Front suspension rebuild

[Jtull55]

Hi all: I recently had a complete rebuild of the front suspension on my 74 Imperial. Greatly improved the feel and handling although steering feels a bit stiff. Also the steering wheel is slightly off center enough to be annoying. The mechanic said it could be the torsion bars needing to break it in and to drive it for awhile. I have put about 150 miles and there is no change. Any thoughts?

 

[69monaco]

steering tie rod end adjusting.........probably.

 

[CBODY67]

Stiffer steering? Where did they set the caster at?

Off-center steering wheel? Need to put it on the alignment machine/rack and make the tie rod adjusting sleeves the same distance apart from their ends of threads. Toe-in can be set correctly but the sides can be uneven on the threads. Nothing related to the torsion bars.

Is the car now sitting with the rocker panel parallel to the road surface, as it did when it left the factory when new?

Check the fine print of the "Shop Warranty" on your repair order. See how long (time and miles) the warranty is for. Document on the back of the RO that you mentioned the off-center steering wheel to the manager (time, date, and miles on the car when it was mentioned). THEN, toward the end of that warranty, re-address the issue with the off-center steering wheel (that got no better) and the stiff steering.

Most OEMs did not want to do a "warranty alignment" on new cars with less than 3000 miles on them. Wanting everything to get used to each other, for example.

Which torsion bars did you get installed (and why)? Any other things done to the front suspension?

CBODY67

 

[Big_John]

Hi all: I recently had a complete rebuild of the front suspension on my 74 Imperial. Greatly improved the feel and handling although steering feels a bit stiff. Also the steering wheel is slightly off center enough to be annoying. The mechanic said it could be the torsion bars needing to break it in and to drive it for awhile. I have put about 150 miles and there is no change. Any thoughts?

First, find a new mechanic.

Second, was the steering box touched? Rebuilt? Did they "adjust" the box?

Third, if the steering wheel is off center, the tie rods need to be readjusted.

Fourth, were the torsion bars changed and if so, why? If you had them put heavier t-bars, the ride is going to be stiffer.

 

[Jtull55]

Stiffer steering? Where did they set the caster at?

Off-center steering wheel? Need to put it on the alignment machine/rack and make the tie rod adjusting sleeves the same distance apart from their ends of threads. Toe-in can be set correctly but the sides can be uneven on the threads. Nothing related to the torsion bars.

Is the car now sitting with the rocker panel parallel to the road surface, as it did when it left the factory when new?

Check the fine print of the "Shop Warranty" on your repair order. See how long (time and miles) the warranty is for. Document on the back of the RO that you mentioned the off-center steering wheel to the manager (time, date, and miles on the car when it was mentioned). THEN, toward the end of that warranty, re-address the issue with the off-center steering wheel (that got no better) and the stiff steering.

Most OEMs did not want to do a "warranty alignment" on new cars with less than 3000 miles on them. Wanting everything to get used to each other, for example.

Which torsion bars did you get installed (and why)? Any other things done to the front suspension?

CBODY67

Looking at the invoice it is pretty vague. It just says rebuild front suspension and steering. I looked at the car on the lift and the parts looked new ball joints, tie rod ends, various bushings,etc. Torsion bars look original. I really don’t know what the did to rebuild the steering. The power steering pump was already replaced. The warranty is 1 year or 12000 miles. I’m well within that. The shop seemed pretty sketchy but I have been having trouble finding a good shop in my area.

 

[hootothecore]

Hi all: I recently had a complete rebuild of the front suspension on my 74 Imperial. Greatly improved the feel and handling although steering feels a bit stiff. Also the steering wheel is slightly off center enough to be annoying. The mechanic said it could be the torsion bars needing to break it in and to drive it for awhile. I have put about 150 miles and there is no change. Any thoughts?

There is an adjustment on the steering box to take up play in the gear. If that was adjusted, your steering could feel stiffer. There is also a valve body on the steering box that if moved can cause the wheel to be off center and if really misadjusted cause the wheel to turn by itself.

 

[Jtull55]

Thanks for the input! I think this site is the best place for information and advice. I will advise the mechanic pronto.

 

[Mntac]

I just replaced the tie rod ends, pitman arm and steering gear arm on my 66 wagon. The steering is now also very stiff. Even the new power steering pump groans with tight turning into a parking spot. In my case I think the culprit is the pitman arm mount. When torqued to spec the arm could barely be moved. I even posted here worried I maybe had it too tight. It's getting a little better the more I drive but still not great. Haven't brought it in for the alignment yet and my steering wheel is also off center which I know they'll fix.

 

[Jtull55]

Hi all: I recently had a complete rebuild of the front suspension on my 74 Imperial. Greatly improved the feel and handling although steering feels a bit stiff. Also the steering wheel is slightly off center enough to be annoying. The mechanic said it could be the torsion bars needing to break it in and to drive it for awhile. I have put about 150 miles and there is no change. Any thoughts?

Hello again:
I just wanted to report back that my soon to be ex mechanic resolved the problem with my non-centered steering wheel after the suspension rebuild. I thank the group for your input on getting this issue resolved.