Steering doesnt return to center on its own

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Slant6ness

Slant6ness

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E. Freetown MA
So after replacing a dangerously faulty lower ball joint, a leaking power steering box, and adjusting the tow, via the tie rods, my steering wheel is dead center and the car travels straight. YAY! However when I'm coming out of a turn the wheel doesnt streighten out on its own. The slop / play in the steering wheel is virtually nonexistant now (thanks to the replacement box). And no more trouble with it steering hard left as though its posessed by demons....thankfully! Tire pressures are up to specs. Should I disconnect the pitman arm and raise her up to feel for binding in the steering linkage? Or is this a dreaded caster or camber adjustment?
 
Check that the sector shaft adjustment is correct first. I've attached pictures below. Positive caster will aid in the wheel returning to center. Without aftermarket offset upper control arm bushings, you will be limited on your caster adjustment.
1.jpg

2.jpg
 
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For your power steering, jack the front up and support on the frame rails, so the steering is free to turn. Turn on the engine and center the steering wheel. Let go and note if the steering box tries to turn it left or right. If so, slightly loosen the 2 bolts on the valve body so you can tap it fwd and aft (bolts are in slotted holes), until it doesn't "self-steer". That centers the spool valve in the valve body. This should be described in service manual. Might be good to first set the sector shaft play as in post #2, insuring it doesn't bind in the center position. I don't think you need to disconnect the Pitman arm like the manual suggests.

The main thing which makes the wheels return to center is how the Steering Angle Inclination (SAI) interacts w/ the tires and weight of the car. SAI is the angle towards or away from the car, of a line thru the centers of the upper and lower ball joints. It is mostly designed-into the car, so isn't adjustable. It does slightly change when you adjust the eccentric bolts in the upper control arm, but you do that to adjust camber and caster, not SAI. Caster is the "shopping cart effect", i.e. how the front wheels tend to follow the vehicle's current direction, but doesn't return the steering to center. Many web articles for more info.
 
BillGrissom said:
For your power steering, jack the front up and support on the frame rails, so the steering is free to turn. Turn on the engine and center the steering wheel. Let go and note if the steering box tries to turn it left or right. If so, slightly loosen the 2 bolts on the valve body so you can tap it fwd and aft (bolts are in slotted holes), until it doesn't "self-steer". That centers the spool valve in the valve body. This should be described in service manual. Might be good to first set the sector shaft play as in post #2, insuring it doesn't bind in the center position. I don't think you need to disconnect the Pitman arm like the manual suggests.

The main thing which makes the wheels return to center is how the Steering Angle Inclination (SAI) interacts w/ the tires and weight of the car. SAI is the angle towards or away from the car, of a line thru the centers of the upper and lower ball joints. It is mostly designed-into the car, so isn't adjustable. It does slightly change when you adjust the eccentric bolts in the upper control arm, but you do that to adjust camber and caster, not SAI. Caster is the "shopping cart effect", i.e. how the front wheels tend to follow the vehicle's current direction, but doesn't return the steering to center. Many web articles for more info.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the insight. Love this forum!:thumbsup:
 
73Swinger18 said:
Check that the sector shaft adjustment is correct first. I've attached pictures below. Positive caster will aid in the wheel returning to center. Without aftermarket offset upper control arm bushings, you will be limited on your caster adjustment.
View attachment 1715089609
View attachment 1715089610
Click to expand...


Good evening Swinger! The power steering box is brand new (rebuilt unit) No slop there like the old one had. I DID however find an awfully loose looking idler arm this afternoon. I just ordered a replacement from Crack Rock Auto. I guess we'll see what happens. Last time I messed with my steering box, bad things happened, granted it was junk, but it was semi-functioning BEFORE I got my mitts on it. I'll try adjusting it as a last resort if need be.
 
Get the gear box sorted out first. After that if it still lacks returnability, it probably doesn't have enough caster.
 
