Hard manual steering

[Dave K.]

I own a 65 327/365 coupe that has no steering dampener. Rebuilt steering box and front suspension. Radial tires. Easy to steer even at low speed.

I also own a 66 327/300 convertible with a new aftermarket steering dampener. Rebuilt steering box and front suspension. Radial tires. Hard to steer at low speed.

Outer holes used for manual higher leverage manual steering. I was advised to remove the steering dampener from the 66 and drive it. It seems that some of the aftermarket dampeners are too tight.

Dave K

[Duke W.]

Re: Hard manual steering

It's DAMPER, not dampener. Lift the front end off the ground on both cars and compare steering effort with no load. Then as a further test remove the damper from the 300 HP car and compare steering effort while driving.

A damper provides a resisting force that is proportional to the speed at which it is stroked, but in normal driving the steering damper is not stroked very fast and the resisting force may not be that noticeable.

Also, tire pressure has a big effect on steering effort. Higher tire pressures reduce steering effort.

Duke

[Joe L.]

Re: Hard manual steering

I own a 65 327/365 coupe that has no steering dampener. Rebuilt steering box and front suspension. Radial tires. Easy to steer even at low speed.

I also own a 66 327/300 convertible with a new aftermarket steering dampener. Rebuilt steering box and front suspension. Radial tires. Hard to steer at low speed.

Outer holes used for manual higher leverage manual steering. I was advised to remove the steering dampener from the 66 and drive it. It seems that some of the aftermarket dampeners are too tight.

Dave K

Dave-------


Caster can have a significant effect on steering effort. So, perhaps, your car with high steering effort has the caster setting way off spec.

[Dave K.]

Re: Hard manual steering

Joe,

Removing the damper from the 66 had no effect. Since both cars have readial tires, perhaps the alignment shop used the OEM alignment specs for bias ply tires? I will inquire next week.

Regards,
Dave

[Edward J.]

Re: Hard manual steering

Dave, radial and bias ply tires align.spec differ only slightly, when you drive the car does it stay relatively straight? Caster that is way out will cause a pull to one side or the other. What I have seen is after market ball joints the ball and socket are so tight it causes binding. This should be detectable after taking a corner and the steering wheel does not return to center or there about. If this may be the case, you will want to disconnect the outer tie rods to find the culprit.also make sure the rebuilt steering box is adjusted properly. Your service manual should give the how to when adjusting.

[Paul Y.]

Re: Hard manual steering

Make sure the steering box is full of good synthetic grease. You can make a filler by drilling out a donor bolt and tapping a grease zirk in it. Remove another bolt to see when the box if full. The original 90 weight could have gotten by a dry seal.

[Duke W.]

Re: Hard manual steering

The only difference between radial and bias ply tire alignment specs is TOE-IN! Radials should have about 1/32" toe-in PER WHEEL, all four wheels! This is a minimum toe-in spec for bias ply, which can have up to 1/16" per wheel, all four wheels.

Caster for manual steering should be 1-2 degrees and up to 2.5 with power steering, but in many cases it's tough to get even 2. Also both sides should have as close to equal caster and camber as possible. Otherwise the car could pull excessively on a low crown road.

Duke

[Joe L.]

Re: Hard manual steering

Make sure the steering box is full of good synthetic grease. You can make a filler by drilling out a donor bolt and tapping a grease zirk in it. Remove another bolt to see when the box if full. The original 90 weight could have gotten by a dry seal.

Paul------


Original 1963-82 Corvette steering boxes did not use a 90 wt lubricant. They used a 140 wt grease. The last available successor to the original part number is GM #12377985. One could also use GM #1051344.

[Joe L.]

Re: Hard manual steering

I own a 65 327/365 coupe that has no steering dampener. Rebuilt steering box and front suspension. Radial tires. Easy to steer even at low speed.

I also own a 66 327/300 convertible with a new aftermarket steering dampener. Rebuilt steering box and front suspension. Radial tires. Hard to steer at low speed.

Outer holes used for manual higher leverage manual steering. I was advised to remove the steering dampener from the 66 and drive it. It seems that some of the aftermarket dampeners are too tight.

Dave K

Dave------

One more thing: when I originally ordered the 1969 convertible that I still own, I did not order power steering. After all, this was a performance car and, at the time, folks like me just didn't think that performance cars should have power steering.

Well, in time I got tired of the steering effort so in 1986 I retrofitted all NOS power steering components. Best thing I ever did to the car. It made it vastly more enjoyable to drive the car. And, since the Corvette system is power assist, not full power steering like most other cars, adequate "road feel" is maintained.

[Dave K.]

Re: Hard manual steering

Dave------

One more thing: when I originally ordered the 1969 convertible that I still own, I did not order power steering. After all, this was a performance car and, at the time, folks like me just didn't think that performance cars should have power steering.

Well, in time I got tired of the steering effort so in 1986 I retrofitted all NOS power steering components. Best thing I ever did to the car. It made it vastly more enjoyable to drive the car. And, since the Corvette system is power assist, not full power steering like most other cars, adequate "road feel" is maintained.

Thanks all. Will discuss with alignment shop.

You would find no better friend than John Hinckley!