Brand new QA1 front suspension and still have steering wheel play?

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64whiteghost

64whiteghost

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Whats up guys.

So ive been driving the whiteghost and got it professionally aligned based on the stoch chart. But my cars steering wheel still has play in it. All my steering is brand new. It has the short ratio PST steering box and brand new steering linkages. Honeslty after putting all this in as new. I was expecting my car to not have absolutely no play in steering wheel. Also my steering is really tough. I dont have power steering but i also wasnt expecting it to be so tough

Any thoughts ?

Btw. If your on instagram follow me at @64whiteghost to see pictures of her posted a couple here

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Sweet car. Lots of threads about this. Just the normal Mopar steering wheel slop. The borgeson box helps eliminate the slop but it’s around 1k for the kit. I have a PST 16:1 box in my 65 dart manual steering, little hard at low speeds.
 
Dartsun said:
Sweet car. Lots of threads about this. Just the normal Mopar steering wheel slop. The borgeson box helps eliminate the slop but it’s around 1k for the kit. I have a PST 16:1 box in my 65 dart manual steering, little hard at low speeds.
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Thank you !

Gotcha. Just wanted to make sure it was normal Is hit tha canyons this past weekend and was very impressed with how well my 1964 valiant handles btw
 
You need to define "play." And who knows, --who did the work?-- Maybe "somebody forgot to tighten the steering box. So define the play.

And then do some troubleshooting. Get someone to help, gently move the wheel, and experiment with how much. Maybe 2", maybe 4" at the top of the rim.

Meanwhile YOU start looking. Look at the column shaft entering the coupler, and look for play between the two. Look at the coupler and the shaft into the box, same? Look at the shaft into the box, vs the pitman shaft. Look for radial and axial movement of the pitman shaft. Look for play at all 4 tie rod ends, play vertically or in the pivots of the idler arm and the pitman arm. You never know.


NEW does NOT mean "good." Remember that, ALWAYS
 
First- what are your alignment specs? It matters a bunch for steering feel and play.

Second- all worm and ball steering boxes, ALL of them, have an on center dead spot. It is literally part of the construction of the box. Doesn’t matter if it’s Mopar, or Borgeson, PST or Flaming River. Doesn’t matter if it’s brand new and adjusted properly. It is just a fact of the construction of the box. Now, that said, it should be an on center “spot” and not inches of slop.
 
67Dart273 said:
You need to define "play." And who knows, --who did the work?-- Maybe "somebody forgot to tighten the steering box. So define the play.

And then do some troubleshooting. Get someone to help, gently move the wheel, and experiment with how much. Maybe 2", maybe 4" at the top of the rim.

Meanwhile YOU start looking. Look at the column shaft entering the coupler, and look for play between the two. Look at the coupler and the shaft into the box, same? Look at the shaft into the box, vs the pitman shaft. Look for radial and axial movement of the pitman shaft. Look for play at all 4 tie rod ends, play vertically or in the pivots of the idler arm and the pitman arm. You never know.


NEW does NOT mean "good." Remember that, ALWAYS
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What he said.
Here's a link on steering box adjusting or follow your FSM procedure.
steering box adjustment
 
Isn't this the car that gets bad gas mileage? If your manual steering and a lot of caster it gonna be hard to turn. Maybe have someone get in car turn wheel back and forth and you watch look for slack in steering box and linkage. Make sure idler arm steering box bolts torqued to specs.
 
340sFastback said:
Isn't this the car that gets bad gas mileage? If your manual steering and a lot of caster it gonna be hard to turn. Maybe have someone get in car turn wheel back and forth and you watch look for slack in steering box and linkage. Make sure idler arm steering box bolts torqued to specs.
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Yes. This is the gas guzzler changed my carb to a 680 vacuum secondary and made a huge difference btw
 
Inspect for cracks on the K-frame where the box mounts. Look at it while someone turns the wheel R and L.
 
Lord Sparky said:
Part of the American driving experience of the ‘60s.
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I sort of disagree. My original 273 Dart when I bought it fit that. After scoring better T bars (used), new, better shocks and radials, replacing all the worn parts AND ADDING a factory anti sway bar, and then rebuilding the rear leafs, that was a COMPLETELY different car

NONE of what I did can be considered aftermarket except maybe the shocks and tires, which were still not "specialty" race/ performance items
 
Check the steering box's backlash adjustment, and make sure there are no loose fasteners.
 
67Dart273 said:
I sort of disagree. My original 273 Dart when I bought it fit that. After scoring better T bars (used), new, better shocks and radials, replacing all the worn parts AND ADDING a factory anti sway bar, and then rebuilding the rear leafs, that was a COMPLETELY different car

NONE of what I did can be considered aftermarket except maybe the shocks and tires, which were still not "specialty" race/ performance items
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Totally agree with you on this, the whole “60’s driving experience” can be a slippery slope. These cars don’t have to be sloppy, ill-handling barges. Even mild upgrades can make a huge difference, and a lot can be accomplished now with the aftermarket upgrades out there.

Still, some things can’t be compared directly to modern cars. You can’t expect a worm and ball steering box to feel exactly like a rack and pinion, they just don’t. Which is not to say they should have a ton of slop, they shouldn’t. But even at their best a worm and ball sector will have an on center dead spot, and for someone that’s not familiar that might be mistaken for something else. From a performance standpoint it doesn’t make a difference, but from a perspective of “feel” you’re not going to make a worm and ball box feel like a rack and pinion no matter how well your steering is adjusted.
 
72bluNblu said:
you’re not going to make a worm and ball box feel like a rack and pinion no matter how well your steering is adjusted.
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I agree, BUT, the Borgeson box IS really good. Maybe I just don't notice a center dead spot on it (at all) because of the memory of how bad a stock box is. Seems like I turn and it goes.
 
My Borgeson doesn't have a dead spot and neither did my original 16:1 manual box after I rebuilt it. I own a bunch of late model vehicles and some fox body mustangs to compare too.
 
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