Steering question

[brooklyndave]

I have just rebuilt my steering box in an attempt to cure my 1967 series 2a, 88 of being very twitchy to drive on the highway. So far I have replaced the springs, the steering relay, all the ball joint ends of the linkages and I did find wear on the center of the screw in the steering box.

I have started to reinstall the rebuilt box and today I tried and was unable to turn by hand the two front wheels. The front end is up on jack stands and the steering relay is in place but the link to the steering box is not yet installed.

Does the steering relay create that much resistance that it would make it too hard to turn the steering by grabbing both sides of the tire and trying to pull the wheels to the straight position?

I'm wondering if there is a problem with the relay or with the swivel balls. Can anyone advise how tough the steering should be to rotate by hand?

Thanks, Dave

[jp-]

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.

[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