Am I correct in remembering that all recirculating ball steering systems had a bit of play around center and a momentary sense of "it's not steering" when going into curve at speed from day one?

A friend of mine drove my '79 this weekend. He's young enough that he's never driven anything without rack-and-pinion steering. He commented about having to continuously correct the steering and an "odd" feeling on sharp curves. I watched his hands and he was continually moving the steering wheel while driving straight yet we were not veering.

I told him, "It's the nature of the beast. Once you get used to it you don't find the need to constantly correct the steering."

Upon getting the car I too found myself constantly correcting and moving the wheel when going straight even at in-town speed (say 35mph). It had probably been 30 years since I drove a car without rack-and-pinion steering. Now I scarcely even notice it at interstate speed. If drive the Corvette frequently or for a long period though I do notice that rack-and-pinion feels very "crisp" by comparison.

 

I've driven many C2 and C3 Corvettes with new or refreshed tight steering and there are no dead spots. The hydraulics are an assist only. If there is a mechanical dead spot it is simply a bad component or wear in the steering box. If the assist is failing it may be a problem that rebuilding the assist valve and cylinder might fix.

 

I appreciate that very much!

I must ask however, "Why do people replace the recirculating ball steering with rack-and-pinion?"

I'm not describing a "dead spot". I've felt terrible examples of that in old trucks. Also TINY movements (say 1/2 degree or less) of the wheel to keep on track until you lighten up your grip to the point that you are barely holding the wheel.

I had my friend brake, accelerate and cruise hands-free (I'm talking very firm braking from 40+ to 0 and near WOT from 0 to 40+) to convince him that everything was tight and aligned over a 45-minute or so drive yet he still insisted that the steering was "weird".

 

Your problem could be that no TOE-IN was put into your front tire alignment (1/16" to 1/8"). Tires set at neutral toe-in will wander around. There could be other 'issues' causing this problem, but improper toe adjustment can have the front end "hunting".

 

In my experience, it has to do with the slow wear to the stock system. Over time, we get used to the smallest of changes so it doesn't feel as awkward to someone who has been driving the car for a long time. Once it gets to a certain point the worn equipment is rebuilt or replaced. Now take that same car with the same fifty year old steering, and sell it to someone who is not familiar with how good a properly set up stock steering can feel. It is like trying to skateboard while drunk. Those buyers are already in modification and upgrade mode because they bought a car that is new to them. Everyone assumes newer is better and they start swapping in after market steering systems to replace a stock system that is just worn out. The after market options have pros and cons. The stock system, when set up properly, is amazingly accurate and has the perfect ratio for fun and safe driving. Rack systems tend to be to fast for a lot of people and the Borg power box that's common tends to put a lot of stress on the frame and while that is normal the extra frame tweaking just takes accuracy away from the steering. Corvette stock steering can feel very different than a lot of other cars but all things being equal and in good upkeep, I will take stock over the after market options in these older Corvettes.

 

Everything on the steering system on my 72 is brand new including the steering box and I don't notice anything that you are describing. It handles like a brand new car. You need to go through everything and then have it aligned and I think you will notice a huge difference . Don't overlook the rag joint either.

 

Thanks all!

Yet another thing to add to the list

New bushings, etc. for the front end are already in the winter plans so maybe that alone will solve the problem. Only 52k on the clock and no leaks in the P/S system so I wouldn't think that there's much or anything really worn out. The rag joint looks to be in very good condition but I do suppose it's the sort of thing that age alone take a big toll.

 

To assess the integrity of the steering system you only have to sit the car on some flat pavement with engine ON (for power steering cars). Have hood up and someone in the driver's seat to turn the wheel as needed. As wheel is being slowly turned (each direction) carefully watch the steering column, ragjoint, input shaft to the steering box, output link from the box, and steering rods & idler arm for their movements with respect to each other.

If there is motion in the steering column BEFORE it starts turning the steering box, then there is some "lost motion" in the steering column and/or the ragjoint. Likewise for later components. Look for lost motion anywhere in that system. You can even use a big pair of Vise-Grip pliers to lock-down a component so that it CANNOT move, then turn wheel to see if it is also 'locked' or there is some lost motion before that point.

Using this kind of diagnostic strategy, you can narrow down where any 'lost motion' is being generated.