I completely replaced the front steering linkages on my 72 Cutlass. After bleeding the PS system I put the rest of the car back together. I booked a wheel alignment for tomorrow which I now have to cancel. When turning the wheel from left to right I got quite the shock. Turn to the right was more than 45°, but only about 15° to the left. The turn is so severe to the right I was afraid it would over extend the brake hoses.

Reading in my 72 CSM the configuration for the steering, it says the pitman and idler should be parallel. I looked under the car and I can't be 100% sure but I think the idler is way more angled than the pitman. Could this problem be as simple a fix as undoing the pitman connection and rotating the steering to get both of them to the proper angle?

I feel so bad right now it's not funny. But I know this problem can be fixed.

 

Allan, First there are hard stops on the steering arms so that you can't overstretch the brake hoses, so don't worry about that. Second, the problem is almost certainly mis-matched tie rod adjustment. When the tie rods are properly matched, the center link will be in the middle and the idler and pitman arms will be parallel (well, nearly parallel due to the Ackerman steering) The alignment shop SHOULD correct this, but I've seen too many shops that don't. I assume you have not changed the steering box, pitman arm on the box, or the alignment of the steering shaft to the box, have you? Certainly those items can lead to a non-centered steering.

The first thing you should do is jack the car up and turn the wheel from lock to lock, then back halfway to the center position. Is the wheel straight ahead? Are the idler and pitman arms parallel? If so, everything down to the tie rods is correct and you just need to center the tie rod adjustment. If centering the box does not center the wheel or the center link, then you have to figure out why.

 

The wheels are not straight ahead when following that procedure. I'm going to remove the centerlink and pitman connection. Then turn the steering wheel lock to lock, divide by 2 and see where it lines up. From what I've been able to research the pitman arm should be parallel to the straight tires when centered. Right now it's waaay right. (pitman is off at an angle when wheels are straight. I just went and rented a pickle fork set to break that connection. I'll see what happens and go from there. I'm hoping the steering gear will only go so far when turned one direction and that's the lock you're referring to?

Tie rods are ok and are really close to where it should be ok to get to an alignment shop. All components (idler, inner/outer tie rods, center link are new. The steering box was removed and I can't honestly remember if the position of the pitman arm changed when the intermediate shaft was removed and overhauled.

 

You don't need to separate the tie rods from the center link, just jack the car up so the wheels are off the ground. The direction of the wheels is irrelevant at the moment. Your first priority is to find the center of travel of the steering box and ensure that the wheel and steering shaft are correctly aligned at that point. It is possible that the splines on the steering box were not reinstalled at the right clocking or that the rag joint was reattached 180 deg out. Unless you have incorrect parts, the center link and pitman/idler arms will be correct with the steering box at the center of travel, assuming the pitman arm was installed correctly. Note that there are four extra wide splines on the steering box output shaft, so the pitman arm only goes on one of four ways - every 90 degrees. If it's off 90 degrees, that would cause this problem.

 

Pitman was never off, so that's not it. Not going to separate the tie rods from center link. Just going to separate the center link from the pitman and then clock the steering box. I think that's the issue

Note: car is off the ground now 18" in the air on all 4 corners. (driveshaft removal)

 

I don't understand. If you remove the center link from the pitman arm, turn the steering box, then reattach it, it's in exactly the same place. The idler arm just moves to allow you to reinstall the center link on the pitman arm.

You can save yourself a lot of trouble. Turn the steering wheel all the way one way to the stop. Now turn it all the way the other way to the stop, counting the turns. Come back half that number of turns. The steering box is now in the center of travel. If the pitman arm isn't pointed straight back at this point, it's not on the box correctly. If it is, you don't need to disconnect anything.

 

Update

One of the big mistakes I made assembling that steering was I put the center-link in backwards. A real bonehead move but also when I was just starting to learn about this car back in 2011. It's been that long?? Anyway here's what I ended up doing. Good thing I kept the old linkage as it came in really handy for a reference. I disconnected the center link from the pitman arm. That allowed me to put the steering box on center just like we'd discussed. Lock to lock, then half way back. And it works out well too because the steering wheel is lined up like it's supposed to be. Steering is now clocked.

