67 Barracuda Manual Steering Question

It could be dry (no lube in it), or it could have seized bearings in it. Or either/both of the two adjustments could be set too tight. The adjustments have to be done correctly, and in the correct order as described here.



24:1 is the stock ratio. It's easy, but too damn slow; about 76.7 turns lock-to-lock (okeh, 5-3/4" turns. Still too much).

16:1 is the fast ratio available as an option from '65-'68. Just 3-1/2 turns lock-to-lock, but too damn stiff/difficult at slow speeds. Fine for certain kinds of competition driving, but out on regular roads it makes parking the car a pain in the nuts even with small, skinny tires and a lightweight aluminum 225 engine—a worse pain in the nuts (arms/shoulders) with bigger tires and a heavier engine. Efficiently saps all the fun out of driving the car.

20:1 is perfect. 4-1/2 turns lock-to-lock, not too hard to steer; a real joy to drive. They all should have come with this ratio, as the '60-'61 A-bodies did. 20:1 was not offered as original equipment when the cars were built, but available last I checked as an aftermarket worm assembly for the original Chrysler steering box, or as a complete rebuilt box from the specialists (Steer & Gear and/or Firm Feel).

I agree with most of this, except for some of the admittedly entertaining comments on the 16:1 box.

I’ve been running a 16:1 manual box on my Duster for over a decade. A good part of that has been with 275/35/18’s up front and +6.5° of caster.

And while my car is definitely set up for AutoX, all the driving I do with it is on the street as I pretty much use it as a daily most of the year. I drive a 120 mile round trip commute, it makes most of my Costco trips, etc. So it sees plenty of parking lots.

I’ve never had an issue with the steering effort on “regular roads”. It is definitely heavy at speeds under 15mph or so, but even parking lots aren’t terrible with a little planning.

It’s definitely not for everybody, but it certainly doesn’t “sap all the fun out of driving the car”. Its fast response is part of the fun for me!