I’ve got a problem with my steering… The car moves all over the road…. It’s really bad in the wind… and bad on bumps… I feel like there’s too many corrections needed to stay on the road… what is going on? I just put in new leafs… and I have power assist steering… It feel’s unsafe…:confused: :bananaman
Road Wanderer Assuming that your shocks, wheel bearings and tie rods etc. are ok, I think maybe the new leafs in the rear may be the culprit. If they raised the rear up and transfered weight to the front, then there may be a alignment correction to be made. Have a good front end shop look at it and they will find the the demons that haunt your Mav.
There’s a significant amount of a raise in the rear end… about a foot difference… can I counter balance a little with weight in the trunk? I need a quick fix before tomorrow morning… The shocks, wheel bearings and tie rods should be ok…
I'd bet most of your problems are right there. The ball assembly where it bolts to the pitman gets alot of slop in it. Plus it is actually a switch where as it directs the pressure to the slave cylinder to aid in the direction of steer. So you can turn the wheel some amount till the slop is taken out, then the power assist kicks in. Its kinda like taking 1 step foward and then being pushed another 2.
mav power steering (in my opinion) sucks! not real tight. i had similar problems with my 72 (with power steering) new stiff shocks helped a lot. as the others said front end, idler arm... stuff that is old and worn. also, dumb as it sounds... TIRE PRESSURE! one other thing i noticed with my 70... when i put my new tires on (235's in back and 215's in front) my car was a major pain on highways with truck tire ruts in the paving.
Yeah, raising the rear that much will change the caster more negative and the car won't self-center, and will have some affect on camber. Can cause bump steer.
I would be lookin at the PS hydro valve...they're not bad to rebuild...just be patient and alert...thank god I have manual steering ( anything that robs HP from the engine has been removed from mine...now what can I do about the alternator...just thinkin out loud
I’ve been under the car… and me thinks it’s the power steering control valve…as well as the idler arm.. and I think one of my tie rods are bent a bit… would I be better off replacing the entire front end? Control arms…springs…and everything in between? I heard about some front end kits… what would be best? Eventually replace everything slowly… or get it all done with at once? What would you guys suggest?
In my experience with mavs...since 82..the FACTORY tie rod ends seldomly wear out..I even got another whole steering linkage off of one because the ONE i did replace was worse NEW than the one I replaced..I would be lookin at lower control arms..upper ball joints and the neat neoprene spring perches..thats about all you'll EVER hafta do to one...in my limited experience
Just by chance you don't have radials in front and bias ply tires in back or vice-versa do you? just a thought. Happened to me many many years ago when I borrowed a friends tires to tear up at the strip. Downright scary handling. But I am betting on ball joints or tie-rod ends. Rebuild the whole front end and you won't be guessing anymore. You'll be glad you did.
If this was all brought on by rear spring replacmrnt, you lost all front caster plus whatever front/steering problems there may be has been magnified. No quick fix to this but go on and fix/ align the front end. If the rear springs went flat the front end need some work to.
The point where the pitman arm is connected to the power steering control valve has too much play... it looks like the bushings are worn away… What part would I need… new control valve or bushings? It also looks like I need a new lower left ball joint… and I’ve got an Idler arm… but if I’m going to take out the lower left ball joint… does the spring have to come out? Thanks for the help…