The center link caused me the big problem because it was backwards. Small wonder nothing would fit right. Unfortunately I destroyed the inner tie rod bushings taking them out so new ones ordered and I'll get them tomorrow. Of course now there's no linkages in the car at all except the idler which is still bolted to the frame. The wheels are pointed straight forward and I mocked up the old steering linkage to make sure it would be fine and it all lines up - and the pitman is pointed straight back as will the idler. One thing that has me scratching my head though is the connection to the idler. I can't remember the order I put them in but I suspect I need to pull the idler out, then reinstall it on the center link before bolting it back to the frame? When I dry fit, one will insert perfectly, but the other won't fit. Call it a lesson learned. I don't know why GM had such tiny openings in the frame rail to insert the bolts for the idler. That's just annoying.

Summary - the steering was installed incorrectly the first time and that's why the steering box was clocked off center. Incorrect assembly of center-link contributed to problem. All of it was my fault due to lack of experience at the time. Soon as I figure out that second center-link connection I think this is in the bag. Unfortunately this is costing $$ fixing a mistake.

 

There's no need to remove the idler from the frame. You DO need to engage both idler and pitman pins at the same time, however. There's no "ball joint" in the center link, only pivots, so there's no angular compliance. I usually position the center link pin under the steering box, move the idler to line up with the other pin, and push them both into place.

 

This type of tool pops the tie rods loose without destroying anything. Much better than the pickle fork tool.

 

Now you tell me.

 

This tool does it well also...

 

Sorry, I just saw that you used a pickle fork to separate the tie rod ends. If you'da asked what's the best way to separate them without damage I woulda mentioned something earlier.

 

Allan - I feel your pain. This happened to me a thousand years ago when performing some of my first steering linkage rebuilds on my personally owned vehicles. This isn't a trick, but it's something I learned from previous mistakes on many various R&R items (but especially steering linkages). I index everything before removal & often after reassembly/installation. I scribe/mark with a file, knife, paint, marker (whatever) the exact position of the items before removal. Even when I change out U-Joints, flange yokes, transfer case yokes, propeller (drive) shafts, coil springs, etc. I know this doesn't provide you a remedy (after-the-fact), but I know your pain. It does however remind me to be mindful of indexing my own parts for R&R since I'm rebuilding the entire suspension on my '71 CS this winter. Deep breaths!

 

Dayum, thats a puuuuurty one. Is it only a 3 pounder ?

 

So don't insert either pivot till they're lined up. Hadn't approached it that way so I'll give it a whirl. It might be tricky with the way that centerlink crosses the skid plate. That's what has been playing havoc with me so far. I compared the aftermarket CL to the OEM and it's a bit thicker but generally the same shape so it should be ok. The distance between pivots is the same too. Wonder why they went to those felt grease seals instead of keeping the original rubber ones.

 

Norm, I did the complete suspension in my car. The back is really a piece of cake. The front isn't that hard, just be careful when you remove the springs. When I did mine I found that removing the inner fender liners gave me a LOT of room to work with, especially on the driver side where there's limited room to work around the steering shaft, so I took that out too. Indexing is a good idea, but when you're replacing with new parts, the index isn't much help.

 

I’ve done R&R on front coil springs on my ‘72 4-4-2 w/ spring compressors - never had to remove inner fender wells or the steering column shaft. Indexing absolutely does help. Index what you removed and assemble new parts exactly as the old parts were indexed.

 

Yep. The trick is to turn the wheel to one side so the pitman arm is angled and not straight ahead. This also pulls the center link position forward, away from that little skid plate that causes the problem. Move the idler to match.

 

?? I'm confused. The pitman faces the rear of the car, not the front. It wouldn't matter how much I turn the wheel it would still end up with the pitman arm behind that skid plate. And a reminder the pitman was never removed from the steering box. Somehow this has to line up and work properly. Sure wish I could just bend the skid plate 1/2" or so...

Hmmm, mebbe I should turn the wheel first before I make that statement. I'll let you know how it turns (no pun intended) out.

 

True enough. Wait till you have to remove and repair the evaporator box on your AC or do the heater core. That's when you'll want to remove the inner liner.I didn't use spring compressors on my front springs, I just undid the ball joints and let the Lower Control arm down gently. Once the spring energy is gone it's just an easy tug to get it out. The springs on the verts are HD IIRC and they're easier to remove and install.Index yes, and also take LOTS of before pics and during pics. Great way to remember and also document the car.

 

The linkage is a parallelogram. Turning the wheel pulls the center link forward, away from the crossmember. It's usually just enough.
.

 

I replaced the AC evaporator core, compressor & dryer last winter just before I did the R&R on the intake manifold gasket, new oil pump & take-up screen. Never a dull moment, eh?

