The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Steering Problem

I asked this question a couple of years ago when I first signed up at the StoveBolt, and got a few good answers.

I was too busy at work at the time to try and fix the problem myself, and all of the mechanics around town tell me it can't be fixed, or they don't know how to fix it.

If anyone could explain it to me again, I will certainly appreciate it.

I have a '67 Chevy Truck, with an early '70s model front end under it, with Power Steering.

The problem is that it turns very sharp to the left, but not very sharp to the right.

Davey

It sounds to me like your steering box is not center lock to lock when the truck tires are in the straight position.

This can be checked by disconnecting the link at the steering box and checking the box for center.

Okay. Exactly how do I do that? I'm not a mechanic so I'm not sure what I need to do.

Try these guys, they sure seem to a bunch about steering swaps and alignments. Yours may just need the gear box centered and tierods adjusted. Have you been to a alignment shop?

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/index.php

Do a search for steering alignment or steering linkage, you will find a lot of information. Joe

Take off the pitman arm and turn the steering shaft lock to lock and count the turns of the steering shaft. Divide the number in half and install the pitman arm with the wheels pointing straight. Make sure your pitman arm has the same amount of indexing marks as the pitman shaft.

Indexing Marks? How do I find that?

And thanks for the advice. I am listening to you.

you have it set up for a nascar track,, take some of the caster out of it...

yeah, yeah, yeah...

Thanks Joe, I'll check that out.

From looking at the 67-72 site, your truck is set up with a much more complicated steering system then the old trucks.

Your pitman arm is hooked to the center section of the steering arms. Drivers side is held up by the steering box and pitman arm, passenger side is held up by the idler arm. On each end of the center section are two tierods (four total). One inner and one outer with a adjustable sleeve between them.

You still need to unhook the pitman arm from the gear box and make sure the wheel is mounted dead center. Go lock to lock and split the difference.

The pitman arm is most likely keyed so it goes on only one way. If you really clean the arm and shaft, you might find some very small index lines. They may or may not be there, the arm will go in the straight ahead position or straight back depending on the location of the gear box.

To center the tires, the tierods will need to be adjusted. Since there are inner and outers, you can adjust each wheel separate. You still need to maintain the toe-in adjustment, so if you turn the left wheel out, you need to turn the right wheel in or which ever way get you where you need to be.

If you can turn more one way then the other, two things can cause this. One, you are hitting the axle stops with the spindle (this would be mis-adjusted tierods) or TWO, you are hitting the internal gear box stops (mismatched parts). So turn the wheel as far as you can (have the tires off the ground so it turns easy) and look at each axle stop. Axle stops are adjustable bolts on the back side of each spindle that hit the axle and stop the spindle from going to far. Internal gear box stops keep the gear box from killing itself.


Let us know what you find.

I have installed a 71 crossmember and steering on my 62...and on both pitman arms and steering boxes the splines are the same,they can only go on one way. if you look closely one fat spline on the shaft and arm.i put the 71 pitman on the 62 box, goes right on. as the above posters said, count the turns on the box and find center,install pitman then make a rough adjustment with the tie rods and get an alignment . good luck i hope this helps Mark

Thanks Joe H. Axle stops and gear box stops. I still don't understand.

My mechanic friend keeps telling me that it cannot be fixed, but I believe it can. I just think he doesn't know how to do it and won't admit it.

I'm not a mechanic, and don't understand all of these terms.

I'm a carpenter, and can build just about anything you want out of wood.

If you can explain to me what I need to do in more detail, I might be able to fix this myself, if it can be fixed.

Davey,
Ill try to explain.
Put your wheels in the straight ahead position,tye your steering wheel down in both directions with some ratchet tye downs, pull the pitman arm off of your gear box.
put a paint mark on the end of the shaft now remove the straps and have a partner turn the wheel lock to lock in both directions as you watch an count the paint mark turn (write this down), if it is Byass one way or the other say a complete revolution more when goin to the left or right, make a new mark an keep tinkerin till ya get the exact same or real close amount of revolutions right & left on the output shaft as it returns to center, now you have found the center line, and since you havent moved your wheels from the straight ahead position reinstall your pitman arm it will only go on 1 way and see if it makes a difference.
This is what I would do.
Tim

Lovett, go here and look at part 6.009 , this is the location of a axle stop. The picture is from a early truck, but yours will have something in this location. The stop will be on the same side of the axle as the tierods. http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/1929_57chevyparts/57cmpc0521.htm

Gear box stops are internal stops inside the steering gear box, there is nothing you can do with these.

The importance of a centered gear box has to do with driveability. Every steering box made has a tight spot dead center. This keeps the truck going straight ahead easer, less correcting when driving. If the box is adjusted right, you can find center just by turning the wheel back and forth till you find the tight spot. Your truck will drive OK if its off center, its just that you will be missing out on the design of the gear box, and like yours, may turn more one way then the other.

