Steering help............

[citruspilot]

Hey folks. I havent been able to drive my Vette all that much as I fly for a living and that has to come first. But the steering is driving me nuts.....

Anyway, I was driving my 79 around today and noticed the steering wheel always trys to pull to the right "if" I let up on the "left" pressure as I drive straight down the road. In other words the car likes to jerk or pull to the right if you let the steering wheel go to the right just past the top-dead-center point. Its a fluid like feeling. Kinda weird! I guess its something to do with the power assist unit. Now the wheel alignment is good but I think its in the power steering system itself. I understand that I can buy an overhaul kit for the piston and such. OR, seeing how my steering unit doesnt leak and the car only has 27,000 miles, maybe I just need to adjust the centering portion of the steering component. If so how do you do that????

Any suggestions or "how to" posts would be greatly appreciated. :eyerole

Jeff

 

[Robin7TFour]

JEFF, has the car sat alot before you bought it? caliper may be not releasing properly. can you verify the alignmrnt was done(and done correctly)? even simply have you made sure the tire pressure are in sync?
the power assist usually doesn't cause the pull. p/s makes it easier to control. remove the belt and you'll really see how it pulls. been there done that.
also the steering box my just need to be adjusted slightly if there is too much play.
a few things to think about.

my .02


ROBIN

 

[80convertible]

My first guess guess would be alignment. I drove my old trans-am from Athens, Ga to Jacksonville, FL once and the darn thing pulled to the right the whole way. Had the car aligned and everything was fine. The only other thing I can think of outside of somethign being warn is the power steering control valve. It has to be centered properly, or it can cause the wheel to turn. Jack the front of your car up on stands and start the car...if the wheel turns one way or the other it's the power steering control valve needing to be balanced.

I just moved from Huntersville, NC to PA. I lived there for 6 years until last summer. I love Charlotte! Go Panthers!

 

[steves1980]

steering dont return

first time posting, want to say i love this board.
my problem is , my steering dont return, by this i mean, when iam in a left hand turn, it goes to the left real easy, easyer then i think it should, if iam in the turn and let go of the wheel it dont trurn back straight, now as for right hand turns, if iam in a turn and let go it returns back to going straight,i have replaced the power steering control valve, replaced the steering damper, all new hoses, anyone ever had this and know if i should replace the pump next?, now would be a good time to replace the pump, the car is in a 100 peice"s, iam cleaning and repainting under the hood, it only has 27,000 miles on it ??
ty steve

 

[vmrod]

...do a search on the "power steering control valve". It sounds like this could be the culprit. I would check that first, then if it's OK, check for wheel alignment.

-Vic

 

[citruspilot]

Steve, my car only has 27,000 miles on it also. I tightened up my steering box a smidge and now my steering doesnt return to center either. I think that maybe I'll go out this morning and loosen it up just a quarter turn or so. I know it doesnt take much to make the steering tighten up.

And as far as the wheel alignment, tire pressures, and brakes their fine. I just think my problem is in the centering of the control valve like suggested above. Thanks Vic for the lead on the link. One of these days I'll learn how to use the "learning center" link..... :CRASH


Jeff

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Tightening the nut in the center of the sterring box will affect the ability of the steering to return to center. It makes the system drive "tighter" when tightened but affects this.

 

[wrc3]

Center Adjustment

I had the same problem. At the driver's side end of the steering cylinder is a dust cap. Remove that and there is an adjustment screw in there. You can adjust left and right pull from there. Only problem is you have to have the car running. The way I did it is get the car up on jack stands, chalk the rear wheels and make sure it is in park and the parking break is on. then you can lay down and kind of lean in from behind the left wheel and adjust the screw with a screw driver.

 

[80convertible]

tightening the steering gear box to tight will cause problems. When you turn that little screw you are adjusting the lash of the worm gear...I think thats right. Anyway, the trick is to get it just tight enough to take the slop out of the steering but no cause binding.

Centering the control valve is easy. I replaced mine a few years back and just adjusted the control valve until the wheels were straight.

