C3 Loose/wandering steering

[John A.]

I've seen various postings pointing to the steering box and tie rod ends as the culprit for loose steering and wandering as the car drives down the road. My question is in regards to the idler arm. When the idler arm is warn out, does it cause similar symtoms?

[Terry M.]

Re: C3 Loose/wandering steering

Yes, it can. If you can get the car on a drive-on lift it is real easy to diagnose. Just firmly grab the linkage and start moving it around. Use some muscle, and you can see what joints move. Some folks use Channel-lock pliers to squeeze the tie rod ends (inner & outer) -- if they move much -- BINGO.

Ball studs are another matter. The lower control arm has to support the weight of the car to remove the weight from the ball stud, and then grab the wheel at the 12 and 6-o'clock position. You will need another person to watch for movement at the ball joint. If you want to get real scientific you can rig a dial indicator from the control arm to the ball stud and measure the movement between the two parts of the ball joint. I have never seen specifications for Corvette ball joint movement, but there must be some rules of thumb. I have always done it the down and dirty way. If it looks like it is moving by my calibrated eyeball -- replace it.

Don't ignore checking for movement between the ball stud and the spindle. It doesn't happen often, but when the stud wears out the hole in the spindle, stud breakage is not far behind -- and that can be really exciting.