The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Half ton wanders

Hi; My 1954 3100 'wanders' above 35 mph. It follows all groves in the road and sometimes sort of vears left and right for no apparent reason. I have checked the kingpins, tie rod ends, all of the stearing linkage and it's all tight - both with the wheels on the ground and off. I adjusted the toe in to about 1/4". There's about a ten degree play in the stearing wheel.
Is this typical? It's been a few years since I've driven a truck this old and maybe I've forgotten..
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks. Rich

radials or bias ply?

Bill

Rich,

Does your rig have a dropped front axle or any front springs removed? How about WIDE custom rims and tires?

Stuart

Hi Bill;

Bias ply all around, snow tires on the rear. Can I use radials?

Rich

Hi Stuart;
Nope, all stock suspension, original rims and bias ply tires.
Rich

Plys=Groove finders. It's the nature of the beast. My 8plys can spot grooves in the highway surface 50 yards out. Better than GPS.....

yes you can get radials, and your problem will no longer be noticeable - be like getting power steering if you can find a tire about the same height and tread width [not low fat car tires]

Bill

The tires are most of the problem, but the toe adjustment may be a tad to much. Try setting it about 1/8" in instead of the 1/4".

Marking the tires for the toe adjustment is easy using white or light colored paint. With the front tires off the ground paint a small stripe down the center while rolling it around. Once dry, find something sharp that you can scribe a line around the tire with, it must remain fixed to get a true straight line.

After marking the tires, roll the truck back then forwards till it stops on it own and tires make atleast one or two full rotation, don't use the brakes. You must let it become settled to its normal straight ahead level. By rolling it forwards, you loading each joint in the steering system. At our shop, we roll them atleast one truck length forward after letting it down on the floor. Measure from the same height at the rear of tire as you do at the front, and the higher off the ground you can get the easyer it is to read the difference. We like to measure from the oil pan height or just below it. It seems like a lot of work, buts it does make a difference. Joe

You might want to tighten up the steering box. That should take a little play out. Then new tires should do the rest. There is a tech tip on tigthtening up the steering box. Helped my steering http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/saginaw.htm

Would several degrees of positive caster help this
situation?


Stuart.

If you let go of the wheel on a turn and it returns back to center without snapping your neck, the caster should be OK.

I would set the toe at 1/16" toed out. Toe in causes the vehicle to fish tail and wander.

My manual says that if you have the maximum allowable caster, you need the maximum allowable toe in and with the the minimum caster you need the minimum toe in. Never heard of anyone using toe out on a solid axle.

Rich1954-3100,

From what you describe (everthing is tight, except for steering), the FIRST thing to check-out is the steering gear adjustment. The procedure in the Shop Manual is easy to follow (and the Tech Tip is pretty much a restatement of the Shop Manual, which has pictures). A cheap fish-scale (from WalMart) is required. The hardest part of this procedure is cleaning off the steering gear box. Most likely this procedure has not been done on your truck in many years (if ever).

A change to radial tires will most likely make a difference and there are LT radials that will fit standard rims and have an appearance quite similar to original bias-ply tires. There is no practical need to look for wider wheels or tires, unless you plan to modify the front end.

If you do not have a Chevrolet Truck Shop Manual for your year (of truck, engine, transmission, and rear-end), ask for one/them for Christmas.

Toe-in (easy to check), caster (shims are needed), and camber (for pros only) settings are in the Shop Manual. Toe-in is 1/16"-3/16" for a 1/2 ton truck.

The Shop Manual lists 16 things to check before setting the alignment as a solution to steering complaints.

#1 is "Loose or improperly adjusted steering gear."

I wonder how many of us that own and service an old truck have adjusted our steering gear. I had not done so until a few years ago - it was like driving a new truck (radials resulted-in a modest, but noticeable, improvement).

Tim

You didn't say if you checked your shocks. Worn shocks can be the cause of steering problems.

Hi To All;
Thanks for all of the good advice. I do have a manual, just wasn't smart enough to look in there. I will get new tires, adjust the stearing box as instructed, and the toe-in using the method described above.
I truely appreciate all the help you've provided.
Rich

The end of the story: I now have new tires, adjusted the toe-in, and adjusted the stearing box. It is vastly improved. The tires made the biggest difference, about 75%. The stearing box adjustment made about a 20% improvement and the toe in (from 1/4" to 1/8")about 5%.
Thanks to all for the help and advice.
Rich