steering components dilema

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steering components dilema

Postby chevyart » Sun Apr 12, 2015 2:15 pm

this relates to my buddies 66 chev 2 nova. he put on aftermarket spindles and switched to disc brakes.. he just put on a new , reconditionerd steering box.(exact same outside dimensions as original, and he put the original pitman arm back on. he DID NOT change the center link or inner and outer tie rods and left them as they were before the conversion. there is only one center link used on the chev 2, whether it is manual or power steering(unlike our vegas),( which has 2 different ones).here is a problem he cannot figure out. when trying to set the wheels straight ahead and the steering wheel correct, he cannot do it. one wheel can be straight and the other is angled out. he is just about out of adjustment on inner and outer tie rod sleeve adjustment. for that bad side.. he claims to having put the pitman arm back correctly. i would think if something was incorrect, both wheels would want to point in(or ) at the same time due to an improper part. this would happen to vegas if you used the wrong centerlink). A front end guy said something must have slipped. i cant even start to believe that. any ideas on what could be wrong. this one really stumps the band. my buddy has been aqound hot rods all his liufe and is a professional mechanic by trade. lets one of our vega guys sole the problem for the guys in the nova club. thanks art
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Re: steering components dilema

Postby hammerdown7 » Sun Apr 12, 2015 5:10 pm

Do the after market spindles give a narrower front track? Are the ends of steering arms on the new spindles farther away from the wheels?

Dick
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Re: steering components dilema

Postby spencerforhire » Sun Apr 12, 2015 5:36 pm

I think Dick is on the right track; the aftermarket spindles must be different. Could be complicated by the steering wheel being off a spline or two.
Last edited by spencerforhire on Mon Apr 13, 2015 12:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: steering components dilema

Postby Monza Harry » Sun Apr 12, 2015 10:10 pm

Hey Art are the tie rods in front or back on the Chevy II and do they have bolt on steering arms? If they bolt on and are rear (I bet they are rear by the age of those cars front steer wasn't common on Chevy"s until the mid 70's. If that is the case and no other solution is found you could shim the steering arms with solid shims and replace the bolts with good brand name* grade8 bolts this will reduce the tie-rod length (this is a chance to fine tune the Ackerman as well). That pitman arm has to be on wrong though as the other side is fine you said, perhaps there was a change in indexing on those boxes at some point and you have a different one now. This is something for your buddy to check out. Look at our boxes all look the same but there are two different spline counts on the input and two different hose connections and not the same year split, you need to do a careful side by side examination. Or like Dick said something else new is a little different. Harry *Unbrako, Hollow-Chrome, Allen, or ARP etc.
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Re: steering components dilema

Postby cjbiagi » Sun Apr 12, 2015 10:30 pm

It sounds like he is trying to make all the adjustment on one side. First thing to try is to center the steering box, turn the steering wheel from lock to lock carefully counting the number of turns. Then take that number and divide it in half. Now with the steering turned all the way in either direction turn the wheel exactly half of whatever the total lock to lock measurement was. This should put the steering box right in the middle of its' travel range. ( Example: If it takes 3 turns lock to lock turn the wheel 1 1/2 turns from full lock to center steering box) Now look at the tires and see if you can adjust the toe setting. Ideally the steering wheel should be straight after you center the steering box, if not you may have to pull it off and center it. I believe on the pre 69 cars you do have the ability to re index the wheel. Later cars things got different as the steering components would only go together one way.
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Re: steering components dilema

Postby chevyart » Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:59 am

thanks guys im gonna have my buddy read your posts, as he will definitely understand what you are all saying. art
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Re: steering components dilema

Postby monzaaddict » Mon Apr 13, 2015 4:44 pm

I believe the steering box was not centered when the pitman was installed and is off by 1/4 or 1/2 turn or rag joint might be off
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Re: steering components dilema

Postby chevyart » Mon Apr 13, 2015 6:13 pm

i agree with what everyone is saying,but why is one wheel straight and the other is pointing in (or out). if steering box was out of phase or the pitman arm was installed wrong, wouldnt both wheels be out the same amount(either in or out)?. he touched nothing as far adjustment goes, just bolted on new spindles and rebuilt steering box. knowing all this, i would think the spindles were the problem. maybe the part of spindle that hooks up to ball joints were not in proper place, could there be as right and left spindle? he said they were both the same. maybe they are not. he is trying to get it right by adjusting the tie rod adjuster to max (in or out) i think that is definitely the wrong way to go..something is definitely off by a good size amount. thanks again for replies. i guess our BOLT ON BROTHERS in the chevy 2 land need help from our master fabricators in vega land. art
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Re: steering components dilema

Postby cjbiagi » Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:38 pm

Most likely both the wheels need adjusting. If you make one point straight and then try to adjust the other side to be straight that means you are making all the adjustments on only one tie rod. Get the steering box centered and forget about adjusting the tie rods or looking at the wheels until you do that. Once you get the box centered then adjust both wheels to get your toe in set set. Hopefully once the box is centered the steering wheel will also be straight. Once you achieve that then start adjusting the tie rods. If you just point one wheel straight without referencing where the steering box is you will never get it right.
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Re: steering components dilema

Postby monzaaddict » Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:32 pm

the steering arms could be swapped side to side, I believe they should curved inward. If reversed the wheels would both point outward and if the steering were turned to align one side so it is straight the other side would point outward.
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Re: steering components dilema

Postby chevyart » Tue Apr 14, 2015 10:05 am

thanks again guys. my buddy will read all these post now as there should be enough info for him to get the adjustments right. i think along the same line as CJs last post. that way seems to be the most logical way to start the adjustment .i will also mention reversing the steering arms. i dont understand that part but it could help the situation. ill let you all know when he solves the problem art
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