Steering question

[brooklyndave]

I've been through this before myself. When I did my first swivel ball replacement (20yrs ago..), I set the preload on the swivel balls way too tight (not enough shims on the upper pin). I think the manual says something like 12-16 lbs. But I had probably 25. Anyway, the effect was that I was always having to re-correct when driving (particularly noticeable on the interstate), because there was too much friction for the wheel to "self-center" like it is supposed to.

Long story short, you should definitely be able to turn the wheels by hand without the relay hooked up. If the swivels are good, the relay will not create enough resistance to matter.

I also rebuilt my steering box thinking that was another possible issue, but it wasn't.

Thanks for your answer. I just ordered a bunch of shims and new pivot pins from RN and will dig into it when they arrive. It seemed like a real red flag when I couldn't move the wheels by hand. I'll disconnect the swivel balls from the linkages and steering relay and then properly check the preload. I really hope that my issue turns out to be solved like yours was, I don't mind being slow on the interstate but the twitchy steering is scary.

Regards,
Dave

[cedryck]

Thanks for your answer. I just ordered a bunch of shims and new pivot pins from RN and will dig into it when they arrive. It seemed like a real red flag when I couldn't move the wheels by hand. I'll disconnect the swivel balls from the linkages and steering relay and then properly check the preload. I really hope that my issue turns out to be solved like yours was, I don't mind being slow on the interstate but the twitchy steering is scary.

Regards,
Dave

The Green bibles say to check the preload, movement with a fish scale, so it has to be less than or around 12-16 lbs