Slant6ness said:
Good evening Swinger! The power steering box is brand new (rebuilt unit) No slop there like the old one had. I DID however find an awfully loose looking idler arm this afternoon. I just ordered a replacement from Crack Rock Auto. I guess we'll see what happens. Last time I messed with my steering box, bad things happened, granted it was junk, but it was semi-functioning BEFORE I got my mitts on it. I'll try adjusting it as a last resort if need be.
Click to expand...
Being a remanufactured box, they are set to predetermined values and that sector shaft may be a bit too snug. It will feel good, but may cause premature wear and the problem your experiencing on the wheel not returning to center. If you mark it and slowly adjust it 1/4-1/2 turn at a time, you really can't mess it up. No need to disconnect the pitman arm either. Just raise the front wheels off the ground, center the wheel, loosen the sector shaft until there is slight play or "backlash", then tighten until it's gone. Finally add an additional 3/8 turn in and lock the jam nut. Make each adjustment with the engine off and lock the jam nut each time. You'll need to keep the Allen wrench in the shaft while tightening the nut to prevent it from turning. It's all in the photos I attached above. If that doesn't fix it, look into purchasing the Moog K7103 upper control arm offset bushings to increase the caster. Lots of threads on these bushings to read up on. Good luck!

You can get the manuals here for reference.
MyMopar - Mopar Forums & Information - Service Manuals
 
Did you replace your faulty ball joint with a Moog ball joint? I did, and one of the lowers was binding so much that the wheel wouldn't return to straight ahead by itself. I bought another set from O'Reilly's and everything returned to normal. Just a thought...this was probably three years ago.
 
Aaron65 said:
Did you replace your faulty ball joint with a Moog ball joint? I did, and one of the lowers was binding so much that the wheel wouldn't return to straight ahead by itself. I bought another set from O'Reilly's and everything returned to normal. Just a thought...this was probably three years ago.
Click to expand...

Yes, the moog problem solver. I always thought moog was supposed to be a top quality product. I read at least one post here about defects. Mine seemd OK when I installed it a year ago. I don't recall it binding up but I'll recheck it when I replace the idler arm.
 
:BangHead::BangHead:
73Swinger18 said:
Being a remanufactured box, they are set to predetermined values and that sector shaft may be a bit too snug. It will feel good, but may cause premature wear and the problem your experiencing on the wheel not returning to center. If you mark it and slowly adjust it 1/4-1/2 turn at a time, you really can't mess it up. No need to disconnect the pitman arm either. Just raise the front wheels off the ground, center the wheel, loosen the sector shaft until there is slight play or "backlash", then tighten until it's gone. Finally add an additional 3/8 turn in and lock the jam nut. Make each adjustment with the engine off and lock the jam nut each time. You'll need to keep the Allen wrench in the shaft while tightening the nut to prevent it from turning. It's all in the photos I attached above. If that doesn't fix it, look into purchasing the Moog K7103 upper control arm offset bushings to increase the caster. Lots of threads on these bushings to read up on. Good luck!

You can get the manuals here for reference.
MyMopar - Mopar Forums & Information - Service Manuals
Click to expand...

That actually makes sense, thanks for the thorough response. My mishap (messing with my original steering box) was when I attempted to replace the input shaft seal. Apparently I didn't tighten that huge spanner nut thingy enough and the whole thing exploded internally, OOPS!:wtf:
 
Slant6ness said:
Apparently I didn't tighten that huge spanner nut thingy enough and the whole thing exploded internally ...
Click to expand...
We learn the most from our mistakes. I rebuilt the p.s. gearbox in my 65 Dart and it works fine. Long ago, I tried rebuilding the one in my 69 Dart and it wouldn't work. I gave up after several attempts. The trick is that after assembling all the internal disks, you need to hold the input shaft tight CCW as you insert the innards until you get the top spanner nut tight. If you don't keep them tight, they can pop out of position, which was likely my problem before. I doubt your parts were damaged, just mis-aligned. There is a special tool for that large spanner nut, but I just rigged 2 screwdrivers and a pry bar as a home-made spanner wrench.
 
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