When turning the wheel to find dead center, all the linkage must be disconnected so you are only hitting the gear box stops and not axle stops or binding the linkage. You must unkook something, and the pitman arm is the most logical. I would bet yours is in the 5 1/2 turns lock to lock range. So center will be around 2 3/4 turns plus or minus some. Wrap the steering column with masking tape right at the edge of the wheel and do the same with the wheel so the tape is as close to each other as you can get them. Turn all the way left and make a mark across the tapes, turn all the way to the right and make a second mark. Measure between the two marks on the column side and make a center mark. Count turns and split the number in half, you should be right on the center mark you just made, if not move the wheel.

Once you determine the wheel is centered, then a trip to the local alignment shop should be all you need. Be sure to explain what is wrong and what you expect when its finished. Also, don't let them relocate the steering once you get it right! Show them where center is.

Joe

You cannot take a pitman arm off & put it on anywhere you want. It will only go on 4 ways, 90 degrees apart. Turn the steering wheel till the pitman arm & idler arm are straight in line with the length of the truck & the inner tie rod ends are in the same relative position to the frame rails. Eyeball the tires & they should be straight ahead. If not lock the steering wheel like Joe said, loosen the tie rod sleeves & adjust them to get the wheels straight ahead as well as you can by eye. We can tell you how to set the toe-in but you can take it to the align ment shop from there. If after everything is centered & aligned the steering wheel is still not centered, pull it & put it back on in the centered position.
George

Thanks George, and everybody else. I really do appreciate it!

I will answer Lovett's e-mail in the post so if someone wants to add or correct it or has a similiar problem they can chime in. There is plenty of adjustments in the tie rod sleeves. You can see how far they are screwed in through the slots in the sleeves. Useually they are hard to turn at first unless they have been adjusted recently. Use plenty of penatrant. There is a special tool to turn them with but you might get by putting a screw driver in the slot & turning them. If you use pliers or pipe wrench it just squises them tighter. I dont know of any torque specks for the bolts on the sleeves but just snug them up. If you want to set the toe in yourself, raise the front wheels & scribe a line around the center of the tire with a sharp instrument by holding it against the tire resting on a block or stand & turning the wheel to make a line around the tires. Set the truck on the ground with the wheels straight ahead & centered like dicussed earlier. Have someone hold a tape measure on the line at the rear of the tire & measure across to the line on the other tire. Go to the front of the tire & measure the same way. The front should 1/8 in. less then the rear. That's about the best I can explain it. I hope it helps.

Independant front suspension has 4 tie rod ends & 2 sleeves connecting them together. One end is right hand threads & the other is left hand. When you loosen the clamps & turn the sleeves it adjust the length of the tie rod assembly. The first thing to do is to see if the length of the tie rods is your problem. Get the inner ends in the same relative position to the frame rails. When they are the piman arm & idler arm should be pointing straight back. Then eyeball the front tires in relation to the rear. They should look parallel to the rear wheels. If not that is the problem. There is plenty of adjustment to work with. Probably 1to 2 in. on each side. If they are very much uneven there is something drastically wrong. You might want to check your rear end for shifting. See if the tires are in the same distance in the wheel openings. You can measure from a relative position on the frame to a relative position on the axle.
George

Thanks George.

Someone in a different Truck forum suggested that the newer gear box is wider, or fatter than the original one, which causes the Pitman to not align correctly. His advice is to cut the frame rail and weld in a new plate to make up for the difference. Bring the gear box back inward best I can understand.

Sounds like bad advice to me ( I ain't gonna do it anyway ), what do you think about that theory?

I'm not saying the guy is wrong about the gear box being the culprit, could be. I'm just not cutting the frame rail.

This truck does steer easy like a car, which is very nice. I'd really like to keep it that way, if possible.

I'll try your advice out on my own and see what happens. Then I'll work it from there. I'll let you know what happens.

Thanks for your advice!

Davey

I'm not familiar with what he is referring to. It seems the 67 was a little different from the 68 up in that area but i'm not familiar just what the differences are. I have put the later steering gears on the 60-66 models with no problems using the bracket kits. Its possible you have the wrong pitman arm. The center link should be level with the HOROZONTAL part of the truck. The length of the pitman arm should be close to that of the idler arm. My 70 has 71 steering & front end under it & it drives beautifully.

Okay, thanks again George. I'll use your advice as soon as I can and see how it works. Might be a few weeks. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Davey

I want to comment on the reaction of the mechanic. A professional mechanic knows how to repair vehicles that are designed and assembled correctly at the factory. They are not in the business of trying to make a combination of parts from different vehicles work as a unit.