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1970 442 turn signals

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Old July 19th, 2018, 12:20 PM
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1970 442 turn signals

Is there any chance that the turn signal cancelling cam can be installed wrong ?? Having trouble getting my turn signals to turn off properly. They just dont seem right -----thanks-----Greg
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Old July 19th, 2018, 12:41 PM
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More detail needed on your problem. Are they not cancelling one way or another, are they cancelling at the wrong steering wheel positions, etc...
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Old July 19th, 2018, 01:02 PM
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One side seems to be cancelling fast and the others seems to cancel way late half to reall turn the wheel to get it to cancel. But then sometimes they both seem to cancel early after the turn.
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Old July 19th, 2018, 01:25 PM
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Your steering shaft and/or box is not centered when the wheels are straight ahead. If you look closely at the end of the steering shaft under the horn button, you'll see a scribe mark. This needs to be at TDC when the wheels are forward.
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Old July 19th, 2018, 02:02 PM
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Isn't there a key on the steering wheel spline to make sure the wheel is installed properly? Can't remember off hand but I recall taking off some steering wheels and running into that
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Old July 19th, 2018, 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Allan R
Isn't there a key on the steering wheel spline to make sure the wheel is installed properly? Can't remember off hand but I recall taking off some steering wheels and running into that

No, but that's not what I'm talking about. If the tie rods are not adjusted symmetrically, the steering box won't be centered in it's travel when the wheels are straight ahead. The steering shaft is keyed to the box (the rag joint has two different sized bolt holes) so this clocks the steering shaft off. The steering wheel hub can go onto the splines in any orientation. The only thing that locates it correctly is the post in the cancel cam, but there is some variability in that. It's also possible to force the steering shaft onto the rag joint in the wrong orientation. I've seen this done too many times.
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Old July 19th, 2018, 02:24 PM
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That makes sense. When I did the replacement on my front end I didn't touch the steering column. It was left locked in place with wheels pointing straight ahead. Even with that I could see some issues with the tie rods. I measured the distance and used that for the new ones instead of counting threads on the old ones. I ended up having to adjust one side to get the wheels approximately straight. I took lots of before pictures to make sure the orientations were right on the rag joint and steering shaft.

Luckily I've never had to take the steering column apart and I'm a believer in if it's not broke, don't touch. mostly....except when the MAW helmet doesn't work
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Old July 19th, 2018, 02:32 PM
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The problem most likely is the steering box is not centered (as Joe said above due to tie rod adjustment), Then the steering wheel was removed and put back on so it was straight with the wheels. Turn the steering wheel lock to lock and count the turns, then divide by 2 and move the wheel that many turns in the opposite direction. I'd be willing to bet that your wheels and steering wheel are not centered.
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Old July 19th, 2018, 02:33 PM
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Cool, never thought of that.
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Old July 19th, 2018, 03:01 PM
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Joe, the tie rod ends are not symmetrical as you have stated. Can i take the tie rods all apart move steering wheel to be TDC and then adjust tie rod ends to fit without moving tires as i have had the front end aligned already. Im thinking the alignment guys should have caught the fact that the tie rods ends were not symmetrical when he aligned the front end -----thanks ---------Greg
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Old July 19th, 2018, 03:09 PM
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Did you try counting the turns from lock to lock? If your going to try and adjust the tie rods, then you need an extra set of hands and they both have to be adjusted at the same time or the wheels will move in or out.

If your steering wheel is off then everything else will be. You will need to remove the wheel and reinstall it in the proper position and then readjust the tie rods. Its actually better to return to the front end shop. They may not have caught it because they generally assume the wheel is centered and align everything to it.
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Old July 19th, 2018, 07:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Zr1bandit
Joe, the tie rod ends are not symmetrical as you have stated. Can i take the tie rods all apart move steering wheel to be TDC and then adjust tie rod ends to fit without moving tires as i have had the front end aligned already. Im thinking the alignment guys should have caught the fact that the tie rods ends were not symmetrical when he aligned the front end -----thanks ---------Greg

Greg,



Yes, if you are careful to turn each side by the same amount, you should not mess up the alignment. You don't even need to take the tie rods apart, just turn each adjustment sleeve by the same amount.


More to the point, heck, yes a competent alignment shop should have caught that. Be cautious about the quality of the rest of their work.
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Old July 20th, 2018, 03:49 AM
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Thanks all----------
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Old July 20th, 2018, 04:58 AM
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Modern cars get this as well. I had a bearing fixed (don't have a hydraulic press currently) and I wanted some steering angle fixed. Not alignment. They checked alignment. It's hard sometimes knowing more than others. Someday I'll have my own lift, and bigass wrenches, and can adjust it myself.
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Old July 20th, 2018, 08:21 AM
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I'll post here rather than on a new thread. In same type of car,are the L and R turn signals on the same fuse ? Am not getting any juice to the right side front or rear, nor the dash turn signal light.
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Old July 20th, 2018, 08:32 AM
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Originally Posted by VikingBlue
I'll post here rather than on a new thread. In same type of car,are the L and R turn signals on the same fuse ? Am not getting any juice to the right side front or rear, nor the dash turn signal light.

Unfortunately your electrical problem has nothing to do with the OP's mechanical problem...



And yes, there is only one turn signal fuse, as shown in the schematic. The only common points in the circuit that can cause your problem are the switch itself or the wire/connector out of the switch.
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