66-67 Dodge Charger Source Guide

Steering Q & A

Q	06/05/03/03 Nick: My '66 has a very loose 'on center' It sways this way and that at times, it's very nerve racking. I checked out the bushings on the front end, everything seems fine, the front end is very tight. No loose bearings or anything. Could this looseness be in the steering gearbox? Has anyone else had a power steering gearbox do something like this?
A	06/05/03 Gordon: It is not just steering, the whole front end system needs to be worked on. These cars handle, track, and drive terrible with their dated and worn out suspension, steering, etc. 1. Start with rebuilding the steering box. Be sure to break it in after the rebuild. That means drive it, adjust it, drive it, adjust it, etc. for about 2 months as the gaskets and bushings seat. Big improvement. 2. Replace the torsion bars. Mopar Performance makes a series of them. I used the heavy duty .96 one. HUGE improvement in steering and handling. 3. I replaced my front shocks with Competition Engineering (by Moroso) Drag Racing shocks. Set them at 60/40 for street use. Noticeable improvement again in front end stability, and no more banging the collectors on the ground. Note: I first put heavy duty gas shocks on and there was almost no effect. 4. Am about to install heavy duty front and rear sway bars, sub frame connectors to stiffen the body, and heavy duty leaf springs. Will report back on changes from these. 90% of that "loose" is worn out bushings in the steering box, undersized and worn out torsion bars, undersized and worn out sway bar, and weak shocks.
A	06/05/03 Al: It could be as simple as needing a new coupler. Have someone turn the steering wheel a half turn or so each way as you watch the steering column where it is attached to the steering box. The coupler may be well worn and not catch until a half turn or so.
A	06/05/03 Paul: Incorrect camber can make the steering very touchy as well.
A	06/05/03 Dan P: As for the free feeling in the steering. Mine "floats" as well and have narrowed it down to the steering box. I have to rebuild mine or replace it here someday as it is leaking. I think there is an adjustment for this but haven't looked into it as I am waiting for the leak fix first.
A	06/05/03 Stuart: I had my steering box rebuilt by Steer and Gear and had them adjust it to a slightly firm feel. Without going crazy this will help the loosness and the feel for the road and maybe the only thing you need to do.It feels great in my car and would highly rcommend it.
A	06/05/03 Curt: Don't overlook some simple possibilities, Loose steering gear to frame bolts and/or loosely adjusted wheel bearings. Also "wandering" can be a sign of wheels being toed out especially if it gets worse when brakes are applied.
A	06/05/03 Paul: My 66 initially wandered all over the place.... I found when converting it to disk brakes that the driver's side upper control arm was bent. The car was in alignment, but the geometry of the steering was off. After replacing it, it was much better. I do have to replace or rebuild my steering box, it's pretty sloppy.
A	06/05/03 John B: Our cars were NOT designed for radial tires. Radials because of their soft sidewall tend to "squirm" on the road causing the poor steering feel. If you remember the early Monte Carlo's, they had a lot of caster on their cars. When they turned a corner the wheels canted way out at the top. This is caster. Think about a bicycle....the front fork is curved towards the front of the bke and this causes a lot of caster. Bikes are really easy to ride without any hands because the caster causes the wheel to stay in a straight ahead position. Our cars have about 1 to 1.5 degrees of caster and they really need about 4 degrees to hold the road with radial tires. Caster (on our cars) is adjusted by bringing the front of the upper control arm towards the center of the car and also bring the back of the upper control arm away from the center of the car. On the upper control arm (front and back) are cams that are adjusted to bring the upper control arm in or out. Now our cars just don't have enough adjustment with the adjusters. But there is a way to fix that without a lot of hassle and once its set up your car will handle the road like a new car. The fix is to get two offset upper control arm bushings. (the one that the cam goes through) and install the front one so that the bushing hole is furthest away from the car and the rear one is closer towards the center of the car. Moog makes these offset bushings for 72 to 74 B bodies but are easily adapted to our cars. Once these bushings are installed the caster can be set to where it should be. Is there anyone out there that can give me a part number for that bushing? If so, it would complete this and then it could be posted to the archives