General steering issue / Alingment problem

[62 driver]

I have a steering issue with my 62.  When I turn right at a 35-70 MPH speed the steering wheel all of a sudden pulls more right.  It does not do it in a left turn. I thought it was all the old rubber bushing causing it.  Well I replaced all parts and bushing in the front end. I had ia professionally Alingment done by a shop that's been doing old cars for years!  The problem remains but is lighter in the right pull. The shop told me my steering box is bad and was not the Alingment.  Could this be true?  And if so why would the Alingment cause less of a pull? Dave

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day Dave,

There could be a number of issues here, and the first one to consider is what tyres you are running, and what specifications you are using for the actual wheel alignment.

If you are running on Radials, and using stock measurements, then this could be the problem.   Radials require far less Toe-in than Cross-Ply tyres.   The Radial numbers should be close to -1/16", as against the stock measurement.   Never go Zero.

Plus, don't forget that the Camber of the road will have a assist on wanting to steer to the right, as the vehicle is wanting to move to the right which is towards the curb.

Un-equal tyre pressures will have an effect as well.

Bruce.

[Dave Shepherd]

Tassie is on the money here, but I've  seen this condition  occur with problems caused by seals on the spool valve in the gear box. Get the front wheels off the ground, start the car, slowly  turn the wheels to the right and see if you feel it pull more than you are turning.

[62 driver]

I have 2 sets of tires and both sets do the same. I will jack it up and see if it pulls in the right turn.  Appreciate all the advice. Dave

[62 driver]

Tassie is on the money here, but I've  seen this condition  occur with problems caused by seals on the spool valve in the gear box. Get the front wheels off the ground, start the car, slowly  turn the wheels to the right and see if you feel it pull more than you are turning.

I jacked up the front end and turned the wheels both ways with the engine running and it seam smooth. I don't mind replacing the steering box but I do want to be sure that's the problem. It seam strange that before the front end was totally rebuilt it pulled hard.  After the rebuild and Alingment it's a light pull but still there.  Dave

[Dave Shepherd]

A slight pull feels different than the self steering gear box issue I refer to. Do you have the printout or final alignment  settings?

[35-709]

Sell that troublesome old '62 to me, Dave, you've fought it long enough, I'll shoulder the burden and take good care of it.
Geoff N.

[dadscad]

If you replaced all parts,  did that include tie rods, center link, idler arm,  etc? Did the alignment tech check the center link height and parallelism? The procedure is described in the shop manual. The 63 manual has it explained in the power steering section. HTH. David

[62 driver]

Sell that troublesome old '62 to me, Dave, you've fought it long enough, I'll shoulder the burden and take good care of it.
Geoff N.

You should volunteer to fix it for me!! Haha

[62 driver]

If you replaced all parts,  did that include tie rods, center link, idler arm,  etc? Did the alignment tech check the center link height and parallelism? The procedure is described in the shop manual. The 63 manual has it explained in the power steering section. HTH. David

I replace all parts and all rubber.  The shop I did trust.  They are a full frame shop.  They only do frames and Alingment. It takes 10 days to get a appointment. They aligned the car for radial tires. I tested the car on a few SoCal roads with the Sam results. It used to pull hard in a right turn.  Almost took the steering wheel from you if you weren't careful.  After alignment it pulls a lot less but still pulls.

[Dave Shepherd]

Dave, again, what are the settings at now, caster and camber are critical when considering  pull conditions.