I'm putting the steering linking back together on my '72 LT-1. I did a rough alignment by placing the flat spot on the spline on the steering gear on top and measuring the toe in. The problem is the I run out of tie rod adjustment on the drivers side before I get the toe in set. I have some other clues that something is amiss in the front end. I changed motor mounts and had a struggle to get those in. Not a lot - just a little. I see no sign of damage in the frame, but who knows. The question, Can I shorten the drivers side tie rod by an inch without getting into trouble? This would give me more than enough adjustment to keep the wheel straight and the toe in correct.
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Re: Steering linkage
With the tie rods disconnected, turn the steering wheel to one stop (gently) then count turns back to the opposite stop. Then turn it back to the halfway point. This should be the center "high spot" of the steering gear, and at this position I think the flat on the shaft will be vertical on the LH side. I might be wrong on this, but the important thing is to get the gear to the center high spot.
Now adjust the toe, and when it's set the tie rod lengths on each side should be very close to equal.
Duke -
Re: Steering linkage
Ross
If you used the old sleeves did you clean out the threads so the ends go in all the way? Do you have the full weight of the vette on the tires? The rods are only threaded so deep and shortening the rod I would not do.
LyleLyle
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Re: Steering linkage
Duke, The '72 service manual shows the flat spot on the top for the high point, or center. If the flat spot was on the LH side, it would fix the tie rod problem, both would be approx equal, but the steering wheel would be about 30 degrees off line in this situation. But it would all make sense if the last alignment was done incorrectly, and the steering wheel was removed. Duke, your opinion is one I listen to here on the forum, are you sure about the hi point? I will do the rotation test you recommend and see where that puts the flat spot. thanks - RossComment
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Re: Steering linkage
My observation of the steering shaft orientation is from memory (the shaft in my car is not currently installed), so I may be wrong, but finding the center/high spot by the method I described should be foolproof.
Suggest you use the method and let us know where that places the flat in the steering shaft, and the orientation of the steering wheel. The steering wheel/shaft should have index marks, and with the ball nut centered the steering wheel should be "straight". If this is the case and you can then get the toe set with close to equal tie rod lengths then everything is probably correct.
This might be a possible case of service manual error. They do exist.
Also review your AIM on steering system installation. For '63 the steering gear appears to have arrived at the plant with the lower coupling installed and I believe there are index marks on the ball nut shaft and coupling to establish orientation. I also expect that the ball nut was centered. Since there is only one orientation that you can install the steering shaft on the coupling and start the jam nuts, that establishes the steering shaft/coupling orientation and the steering wheel and top of the shaft are indexed for steering wheel location.
The AIM is sometimes more clear that the shop manual, and it is always a good cross reference. Since these cars went down the line fairly fast the assembly workers didn't have time to figure things out from scratch. The engineers tried to facilitate ease of assembly as much as possible by the use of indexing marks, "only fits one way", etc, so everything got assembled correctly with minimum training and chance of error.
DukeComment
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Re: Steering linkage
Ross,
I'm not 100% sure about 72 but 63-67 cars had a mark on the END of the steering gear shaft on the steering gear that indicated center/high spot and this mark is supposed to be positioned at the 12:00 position. This should also aligh with the mark on the end of the upper steering column shaft at the steering wheel and also a mark on the steering wheel hub. You will find this mark on the gear shaft somewhere near 12:00 when you establish a general center using Dukes method but it probably won't be at exactly 12:00. Could be off by as much as 45 deg.
This procedure may have changed and it's possible there is no mark at all on your 72. If I remember correctly, it did continue at least into the early 70's. You will probably have to clean the end of the shaft of any rust etc to see this mark. It usually starts at center and extends out to the outer edge of the shaft.
MichaelComment
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Re: Steering linkage
That makes sense. There should also be an index mark on the lower end of the coupling that should be aligned with the index mark on the worm shaft.
I just thumbed through my '63 shop manual and it says nothing about this. (Reminds me of the dist. drive gear dimple issue.) In fact there are no installation instructions for the steering gear - just removal.
