Steering wheel way out of whack

[76L82]

I finally broke down and replaced half of everything up front on my 76L82...the power steering cylinder, power steering control valve and the ball joints.

Before I replaced the steering cylinder and the control valve, I made sure that the steering wheel was in the neutral positoin...perfectly horizontal. I replaced the control valve and didn;t even check inside the car to look at the steering wheel to see if it moved. I then finished off putting the new steering cylinder on and followed the manufacturers direction and adjusted the unit..making sure it was perfectly centered. Everything looked great and fit...what I thought at the time...perfectly.

I lowered the Vette off the jacks and started it up again to give it a test drive...rot roo raggy! The steering wheel now is about 1/8 pointed to the right while the wheels are completely pointed straight. The thing drives perfectly straight down the road, no pulling of the wheel...but the steering wheel is now cocked to the right.

I think I may need to take the control valve off the pitman arm and unscrew the control valve from the stabilizer bar...essentially making it move closer to the left wheel.. This should basically push the ball joint on the control valve a 1/4 inch or so to the left...moving the steering wheel with it.

Does this sound like the right fix???

 

[wishuwerehere82]

You could try it, but it probably wouldn't be the correct fix. It sounds like the steering valve isn't on the relay rod all the way.
Since the steering linkage is behind the wheels, a left movement of the wheel to correct the wheel to the center position, the linkage will actually move right. Which is the direction that the valve needs to move. If you unscrew it, you're going the opposite direction than you need to go.

Make sure the steering valve is up against the shoulder as far as possible on the relay rod. A little bit of thread showing between the shoulder and the valve will put the wheel position off a lot.

Since you did the ball joints, a 4 wheel alignment is a good idea. They never go back in the same position as the originals, and the alignment will not be the same as the old worn joints.

 

[JohnZ]

I think I may need to take the control valve off the pitman arm and unscrew the control valve from the stabilizer bar...essentially making it move closer to the left wheel.. This should basically push the ball joint on the control valve a 1/4 inch or so to the left...moving the steering wheel with it.

Does this sound like the right fix???

No, it's not; there's enough tolerance stackup between the old and new control valve and in the old and new tie rod ends to cause exactly what you're experiencing. Get it on an alignment rack and have the toe-in and steering wheel centering re-set.

 

[76L82]

Thanks guys! With the snow coming in and the Vette in the garage, I'll have some time to play around with it. I do know that I somehow wasn;t able to get the contol valve completely snugged onto the relay rod..it looks like there may be another thread there...probably just enough to throw the steering wheel off of horizontal.

Seems like the winters come quicker every year up here...probably a good thing, as I use the Vette as my daily driver from April to November.

 

[Daryllawman]

I agree with JohnZ.....

 

[GTR1999]

John is correct, which is not a surprise I did the same thing to our 75 this summer and had the same issue. In my case the valve was screwed on too far and the pinch bolt was hitting the shoulder of the milled slot. Removing the pinch rolled the threads and I had to remove the center link and fit the valve to link on the bench. When I reset the valve to the gap shown in the AIM the SW was off.

Gary

 

[JohnZ]

Even the smallest dimensional change in the steering linkage is magnified by a factor of fifteen back through the steering gear to the steering wheel; almost ANYTHING you do to the steering linkage requires putting the car on an alignment rack to reset toe and steering wheel centering.

 

[norvalwilhelm]

You can simple lengthen one tie rod and shorten the other. Figure out which way the wheels need to move to center the wheel. Put a tape or mark on each of the 2 tie rods. Loosen the pinch bolts on the tie rod and lengthen one rod and shorten the other side the exact amount, If you turn one longer by 1/2 turn, shorten the other 1/2 turn. This does NOT affect toe, It only affects centering the wheel.
If you setup is stock the outer tie rods are LEFT hand thread and the inner tie rods are right hand. When adjusting the length think only about the inner right hand thread and shorten or lengthen it.
Good luck