Having steering problem with my ‘67 Cougar. The car will not drive a straight line without both hands on the steering wheel. Every time I make a slight turn with the steering wheel it wants to dive in the opposite direction. It has new tires all around, made all the steering box adjustments and have had the front end aligned.
This happens at any speeds driving in town or the interstate, has power steering. Thank in advance for the help.
Have you had a mechanic check out all the front end suspension components?
I cant say for sure but ive heard that by installing the control valve lines incorectly , one can have the steering wheel cycle right to left dramatically
It will cycle from stop to stop. You can not even move the car when this is happening. I do not think this is the issue the OP is having.
Yes
Do you have the alignment print out from whomever did the work? Any weird wear on your tires?
That was done along with the alignment.
Please post the as-left alignment specs.
Caster/camber/toe
Yes, I have the alignment print out looks as it should. New tires and no adverse wear
Canber, right and left -0.6 degrees
Caster right & left 3 degrees positive
Toe in .27 degrees
Those numbers look good.
Might be worth having a second shop confirm alignment. I don’t know anything about the pre 71 steering systems, so I can’t comment on what might be wrong with the control valve or assist.
The upper ball joints were replaced and the other components were checked and corrected as needed.
Sounds to me a lot like a bad steering box. I was discussing rebuilding the one from my CJ Cougar with some friends that I consider knowledgeable on the subject. They feel that rebuilt original boxes that were high mileage units are problematic and will cause issues. They feel much better idea is a new reproduction box.
Hi,
It looks like your passenger side caster is off 0.5 degrees. I just installed a borgeson unit and their instructions provide 3.0 driver, 3.5 passenger.
I asked the alignment guy and he said it accounts for the crowning of roads for runoff. Without it the car will pull.
Hope that helps
I disagree on the caster. A bias will make a consistent pull in the same direction always (I use the same tactic because in Florida we have large crowns). Caster bias, however will not cause wander back and forth - that’s a classic toe out situation. Despite that, his toe looks good. I concur that alignment numbers (assuming the tech knew what he was doing) are the not the cause of the bi-directional wander.
Was told bushings (rubber) need replaced. Which of the listed rubber bushings are considered part of the steering components? Need to order the same.Thanks
Sounds like toe-out. Whatever your alignment specs were printed, it might not be that way now. If the camber eccentrics were not tight enough, they can slip which not only causes negative camber, but also causes toe-out. I often use the eccentric eliminator kit. It is squares with a couple of strategically placed holes to give 8 positions on the lower control arm. The only problem with this kit is finding an alignment guy that isn’t too much of an ignorant baby that has some level of comprehension and desire to reach a tiny goal…oh yeah, that is one of the reasons I own my own shop now.
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