 1/4-3/4 turn or so before the steering gets a little stiff. If you get to that point, back it of 1/16-1/8 turn and thats as good as it is going to get. Hopefully it is the tire ballance, CL, before the steering gear box. GL Bud... B Have you messed with these much? Mine went close to a full turn, and while its a bit cleaner (or so it seems) there is still slop. Time to price a swap, hopefully it won't break me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 I've adjusted the worm gear on several vehicles, my pathy included. 1 turn is probably ok, the point is not to 'tighten' it and crush the worm gear as then you will get slop... 1 turn is probably ok, as long as the steering box does not feel tight. What it usually do is mark the original position, turn it until I feel contact, then back it off about 1/8 turn. This will generally remove as much lash as the design allows. I have not replaced or rebuilt a Pathy steering box; I'm not sure how hard it is, and I understand they are nott cheap. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edta1 Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 wait a minute...is it wobbling while going on a straightway at 40-55MPH? or do you experience this while turning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth1 Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Hey man, that sounds a mighty lot like my issues before I got a new CL. Mine stopped while turning too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted August 28, 2005 Author Share Posted August 28, 2005 wait a minute...is it wobbling while going on a straightway at 40-55MPH? or do you experience this while turning? Sorry, I thought I had mentioned that. It does go away while turning or while making a steering input, say while fighting a rut on the freeway. Also, now that I've got the new parts in and have driven a few days properly aligned, I'm noticing that the wobble is there but a tad milder in general driving at speed, at some points almost hardly noticable, but it does get worse on certain surfaces. There is a long straight 50mph hill I go down daily, and at the bottom there is a bridge and the surface changes to a bit of a washboard concrete. When I hit that, it gets pretty wild and all over the place, but calms when I hit the curve right after that. Sooo, does that open any other can of worms or confirm anything in your minds? Thanks guys for all the input, by the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kn0xville Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 get your wheels off the ground, grab a tire at 3 and 9 oclock, and see if you can move it from side to side, if so, get a new CL, idler arm, maybe even a pitman arm, if you have to do that stuff, then might as well get new tre's too.(i recommend L&P). If its your steering box, then be prepared to spend some money! not cheap! and turning that little screw on the steerin box, well personaly i dont recommend it, it is very sensitive, and can cause some serious box issues if you didnt have any already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edta1 Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 I'm wondering if it is something as simple as repacking or replacing your wheel bearings... I have a feeling there was an earlier post about this and you might've looked at your bearing already. Or I could be wrong all together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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