Wondering Car

[JohnB]

Starting to tackle what I think is a suspension problem.

As I'm driving in straight line, the car drifts (wonders) left and right in the lane. So far I've replaced the ball joints, pitman and idler arms, tie rods, etc. Brand new steering gearbox.

There is very little play in the steering wheel (and definitely not enough to make up for how much it wonders).

Tires are P215/75 R14

Any Ideas?

'63 Newport 4 dr. Hardtop

 

[413]

Check the toe in. A bad alignment can cause a good car to drive bad.

 

[GOLDMYN]

steering wheel shaft, aren't there bearings inside, just a thought

 

[Big_John]

Starting to tackle what I think is a suspension problem.

As I'm driving in straight line, the car drifts (wonders) left and right in the lane. So far I've replaced the ball joints, pitman and idler arms, tie rods, etc. Brand new steering gearbox.

There is very little play in the steering wheel (and definitely not enough to make up for how much it wonders).

Tires are P215/75 R14

Any Ideas?

'63 Newport 4 dr. Hardtop

Did you have a front end alignment done after changing those parts?

 

[JohnB]

Front End alignment was done after changing all the steering parts, so I don't think its an alignment problem. And it doesn't pull...it just meanders back and forth across the lane.

 

[Justin Plant]

Were you chasing this issue when you started?

 

[JohnB]

Yep....chasing the issue. The Steering wheel had A LOT of play in it. That's what started it. As we went along, we noticed quite a lot of plan in the whole steering system. So to rule out the steering components, we replace it all.

 

[Big_John]

Yep....chasing the issue. The Steering wheel had A LOT of play in it. That's what started it. As we went along, we noticed quite a lot of plan in the whole steering system. So to rule out the steering components, we replace it all.

Thinking about this... You've replaced a lot of stuff in the front and you seem confident in the alignment... So that leaves the other end off the car.

Are the bushings for the leaf springs in good shape? Particularly the front bushings. I had similar issues with one car that were handled (no pun intended) by correcting issues with the rear, specially the leaf springs.

 

[Xenon]

I am often amused when I see a "problem" as this ...
Peeps replace all kinds of moving parts but don't seem to notice the moving parts
that are working the hardest......
The upper control arm bushings
and, even more importantly,,
lower control arm bushings....
Many peeps do not want to replace the LC bushings as it is too much trouble..
Then they wonder why their car wanders, especially on concaved roads ...


.

 

[413]

Toe misadjusted will make it wander all over, not pull. Caster being off makes it pull.

did you get a readout of your finished alignment specs?

the steering column can be loose, so take your hands off the wheel and the car will still not wander. It may not go the direction you want but it. Won't wander because of a loose column.

 

[JohnB]

ok...thank you all for the suggestions. I start with a realignment. If that doesn't fix it, I'll replace the upper and lower LC bushings.

Thanks again.

 

[CBODY67]

You replaced the steering gearbox? Where did the replacement box come from? Is the front end ride height adjusted to OEM specs? Is the rocker panel parallel to the road surface? Check that the input side of the steering box does not let the steering input shaft move in and out when the wheel is turned off-center, either way. That translates into "slack" although the rest of the linkage is "tight". There is an adjustment for that in THAT part of the box (not the other adjustment that everybody normally adjusts).

Roads are not as flat as they can appear to be. They all should have a very slight slope to them so the water drains off in a rain event.

As to the alignment specs, are they close to: +1.5 degrees caster, close to 0 degrees camber, and close to 1/16" toe-in? Tire pressures of 30psi f/r?

So far, you've replaced a lot of parts which had wear on them, to no real benefit other than you know you have new stuff under there. Time to get more serious about finding out where the issues really are rather than just chunking parts at it.

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[Just Carbs]

Start with these. They do wonders for the wanders.

The Snap-On of course does caster, camper and checks king pin damage. Takes about 2 minutes.

The fish scale gets wrapped across the front of the tires with small chains hooked in the wheel slots for a reading. Then push car "forward/no brakes" 1/2 revolution and read at the back of the tires to find the "absolute" zero tow. Takes about 5 minutes.

Both are dead nuts accurate and can't be argued with.

 

[Boydsdodge]

How's the steering column rag joint and coupler?
Lower control arm bushings are almost,always shot on the the cars that come to me, even so called restored cars.

 

[rkrochen]

Try rotating tires front to back to see if there is any difference. I have seen tires do some funny things over the years. This is a no cost test before you put anymore money into the car.

 

[Omni]

Good Morning
I may be off the mark but what shape are the tires in? Broken chords perhaps? Tire with an odd bulge in it?
Just replaced the LCA bushings in the 'barge'. One side had shreds of rubber hanging out. Car drove/handled as well as any 50+ year old car would.
Omni

 

[volksworld]

lack of caster can cause it to wander...shops used to aligning modern stuff where this isnt adjustable would probably just set the toe and not much else...upper control arm bushings can be rotated out in the front and/or back in the rear to move upper ball joint location back

 

[traintech55]

Have you checked your front wheel bearings? If they are loose it will make the car wonder..

 

[69monaco]

Question @ all ....is there / could there be play on a new steering gearbox ?

 

[rkrochen]

Yes. There is a special procedure to adjust the steering box. You don’t want to overtighten it because it will cause damage. Get the service manual and look for the procedure on how to do it.