Steering radius on 73 Cuda

[Lbs]

My newly restored cuda turns to the right much sharper then to the left. Is it as simple to repair as removing the pitman arm and reinstalling it in the middle of the steering box play???  Any help or suggestions on this would be appreciated.

Thanks, Mike


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[crash340]

Check your Master Spline on the input shaft of the steering box is TDC and equal turns either side then look where the wheels are pointed to start with, if they are straight ahead something else is limiting the turn, if they are pointing one way or the other, and the tie rods are equaly adjusted then maybe the pitman arm is off but it should also be master splined as well

[brads70]

Does it have fast ratio steering arms?  If so they don't have a master spline or at least mine from Firm Feel doesn't. It could be off/ not centered as crash340 suggested.

[crash340]

Mine didnt either, that said, FF are looking at correcting that FYI

[Lbs]

Well, I spent some hours working on it today and it's been pretty frustrating. My arm and steering shaft are master splined. Their are 4 masters on each, so their are 4 positions that the arm can be in. On mine apparently none of them are correct. When I put the wheels straight and center the steering wheel the masters don't line up. So I turned the steering wheel all the way to the left and turned the wheels all the way left and again the masters don't align. I had to move the wheels to the right quite a bit before they lined up and then that is the direction that the turning radius is very wide. Is their some other adjustment maybe on the steering box that I'm not aware of??  Thanks in advance for any input you all might have.         Mike


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[Lbs]

Well it's looking like this is going to be a tough fix. The only thing I can figure is maybe the steering gear box is wrong. The part# on it is 3643311 and I have an exchange number book that lists part#s 3579526 or 3643013 as the acceptable interchanges. The one number is fairly close but I don't know what those last numbers signify exactly. Any ideas???    Thanks


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[1 Wild R/T]

First find the true center point of the steering gear... equal turns lock to lock, verify the master spline to the steering coupler/column it straight up...  are the wheels pointing straight? Are the tie rods the same length or at least within 1/2" of each other? If all this checks out the problem is either in the box or something is physically limiting steering travel... If any of the above doesn't check out I'd suspect the K member is tweaked, shimming the box may correct it... To be truly correct the geometry gets tricky but it was never great to begin with & few really noticed....

[Chryco Psycho]

 
 once you have the steering box centered see if you have enough adjustemnt to get the wheels pointed straight adjusting only the tie rods

[HP2]

I agree you need to identify true center on the steering box first and foremost.  How long are each tie rod assembly? I wouldn't use the steering wheel position as a key assesment of straight as it  can be hidden by  unmatched tie rod length.

[Lbs]

I went and talked to the guy that did the alignment last week and he is going to look at it with a more critical eye and see if it can be adjusted out of it or if something else is going on like a wrong part or something bent or broken. But to be perfectly honest, I've been over every bit of this front end and nothing seems bent, broken, tweeked  or anything like that so I'm guessing wrong steering gear or adjustment. I was asked about tie rod lengths and they are adjusted about an inch different in length. I don't know if that's enough to make it right. Thanks for all the suggestions and I'll let you know what I find out.


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[1 Wild R/T]

If the tie rods are an inch different the steering box either isn't centered or it's mounting is tweaked... All Mopar P/S steering boxes from around 63-86 can be swapped with minor variations like shaft diameter which changed around 72-73 and hose connections which changes a few times but the catering of the gear mesh was always the same so a different pt # on the box doesn't concern me, besides if your looking at the # cast into the box thats a casting # not the part #....   You likely have a K member with the steering box mount out of alignment... Easiest fix is to shim the steering box mount...

[Lbs]

That's good to know about the box. I'm not sure how much of a tweek it would take to cause this but their is no apparent reason to think its bent. The steering column appears to enter the box very straight and the steering gear mount is also connected to the motor mount and when I installed the engine I didn't have to fight it into motor mounts. I'm certainly not saying you are wrong, I'm just pointing out my observations. Probably deep inside hoping it will adjust the problem away. Haha. Thanks again


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[1 Wild R/T]

As I said earlier, Turn the steering wheel full lock in one direction, now count the turns to full lock in the other direction, split that numb er in half & turn the wheel back that amount to center... Is the wheel straight up? Now look at the coupler on the steering box, is the index notch pointing up?.... Are the wheels pointing straight?   FWIW you what the steering box centered, the notch pointing up.....  And the tie rods very close to the same length.... If the tie rod lengths are different the car will have bump steer....

So steering wheel straight, tie rods very close to the same, now I suspect your wheels aren't pointing straight... If my guess is correct you either have a bent pitman arm,  a twisted pitman shaft or a K member problem...

Bring this with you when you go to your alignment guy...

[rockymopar]

Do you have the AAR/TA length pitman arm on it.?  If so, you need a C body idler arm to correct the geometry.

[HP2]

I went and talked to the guy that did the alignment last week and he is going to look at it with a more critical eye and see if it can be adjusted out of it or if something else is going on like a wrong part or something bent or broken.

I'd be somewhat suspect of his ability. How old is he and how much experience doe she have? This is relevant because many newer cars can only be adjusted for toe, via tie rods, so many newer alignments consist  of a toe adjustment, then send them out the door. Combined with the 1" difference in tie rods, I suspect this is what he may have done to you to get specs close and then center the wheel. Its the lazy way of doing things as you can get the specs on with adjusting 1 side and not the other. Both side have to be adjusted equally to maintain left/right ratio and keep the steering wheel centered. If you only adjust one side to put the steering wheel center, then you shorten the arc on one side while lengthening it on the other side.

FWIW you what the steering box centered, the notch pointing up.....  And the tie rods very close to the same length.... If the tie rod lengths are different the car will have bump steer....

These cars all have bump steer issues. Unequal length tie rods don't create just additional bump steer issues, but can impact a difference right to left in radius.

Do you have the AAR/TA length pitman arm on it.?  If so, you need a C body idler arm to correct the geometry.

To optimize it, yes, but it is not the issue we have here. FWIW, the factory AAR/TA did not have the longer idler arm from the factory.