DukeComment
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Re: Steering linkage
Yep, same deal as the distributor gear thing. Must be a secret. May not be correct info for 72 tho.Comment
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Re: Steering linkage
Guys, I went and checked out the lock to lock on my car. It is about three and a half turns. at 1.75 turns the flat spot on the spline shaft is on the LH side, and the steering wheel is about 30 degrees off. I'm just wondering, I'm I looking at the right thing. The flat spot is on the spline shaft sticking into the rag joint. It this the right place to look? The service manual says there should be a scribe, not a flat spot. But it does say 12:00 position.Comment
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Re: Steering linkage
Ross,
I am not sure about a 72 vette but I can tell you how the 63 is centered. If you turn the wheels to straight ahead and remove the rag joint from the steering shaft at the steering box there is a small chisel mark on the steering shaft and when that mark is in the 12 O clock position the steering box is centered. Next, install the rag joint onto the steering shaft so the split where the bolt pulls it tight is centered and in line with the chisel mark on the steering box shaft, this will align these two pieces. The steering shaft from the inside of the car can only be installed into the rag joint one way because of the flat on the lower part of the shaft and it's relationship with the bolt that holds it tight. This is the proper assembly and if the wheels are still not straight it is because the toe needs to be adjusted.
I hope this makes sense to you, Timothy BarbieriComment
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Re: Steering linkage
True center is best found by disconnecting the tie rods. Otherwise the chassis stops will engage before the end of ball nut travel, and you may not find true ball nut center, especially if the tie rod lengths are not in the ball park.
Find true center then check the end of the wormshaft. There should be a faint radial line. If this is near 12 o'clock rotate it to exactly 12 o'clock, then install the coupling per Timothy's post. Then make sure that the steering wheel index lines up with the index on the end of the steering shaft. At this installation point the steering wheel should be centered.
Now you can adjust the toe-in and do it in such a way that the tie rods measure equal length on each side.
The key is to center the ballnut, then get the coupling indexed properly to the worm shaft and the steering wheel properly indexed to the upper end of the steering shaft. There is only one position that you can install the steering shaft to the coupling due to the flat and pinch bolt. If you're off a spline either way, the pinch bolt usually won't thread into the coupling.
DukeComment
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Re: Steering linkage
Duke has it exactly right. The steering gear is the starting point of the whole system and everything has to be in line with it's center point, including wheel toe settings. Unfortunately, most alignment shops align the steering wheel and steering gear to the wheel toe instead, and that's backwards. The gear centerline setting is first and everything else is aligned to it. It's the only point in the entire range of travel of the gear where the gear lash is zero, plus preload.
One of the operations on a new car at final assy was to set accurate front wheel toe setting and also zero (clock position) the steering wheel but this was done using the tie rod adj sleeves, not the multiple spline positions of the steering wheel hub.
The steering gear assembly left the plant where it was assembled with the lower half of the steering coupler already indexed and installed in the proper clock position. (split in the flange aligned with the hash mark on the end of the shaft) This would eliminate the "hunt" for the hash mark at the St. Louis assy plant and all the worker had to do was index the coupler upper to the lower flange. (guess that would explain why there was chassis black on the steering gear and the lower flange of a 63-64 but none on the upper, right?)
If you have a properly adjusted steering gear out of the car and on the bench, you can definitely feel the center or high spot just by rotating the upper shaft through center a few times. As you continue to rotate further, towards the end of it's travel, you will notice that there is a "lash" instead of zero clearance in the gear set.Comment
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Re: Steering linkage
Ross-----
With respect to establishing certainty of correct installation regarding the steering input shaft and the pitman arm, there should be no problem.
Assuming that your steering box is original to the car (or, a correct replacement), the worm shaft end has a flat spot which indexes to a similar flat spot on the lower half of the steering coupling. The upper half of the steering coupling (flange) has a similar indexing provision to the steering shaft (the upper coupling is usually not removed from the shaft, anyway). So, there's no way to get these parts installed wrong----they just won't go together. For 1963-69 Corvettes, there was no indexing provision on the splines of the worm shaft----the shaft end was 100% symetrical. So, with these steering boxes, it is possible to install the coupling in the wrong position. But, it's not possible with a 1970-82.
