Tightening the steering
05-05-05, 09:42 PM
#1
THE -7- CAN'T LOSE!
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Tightening the steering
Can anyone help me? I want to tighten the steering on my 7. But I don't know what to tighten. Could someone give me instructions on this?
Thanks
Thanks
05-05-05, 11:21 PM
#3
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what made a diff in my car was changing out the tie rod ends inner and outer...then changed the bushings....pitman and idler arms were swapped out too...the stuff gets tired after 20 years...tightened up the steering a heck of alot...good luck
05-06-05, 06:58 AM
#4
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I just finished adjusting my steering last night and man, what a difference! It feels like a whole new animal now. Here's what I did, maybe it will work for you....(this is assuming that you have manual steering)....
The very large, thin, nut on the top of the steering box must be loosened. This is very tough to do, and may even be impossible. You will need a very large socket (sorry, don't recall the exact size) and due to the thin profile of the nut, you will need to grind the bevel off the end of the socket so that you get the maximum contact. I used a die grinder bit in a regular drill and it took about twenty minutes to do. A bench grinder would be much easier.
Soak the entire assembly with J.B. Catalyst about a week before you try this and keep applying it so that it stays wet for the entire week (trust me). I had to pound the socket onto the nut with a hammer, but that just made it easier and helped to avoid stripping it (a very real risk due to the thin nut).
After several tries it eventually came loose...
Next step, which could/should probably have been the first step, is to mark the alignment between the large nut and the inside nut (the one with four holes in the top). Once this was marked, I rotated the inner nut (the one with the holes in it) about 1/8 of a turn in relation to the outer nut. Then I just re-tightened everything and tried it out.
I expected to have to do this a few times to get it right, but it seems that I nailed it on the first attempt.
If you get the assembly too tight, then the steering will lose its self centering properties and the internal gears will wear out prematurely. If you don't get it tight enough, then of course your steering will still be sloppy.
I offer no guarantees that I did this correctly, so use this procedure at your own risk. However, as I said before, it seems to have worked out great for me. I can't wait to get out of work and go run some curves!!!
The very large, thin, nut on the top of the steering box must be loosened. This is very tough to do, and may even be impossible. You will need a very large socket (sorry, don't recall the exact size) and due to the thin profile of the nut, you will need to grind the bevel off the end of the socket so that you get the maximum contact. I used a die grinder bit in a regular drill and it took about twenty minutes to do. A bench grinder would be much easier.
Soak the entire assembly with J.B. Catalyst about a week before you try this and keep applying it so that it stays wet for the entire week (trust me). I had to pound the socket onto the nut with a hammer, but that just made it easier and helped to avoid stripping it (a very real risk due to the thin nut).
After several tries it eventually came loose...
Next step, which could/should probably have been the first step, is to mark the alignment between the large nut and the inside nut (the one with four holes in the top). Once this was marked, I rotated the inner nut (the one with the holes in it) about 1/8 of a turn in relation to the outer nut. Then I just re-tightened everything and tried it out.
I expected to have to do this a few times to get it right, but it seems that I nailed it on the first attempt.
If you get the assembly too tight, then the steering will lose its self centering properties and the internal gears will wear out prematurely. If you don't get it tight enough, then of course your steering will still be sloppy.I offer no guarantees that I did this correctly, so use this procedure at your own risk. However, as I said before, it seems to have worked out great for me. I can't wait to get out of work and go run some curves!!!
Last edited by Kentetsu; 05-06-05 at 07:01 AM.
05-06-05, 07:54 AM
#5
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Hey Bob,
I'm looking at doing the same thing as soon as I get the dash back together, (leaking hose on the heater core and some bad grounds to the harness). Anyway, check the first gen FAQ for some good info on what to look for replacing in the front end and then have a look at this writeup
http://www.mazspeed.com/steeringgear.htm
New bushings all around and then the sterring box are the next projects for me.
Karl
I'm looking at doing the same thing as soon as I get the dash back together, (leaking hose on the heater core and some bad grounds to the harness). Anyway, check the first gen FAQ for some good info on what to look for replacing in the front end and then have a look at this writeup
http://www.mazspeed.com/steeringgear.htm
New bushings all around and then the sterring box are the next projects for me.
Karl
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