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TR4/4A TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

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boeingpilot

boeingpilot

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TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

I just changed from wire wheels to minilites and noticed the steering seems heavier and the car wants to wander as it goes down the road. I've replaced all the bushings in the front end, new upper ball joints, new tie-rod ends and had it aligned. I also replace the steering column bushings,all to no avail. Could this be a worn steering rack? That's about the only thing left that isn't brand new!
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

Just a thought, how is your tire pressure, all round?

You also didn't mention wheel bearings (tho that seems unlikely to me).

If it is the rack at fault, you should be able to see the play by jacking up the front end and turning the wheels directly. Also, if the inner tie rod ends were replaced (or even disassembled while replacing the outer ones), I'd check that they are properly assembled. I bought a "rebuilt" Stag rack and one of the ends was simply not assembled properly, producing huge amounts of play at that joint.

You might also try rotating the wheels from front to back. If that affects the problem, you might have a defective tire.
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

You say you had it aligned but if all else fails you might double check the toe-in using one of the DIY methods described in prior posts (homemade gauge, carpenters square, string, etc).

Insufficient toe-in (or for sure toe-out) will having you wandering like Moses in the desert.
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

:iagree: That was the first thought I had as well.
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

Would incorrect toe-in on the rear wheels have any affect? As I understand it, the rear toe-in is adjusted by shimming? Also, if I have my son turn the steering wheel I can see the steering rack move in the bushings VERY slightly. Is any play acceptable here? Could this be causing the wandering?
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

boeingpilot said:
Is any play acceptable here? Could this be causing the wandering?
Click to expand...
Not acceptable, IMO, but probably not the cause. There is supposed to be a special tool to load those bushings sideways while the clamps are tightened, but it seems most people ignore that part. I made a more-or-less acceptable substitute from a wooden clamp
wooden_hand_clamp.jpg
by temporarily reassembling it with the jaws backwards. My friend said the car had never steered so well!
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

I have a question.
In your first post, you said new wheels...but did not mention tyres.
Are these the old tyres, or new ones?

Were the old ones bias or radial ply?
New ones?


Just asking.....
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

Both sets of tires are radials, and I had new ones mounted on the Minilites. There wasn't any uneven wear on the old set. I must admit, this has me completely befuddled, which really isn't hard to do.
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

Okay, if the problem didn't happen before, follow Sherlock Holmes.

Tyres.

Cannot see a cast wheel causing this, so the tyres are the wild card.
Still have the old tyres?

Tell your tyre store what is happening, have them put those back on the new rims (or, re-mount your spokes and see if it's gone, if you can).

Now you know you have a problem, the bits under the car didn't change UNLESS they dropped it off the rack, the alignment says it probably didn't happen, so go back to "known good" and see if it goes away.

Kinda like troubleshooting Microsoft Update issues.

I have had tyres that did that to me.....tyres are a big research item, some work best for some cars, some do not.
Some require major pressure changes to function (like, try 40PSI in all 4 and see if it goes away).

Best ones I ever had were Ward's Riverside 500's, bias ply, good Lord did those make my 50 Ford Tudor stick to the Ortega Highway at 90+.

Dave
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

TOC said:
Kinda like troubleshooting Microsoft Update issues.
Click to expand...
Oh dear... You mean it's hopeless???
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

Thanx, Dave. I'll give it a try.
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

If you have new wheels, and the wider tire that go with those wheels, you will see a change in the steering and the "steering return" as you come out of turns. I'm still getting used to it.

Wandering, or loose steering on a straight shot, unless due to badly worn tie rods or bushings, could very well be due to improper toe-in/toe-out. Your 4A is supposed to be 1/16th toe-in.

That alignment bar that Moss sells is really handy.

I like the old neighborhood garage tools that work even to this day.
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

So, what happened?
Dave
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

Wider tyres will also follow the ruts in the road more. Do they use studded tyres in Or. in the winter?
Get in some of those ruts and it's like a skating rink
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

DNK said:
Get in some of those ruts and it's like a skating rink
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, I'd forgotten all about that! We don't see rutted roads too much around here, but when VTR was in Portland, I remember some of the roads were almost impossible to drive on.

The TR's track is much narrower than the big trucks, so both tires were running on the edge of the rut and wanted to climb out of it. I don't know of any real solution, except getting a bigger car (or pressuring your politicians to fix the roads).
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

Don saw my 1950 Ford Tudor when he was here yesterday.
Up in the attic of my shop are about 10 Dunlop (I think) wide white, bias ply tyres for it.
I had to remove them and go with radials many years ago, as the ruts on I-405 were so bad, you had to drive on the slope of one side, and it you hit the crown or the valley at 55, it would, in fact, change lanes.

SB Kirkland to Bellevue was the worst.
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

On a hunch I swapped the steering rack out with my parts car and the problem went away. That was literally the only piece of front end equipment that had not been replaced. Thing is since it came off my parts car I'm uncertain as to the overall condition of the rack. I'll be dropping the cash for a new unit in the fall just to be safe. Big thanks to everyone for your brainstorming, or in my case a mild drizzle.
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

boeingpilot said:
...since it came off my parts car I'm uncertain as to the overall condition of the rack. I'll be dropping the cash for a new unit in the fall just to be safe....
Click to expand...
Why not have the old one rebuilt at, say, C.A.R., TRF's rebuild "division"? NFI; just a suggestion! :driving:
 
Re: TR4A seems to "wander" as it goes down the road

That's a good idea, I'll look into it.
 
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