 

That parallelogram is the bombastic spot-on chiznitz!

 

So basically rotate the steering gear one way or another off center (keeping in mind which way) and try to set the centerlink in place? I guess the idler and tie rods have no choice but to follow. I understand the concept of the parallelogram, I just didn't think it would make that much difference. It's described that way in the CSM too. Just got back from curling so I'll check it out this afternoon and let you know.

EDIT: Parts store ordered wrong tie rods so have to wait till tomorrow to do this.

 

Alan,
The easy way is to remove idler arm from frame, then you can clear the skid plate easily. Once taper joints installed, reattach to frame. Easy peasy....
-Bry

 

Until you drop one of the idler arm bolts down inside the frame...

Again, why remove the idler? That's just extra work. Turn the wheel to one side and the center link comes off with no drama and no need to remove any other parts. I've been doing it this way since 1974.

 

X2, on occasion Iv'e had to loosen the new idler arm frame bolts to get the arm square id it were off a hair, now I just tighten them up last.

 

I agree dropping a bolt should be avoided. The nice thing is that the wheels can be straight ahead, everything symmetric and this works.

 

Do it any way you want, but what difference does it make if the wheels are straight ahead? The pitman/center link/idler only goes together one way. There is no adjustment for that assembly. The tie rods don't get adjusted until the weight of the car is on the wheels, so obviously once the center link is back in place, then you turn the wheels back to straight ahead before you let the car down off the jack.

By the way, look closely at the center link. It ISN'T symmetric.

 

^^^^THAT^^^ is what screwed me up too. I noticed the difference when I was looking a little more closely at the linkages one on top of each other and I'm so grateful that I kept the original linkages for a 'just in case moment'. That is now. The long side goes to the idler and the center-link should dip downwards. I had thought earlier about bry's suggestion, but the more Eric and you talked to me about this setup, the more I don't want to create any more work for myself than I have to. Honestly I've learned so much from this thread and steering issue it's going to stay with me for a long time. All the contributions are well received and I thank everyone who has voiced a helpful hint. I'm sure this will be done by noon tomorrow and I can look back on it and shake my head. Eric and I both agreed off site that this whole thing is really small potatoes and I've given myself a lot of unnecessary worry making a mountain out of this mole hill.

 

Yeah, if you think about it, the pivot axis for the steering box (pitman shaft axis) is further away from the frame rail than the pivot axis for the idler arm, which is why the longer end goes to the idler. The inner tie rod ends need to be symmetric about the centerline of the chassis to avoid asymmetric bump steer - but the driver side of the parallelogram needs to move inboard a little by the thickness of the steering box.

 

Where to begin,

I paid an arm and leg for new Moog inner tie rods. I suppose I could have ordered them from RA for $C 38 each but with shipping that hikes the price dramatically and it will take a week. So I paid 89 for each of those things but they're here right now.

I decided to install the centerlink first without any tie rods attached. Turning the steering to full lock right I locked the column and checked the position of the pitman. It had moved enough that I felt I could attempt the dual pivot attachment as described above. It took a little finesse but it finally popped into place so I put a couple of castle nuts on top to hold it loosely. Note to anyone else attempting this - the centerlink only fits properly one way if you want it to slide through the area above the skid plate.

Next I took the thread counts I'd done on the old tie rods and inserted both inner and outer the measured amounts. Attach the inner tie rod first and loosely secure it; it doesn't have any adjustability so it's gotta go first.. Then attach the outer tie rod to the steering knuckle and it can be adjusted for angle. Repeat for both sides and check the results. Since the car was still up in the air I rotated the steering wheel and sure enough, the lock to lock resulted in full left and full right steering ability. Good enough.

Now lock everything into position and secure the caste nuts with cotter pins. The steering wheel is not clocked properly to the straight ahead position on the wheels and I think that will be a job for the alignment shop.because I just don't feel like doing it right now. But from what I've read, it can be adjusted once the car is on the ground by adjusting each side equally till the wheel is centered. Since I was concerned about getting the steering done, it took me longer than usual because I kept going back over my setup to make sure everything was good.

As I started greasing the steering, yeah, my grease gun ran out. Good thing I had a spare tube. Now everything is right and tight, and lubed.

Huge thank you to Eric and Joe for all their help on and off site.

 

Glad you got it resolved, and yes, a competent alignment shop should center the wheel during the alignment process.