Steering pull

[CaffeineRacer]

I posted this issue on the SDC forum as well, but thought I would ask y'all too since not everyone is on both forums.

However, like any older car it had slowly crept up with some issues that while not prohibitive are certainly not to be ignored. I'm decent with a wrench, but I lack the ability to diagnose the root causes of problems at times. For that I'm hoping some of you can shed some light. Below are the issues and associated details.

Car Details:

1982 Avanti II, 305 sbc, 200r4, Rochester 4-bb electronic choke carb, 57,700 original miles, been in Illinois since 1982 until recently

Well taken care of (I have detailed service bills from 1983 onward)

Car sat in a garage for the past 8ish years only being driven once or twice a year for 2-10 miles total

1). Steering Wheel Pull

Symptoms:

Steering wheel turns to the right when I take my hands off the wheel

Turning right takes substantially less force than turning to the left

After turning right the steering wheel will NOT recenter however when I turn left the steering wheel recenters just fine

Important details:

Control Valve was rebuilt in the early 90s

With the car off there is not excessive play in the steering wheel itself

Brake booster appears to have a small leak as there is fluid of some type that has coated the steering gearbox below

Recently had new tires put on the car (cannot confirm if the problem was there before doing that), however I switched the left/right front tires and it still pulls right.

I've greased all of the steering components (including king pins) and that didn't change anything.

To me this seems like its not just an alignment issue. I did just replace my shocks (with bilsteins) and the pull seemed to become more prominent.

Any ideas as to the root cause? I hate to simply rebuild the whole system without know exactly what I am trying to fix.

My current hypothesis is the the steering gear is not centered properly. It seems like it's 3.25 turns to the right lock and 3.75 turns to the left lock. If you agree with this, how do I go about centering it?

[Gunslinger]

If you don't have a copy of the shop manual (and parts manual), get them. They're well worth the cost. They're available as reprints and originals are usually found on eBay. The shop manual will give you troubleshooting and repair information. I'm not very good diagnosing steering if that's a problem, so I would refer to the manual for diagnosis and repairs on that.

As far as the pulling goes, it could be alignment among other things. You could have a brake hose collapsing internally which is restricting the flow of fluid to the caliper. That's a common problem among older Corvettes (don't ask how I know). If you have no idea how old the brake hoses are on your car, they should be replaced as a matter of safety anyway. It could also be a sticking caliper. The lack of driving is among the worst things for a car...the caliper pistons can corrode and the seals become dry causing problems.

It's probably not the brake booster leaking but the master cylinder. Does the fluid level go down in one chamber? In some cars it's not uncommon for a master cylinder to leak back into the booster.

One other thing...it's good that you have all the service receipts for over thirty years. But...just because it was serviced regularly it doesn't automatically mean the person servicing it knew what he was doing. That's why the shop manual is so important.

[Avanti83]

If you want to do your own investigation, put the front end up on jack stands. Check for wheel rotation as Bruce suggests, if it's OK then pull the tie rods off the spindles and check the resistance to turning by moving the wheels back and forth. You can feel if there is a difference due to stiff or frozen king pins. Check the bell crank bearing too.

If the above is good, take it to a good alignment shop that knows king pin suspensions. They will get the steering wheel straight and the pull out of it.

If you don't know a good shop, call some of the local shops that do trucks and cars and ask about doing Studebakers and early 'vettes. Most truck alignment shops have done king pin setups.

Bob

Edited March 20, 2014 by Avanti83

[hkrewer]

You might start with checking the tension on the spring in the end of (just under the aluminum cap) power steering control. It should just be snug enough to allow the spool to still spin. Otherwise, you may get the symptoms you are experiencing.

[CaffeineRacer]

Alright, looks like I've got my project list for the weekend. I'll check for the binding in the kingpins.

@hkrew looking at the shop manual it looks like if I remove the end cap on the CV fluid is NOT going to shoot out. Is that correct?

[Devildog]

Check the four bolts that attach the steering pivot the the crossmember. Mine were loose and the entire assembly would shift and not center. I replace with star washers to lock and eyeball centered. Had shop do regular alignment and all is good now.

Joe

[Paul K.]

Jack up the front end of the car so the wheels are off the ground. Start the engine. If the wheel turns on its own (any direction) its a bad control/spool valve.

[CaffeineRacer]

Okay so here's the update. I took the car in this weekend to have the alignment done. (I'll upload the alignment specs later). This seemed to help a little. Although now to drive th car straight the steering wheel has to be cocked a little to the left. The shop (which has a great rep) said that was just due to it being an old car. Are they full of shit though? Is it just that when they did the alignment the steering wheel wasn't dead-on straight? They also told me not to adjust the nut on the steering gear to take any play out of the gear because it will increase the wear, is that true?

The pull is still there although a little better. I'll get the front of the car up this weekend @PaulK and see if that tells me anything. In the mean time I'm going to try to replace all the control arm bushings and then tackle the power steering. Does anyone have a good method for replacing those inner bushings on the control arms? It seems like you almost have to remove the whole control arm.

[Gunslinger]

The steering wheel should be centered and locked into place, then the tie rods get adjusted properly. That way the steering wheel orientation is correct. The shop should know that.