1980 Pulls to the right at all speeds.

[drquazar]

Greeting all, I have not posted in several years.

Well the 1980 I bought 2 years ago has pulled right since I bought it. My last vette was a 1981 and its trouble was play in the steering. It was easily fixed by adjusting the steering gear box. The new 1980 doesn't have any play in the steering but it wants to pull me right, into the ditch if I take my hands of the wheel. The car is very pretty but somewhat Bubbafied. The AC is stripped out, the power windows replaced with cranks, and at least a half dozen items don't work due to likely poor wiring. Heater fan, Tachometer, oil pressure gauge, etc, but all to be expected on an old rebuilt corvette.
But the pulling to the right is an annoyance and likely hazard. Heres what I checked.
1. Tires properly inflated and new
2. Front brakes good and not dragging calipers

Last week the Power Steering pump fell out, (seems to happen to all my C3's at least once. This time is because Bubba must have decided the actual mounting kit was to expensive to buy...$49 plus some bolts.) So with the power steering pump belt off I decided to drive it without and see how the pulling to right was effected. Well it stills pulls right, now its just harder to keep it centered without the power assist.

This is where my questions come in. My third step was going to be a check of the Power Steering Control valve. Where you jack stand the front end and start car and see if the wheels turn. If they do, there is an adjustment on the control valve. But since the pump is not running, and it still pulls right, would that mean the Control valve cant be responsible for the pulling right? Or is it possible that Control valve has an effect on the steering even without the power assist?

Because my 4th plan is to take it in for an alignment. After that I am outta ideas. At least if its something bad like a bent frame etc...I will know after the alignment.

So any insight would be helpful.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Have you had the front and rear suspensions aligned?

 

[drquazar]

Have you had the front and rear suspensions aligned?

When you say suspension aligned, do you mean a standard front and rear alignment? Going to a shop for an alignment is my last step. I just thought that if the pull was being caused by a steering component I would check to see if the problem wasn't alignment related. Even if the pull isn't due to the alignment, I will likely get it aligned at a local shop regardless. Last time I went to get an alignment on my 1981, I remember the shop guys rolling there eyes at my old C3. They knew about the extra work.... I am an exec chef at a hotel, and beyond some simple projects, I am pretty clueless. Took me 9 years and 2 C3's to actually get my headlights to pop up. (The key is just buy every single part.. :L

Thanks for the quick response..

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Sounds like you need to have the car inspected by a knowledgeable individual. Learning how to troubleshoot and maintain a car is fun but a safety-related area is not the place to start.

If you're still trying to get your headlights to function, there's much better ways than guessing and changing parts.

 

[drquazar]

Trust me, I don't care to attempt anything critical with my car care. I am just trying to figure out what is causing the pull to the right issue. Observation and simple tests are plenty for me. While my mechanic installs the proper mount for the power steering pump, I will have him check all the steering components. My question still is, if the car still pulls right without the power assist, does that mean its most likely an alignment issue and not caused by misaligned steering control cylinder? Or can the misaligned control cylinder still effect steering without the power assist? Its likely a combination of several problems, but I am trying to narrow down some options.

As far as the headlights, they do finally work on this car. After hoses, set of actuators, set of relays and some plastic connectors and filters I was fine. I have the headlight vacuum diagram for 80-82 memorized like a turkey stuffing recipe..

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

It's unlikely to be the control valve if it still pulls heavily with no power assist. Could simply be a bad tire, try rotating them to see what happens.

For the headlight system, each component and the system should be individually and collectively but methodically tested to find the guilty party(s). Wholesale component replacement gets expensive, time consuming and rarely gets all the leaks taken care of. Can your car hold vacuum for 24-48 hours like when it was new?

 

[krscholz]

Good Comment

It's unlikely to be the control valve if it still pulls heavily with no power assist. Could simply be a bad tire, try rotating them to see what happens.

For the headlight system, each component and the system should be individually and collectively but methodically tested to find the guilty party(s). Wholesale component replacement gets expensive, time consuming and rarely gets all the leaks taken care of. Can your car hold vacuum for 24-48 hours like when it was new?

I had the same problem with another car I own. Did a tire rotation and all was well.