As far as the pitman arm goes, this will index to the pitman (sector) shaft end in only 1 of 4 positions. There is an indexing provision on the splines of both the pitman arm and the shaft involving 4 "wide groove" at 90 degrees from each other. There are 2 stake marks on he pitman arm, but I've forgotten how these orient. It really doesn't matter; the arm can only be installed in 1 of 4 positions and 3 of those positions will be obviously incorrect. With the steering box at the approximate center of its travel, you want to select the pitman arm position which orients the pitman arm approximately forward. It's as simple as that. This system works for ALL 1963-82 Corvettes as the pitman (sector) shaft and the pitman arms were the same for all. There were different pitman arms for manual and power steering, but the indexing feature is identical for both.
Once you've done the above, you'll KNOW that from the "pitman arm back", you're ok (except for possible steering wheel mis-alignment).
Next, adjust the tie rods so that the tie rod ends of each one are turned in a certain EQUAL number of turns---say 5 turns. Then, take each arm and see how it fits between the steering arm and the relay rod. If it's too long (which, it will be at this point), then turn the tie rod ends EACH AN EQUAL NUMBER OF TURNS until the tie rod assembly just fits. Install it. Then do the same for the other side. This should get you "close".
Last, you can measure the toe with inexpensive tools available from J.C. Whitney or you can even use a tape measure if you're real careful. With the wheels pointed "straight ahead", simply measure the precise difference between the centerlines of the tires at the rear and at the front. The difference is the toe angle. Adjust it by turning the tie rod sleeves AN EQUAL AMOUNT. Set it at "0" for the trip to the alignment shop.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: Steering linkage
O.K. Guys bear with me a minute. I disconnected the tie rods and spun the wheel lock to lock. it has about 4 revs 3.8 probably. If I center the steering wheel, the spline on the steering gear shows a flat un-splined surface up. I can not see a scribe as the rag joint is in the way. In this position my tie rod lengths differ by 1", 15 center of end to center of end on the right, 14" on the left. If I index the flat face 90 degrees ccw (seen from the drivers seat) the tie rod lengths are both about 14 1/2. In both cases the pitman arm is facing forward, just a couple of degrees difference. However, the steering wheel is 30 degress off center. Questions. Is my steering box right? It has a casting # of 36283, with a cover # 7802287. The cover is made of Aluminum. It has a yellow ZM stamped on it. The service manual says it shouldn't have a flat face on the spline, mine does. Next, Is there enough clearance on the steering shaft for me to loosen it, and move it up so I can take a look at the full spline to locate a scribe mark? Lastly, if it ends up that the steering box is centered with the flat face on the side, does the steering wheel have the adjustmnet capacity I need to center it again?Comment
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Re: Steering linkage
Ross----
If the srevice manual says that there is no "flat spot" on the worm (input) shaft, then you are either using an earlier service manual or the service manual is incorrect. All 1970-82 Corvettes use a worm shaft which is indexed. There is no way that the coupler can be installed in the wrong position. Like I mentioned in a previous post, the upper coupler (flange) is also indexed to the shaft and there's no way to get that on wrong, either (but, you probably didn't remove this part, anyway).
As a matter of fact, the worm shaft end configuration is the only FUNCTIONAL difference between 63-69 and 70-82 steering boxes. The cover used for 63-E69 models was cast iron. The cover used for L69-82 models was aluminum. The covers are completely interchangeable, though. You have the correct cover for a L69-82 box and the casting number for that cover (not seen on all covers, though) was 7802287. Assuming that the cover is original to the box, I'd say that the chances that you have an original steering box (or, a correct replacement) are very high.
In any event, if you have an input shaft with a "flat spot" then you have the correct steering box. Period.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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