Steering Question

[Bill B.]

I am getting ready to install power steering to my 65, 327/300. Kit arrives Monday . I went ahead and removed the relay rod with tie rods still attached. Once I was finished I realized that the I moved the spindles in removing the relay rod and the tires were no longer pointing exactly straight ahead. I reinstalled the assembly, got the tires pointing straight ahead and then took a measurement from one tire to the other, then once again removed the relay assembly. My question is, will installing the new relay rod and attaching the tie rod ends using the measurement I took be close enough so I can take it to get the front end aligned? I also noticed that I'm going to need to adjust the tie rod ends to get them to fit in the forward holes on the spindle. I think I'm ok with what I did but would appreciate confirmation or any suggestions. Thank you.

Bill B.

[Mike M.]

Re: Steering Question

my alignment shop is 2 miles from our farm. i simply measure a given tread left to right on the front of the tires, then do the same on the same tread on the reared side of the tires. just get em close and it'll be ok to run 10 miles or so. or u could go to the alignment shop and see if they'll lend u an old time toe-in measuring device. mike

[Bill B.]

Re: Steering Question

Thanks Mike for the response. I think I have that part of it understood but what is still beyond my grasp is moving the tie rods to the front holes in the spindle. So, with the tires set straight ahead, do I just loosen the locking nuts and rotate the sleeves until the tie rods fit into the forward hole of the spindle? As you can probably tell, I've never adjusted a tie rod before. Is there any good articles that could enlighten me? Thank you.

[Duke W.]

Re: Steering Question

It's easy to adjust the toe with a tape measure and the car on the ground. (Having it up on a drive-on left is even better.) The trick is getting the steering wheel straight with the proper toe. See the AIM and CSM for the procedure, including how the clamps should be oriented.

For the initial install, set the new tie rods to equal the length of the old. Loosely attach them to the manual steering holes to get the wheels pointed straight with the steering wheel straight, and then shorten them as necessary to attach to the power steering holes.

The best way to measure toe is mark the rear of the tires with reference points to make the measurement. Put these marks as high as possible without the tape measure interfering with the chassis. Take the rear measurement, then roll the car forward to the point where your marks are facing forward, as high as possible without the tape interference, and take the front measurement, which should be slightly less than the rear measurement. For radial tires, shoot for about 1/16"-1/8" total toe-in, preferably near the lower end of the range. Of course, the car must be at normal curb ride height.

You can get a reasonable idea of the toe per wheel by sighting down the edge of the front tire to the rear tire - like a gunsight to get into the ballpark. Once I get toe in the proper range, I might have to tweak one of the tie rods an eighth of a turn or so to get the wheel dead centered when driving on a straight road.

It's a little tricky the first time you do it. Draw a plan view schematic of the tie rods and tires in the straight ahead position, annotated with which way to turn each tie rod to lengthen or shorten.

Say you end up with 3/32", but the steering wheel is cocked slightly to the left. Centering the wheel means the car is turning slightly right, so shorten the left tie 1/16 - 1/8 turn. Sight down the tires to eyeball if toe is equal on both sides, then take a measurement. If toe is still no less than 1/16" road test to check steering wheel position. It might take more than one iteration to get it dead on if like me, you are a fanatic about having the steering wheel straight when driving on a straight road with little camber.

I had to replace the tie rods and relay rod on my '88 Mercedes a couple of years ago, and I hadn't done a toe adjustment on any of my cars for about 20 years. I borrowed a small tie rod puller from the Pep Boys a quarter mile from my house, which worked great. Once I got the toe into the right range the steering wheel was slightly cocked, and I recall it took two more iterations to get it straight. Fortunately I have a buddy who let me use his drive-on lift, so I didn't have to crawl around the garage floor on my back. I'm getting too old for that.

Duke

[Bill B.]

Re: Steering Question

Thanks for the reply, Duke. As I previously stated, I have never worked on the components in steering so this is a lesson for me. I just want to get it set up enough to drive 10 miles to a alignment shop. My biggest concern when I pulled off the tie rod ends from the spindle was noting that it appeared each tie rod is going to need to be lengthened to fit the forward holes. I think I now have a mental picture of what I'm doing. Thanks again.