After a 20 min. engine break-in, I reached for the steering wheel to rotate it back and forth to work the air out of the power steering system. The wheel started violently thrashing back and forth on its own. O.K. I figured that one out. (I had the hoses crossed from the power cyl. to the slave cyl.). I finally finished the 77 Mav. The whole front end is tight and mostly new components. The problem I'm having is the car wants to wonder slightly while driving it on a straight road, and darts when you hit a hole in the road. I thightened the gear box screw about a 1/2 turn. Did'nt help much. I had the front end aligned and it got a little better. Also the car does not want to return to center after turning a corner. ANY HELP?
I believe the toe-in affects exactly what you are talking about. I believe it will do that if it is toed out. I think you may have taken what slack was in the gearbox, though it did not last long when I did the same, time for a new one for me.
So you think the play is in the gear box itself? Or may I have damaged the power/slave cyl's when I connected the hoses wrong. Would the toe help return the wheel to center after the turn?
I was worried I might have remembered that wrong... Check this thread out: Alignment Specs Discussion
alignment Hey part time, Matt is right about the toe causing your car to dart around and follow ruts. As far as the wheel returning to center, the alignment specs for a manual steering car call for almost no positive caster, which is what makes the wheel return to center and keeps the wheels pointed straight ahead when you're going down the road. It also increases steering effort by quite a bit which is why manual steer cars are given so little if any. I wonder if the shop aligned your car to manual steering specs rather than power? I hope that made sense. :bananaman