 

[Bob Chadwick]

tightening the steering gear box to tight will cause problems. When you turn that little screw you are adjusting the lash of the worm gear...I think thats right. Anyway, the trick is to get it just tight enough to take the slop out of the steering but no cause binding.

If you got to CorvetteFaq.Com they have the exact procedure, which involves taking the box out of the car. From what I have seen, most people seem to adjust it by tightening/loosening it until the wheel returns to center by itself when coming out of a turn.

 

[Chris Kennedy]

The steering boxes on our cars (and the steering linkage) have to be one of the biggest weaknesses of the car. I have adjusted mine, and while it probably is a bit too tight, the improvement is tremendous----still, it does require that this be done periodically. One of these aftermarket suppliers really needs to come up with an improved box!

--Chris Kennedy

 

[80convertible]

There is now a rack and pinion system available by Steeroids, but its very expensiveat almost $1,000. I thought about buying a rebuilt steering box, but the rebuild usually only includes the seals, bearings etc... but not the worm gear. A nex box cost nearly $400.00:eek

I tightened the steering lash on the box to the point that the wheels actually moved when I move the steering wheel. I sat in the car and just started moving the steering wheel. I would only adjust the screw about 1/4 turn each time until I was satisfied. I could not believe the improvement to my steering...taking out the slop. My wife was scared to drive the vette before the adjustment due to the slop. The car would wonder all over the road and you had to really turn the wheel hard to correct the direction of the car.

I have found one company in Anderson, SC...I think they are called Corvette Steering that will disassemble and reassemble at a reasonable price. They will completely rebuilt the box including the worm gear if necessary

 

[Hib Halverson]

1) Get a factory service manual.

2) Adj. the power steering control valve per the service manual. The problem discribed, ie: higher steering effort in one direction with failure to return is a symptom of control valve misadjustment

3) Adj. the steering gear per the service manual. If the gear is adj. too tight, the steering will not return properly and effort will be high across the center. This is because clearance in the box is tightest on-center and gets looser as you move to the extremes of travel.

 

[Mac]

Also making the gear adjustment too tight will cause gear wear which means premature rebuild in both the gears and the pump. These things last for decades when properly adjusted and maintained.

 

[steves1980]

thanks for the help

Thanks for the help.
When i get the car put back together, i will try this, i have a Assembly instrution manual, but where do i get this service manual?
i ordered the instrution manual, and then seen on a website a manual i thought was differant, so i ordered it, now i have 2,So, iam willing to send it to the first person that needs it, for 20.00 bucksemail me for address to send your money order and i will ship it to you as soon as i get the money order,i will ship it from work so it wont cost anything to send, i will send it fedx.never been opened, 598 page corvette assembly instruction manual
ty steve

 

[vmrod]

search the forums first!!!!

You can save yourself alot of time and money by first doing research on this website. There are other corvette forum websites too, that offer lots of 'free', valuable information.

Of course, if you plan on keep this car, a good service manual(s) will provide invaluable, quick assistance. When I work on my vehicle I use my manuals and the internet.

-Vic

 

[Chris Kennedy]

There really is a trade-off involved in adjusting these boxes. Steering on cars has improved enormously since our cars were designed, and unless you opt for the re-enigineered Steroids design (which I would advise against), you definately notice the looseness. Buying a totally new box doesn't solve the problem, either (I have done this, and had to tighten the new one a bit). So, on the one hand, while adjusting the gearbox tighter than than the "official" manuals suggest may cause accelerated wear, the improvement in steering precision is enormous. This is especially important when you are driving the car in urban areas on crowded freeways moving along at high speed. What I have found is that you can adjust the box to the point where the precision is much better, but still leave a bit of "play" to allow a mild self-centering. These steering boxes are generally pretty inexpensive, and I would rather have to get a rebuilt one every several years and have a directionally stable car in the meantime. One question I do have is whether these boxes ever fail, totally, if adjusted too tight, or simply get sloppy again, faster.
--Chris Kennedy