yj8 wheels in particular.

Given the size difference between my steel spare tire, and the current yj8's on my 76 corvette, I was lead to believe that these yj8's are not the correct wheels for my car.

I have had a chronic steering problem with this car; the wheels do not self correct after a turn. After having several allignments done I had to swap the brand new 255-60-15's in the front for a set of 235's being as, with a correct allignment, the 255's would rub the fenders on turns. I was told that the wheels are not correct, and i pretty much accepted that until I thoroughly cleaned them and found the following marks on the back:

(I'm not sure which numbers are significant or not, so here is everything!)

kelsey Hayes
k-H30100
5JJx8.00
363768
2
Made in Mexico
030067
sf3
p(backwards E)3

I was surprised to find that these are Kelsey Hayes Wheels since everybody told me otherwise.

Could it be that the different style of tire (radial vs. whatever the old tires are) are causing my steering woes?

Or are these Mexican Kelsey Hayes wheels really the imposter's that everyone claims?

I can get you some measurements of the wheels if necessary, but its kinda hard to get exact dimensions with the wheels on....I believe they measure about 9 inches across, but still keep about a 4.25" backspace, whereas the steel spare meaures exactly 8" and exactly a 4" backspace.

In the past I have not received much help with the steering problems, but i know how corvette guys love their wheels!

 

Most of the YJ8 wheels I have run are "Hecho en Mehico" so they are OEM castings (early outsourcing by GM.) If the tires are new, I would start to look at steering control valve adjustment and see if it is correctly set, then wheel alignment.

I would suspect a proper adjustment of your steerring control valve is all you need to do.

Here is a link to the Jim Shea steering papers for the C2/3 Corvette (thanks JIM!)

Link: http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/?page_id=4

 

If all a proper adjustment means is making sure that the assist ram moves in and out by hand, with the engine running, then its adjusted correctly.

after reading Jim Shea's papers i guess i could have air in the steering system, but that would seem unlikely since i drive the car pretty often...I've probably put about 1000 miles on it with the steering set up as it is.

I've rebuilt the steering box too. It wouldn't surprise me that it's not set correctly, but if anything i would suspect it to be too loose. The proper proceedure involves using an inch pound, dial type torque wrench, which I've only recently acquired and is probably in need of correct calibration.

The wheels should snap back to center right?

 

Before VDP rack and pinion went on my car, I was adjusting what I took to be the steering control valve. The screw with the lock nut. As I took the "play" out of the steering wheel, I began to notice the wheels would not return naturally to straight after a turn. I loosened the screw abit and all was back to normal. Then I bought the "Rack Attack".

 

I've been told that you can mess around with those control valves your entire life and not get them right.

Yesterday I took the belt off the power steering to see what differences it would make. The wheels still don't return to center, but it is a lot harder to steer. Today I will disconnect the assist ram as well. No assist ram and no circulating fluid would rule out anything in the power assist system right?

 

I believe 363768 is the correct OEM P/N for '76 and maybe '77 YJ8 wheels. Whether your car came with them from the factory or not could be confirmed by the tank sticker.

In any case, they are not the cause of your steering problems. Look for bad ball joints or insufficient caster in the alignment.

 

The steering control valve is adujusted so the ram will only move when there is a side force on the steering stud going into the control valve. I drop the steering ram's shaft out of the bracket and adjust the control valve so opertation is consistant in both left/right directions, then reattach it to the bracket. This method was shown to me over 20years ago by one of the most skilled Vette mechanics I have ever met (Dave Herlinger@Herlinger's Corvette Repair in Mtn View, CA)

The steering box rebuild should have included bench setting of the steering lash nut at the top of the steering box to the inch/lbs force called out in the GM manuals.

Your suspension alignment will effect how well the steering centers with the Vette driving down the road. Caster effects how well the steering wheel returns to center while driving down the road, the more positive caster you have the quicker the steering will return to center. Toe-in will also have a small effect.

Many parts in the steering/suspension systems being worn out or out of specifications can effect the feel/response of the driving of your Corvette.

I think you should find a good alignment shop and have them check you Vette out if your stumped by this problem, preferably one recommended by a fellow Vette owner in your area.

 

several owners, non-matching numbers and 120k miles would lead me to believe the tank sticker is long gone, but i've heard of papers being stuffed in stranger places.

I just got back from driving around the block with no power assist whatsoever. The wheels were easier to move without the assist ram hooked up, but still did not snap back to center. I could tell that the entire steering system was lighter though. The Wheels would move back a little bit from a sharp turn, but nowhere near as fast as they should, nor did they ever return to full center.

My shoulders are tired, but I don't think I have ever felt that much of the road in this car

so; should we find the power steering innocent of all charges?

 

I started this post mainly to rule out the wheels, but if we can keep this checklist going I should probably supply some background info on the car. Up front there are:

New Tie rod ends
Zip rebuilt ps valve
polyurethane upper and lower A-arm bushings (the shop that installed the lowers suspected them of being incorrect on account of one or two fitting loosely in the a-arms, but they tightened up once installed, suspicious i know)
Steering box rebuild kit from zip, greased and installed with no problem, settings may be slightly off
New Wheel bearings and seals
New Ps hoses
New a-arm end joints, i believe from zip
New front springs, street and slalom type from Mid America
Rebuilt Rag joint from zip

I think thats it.
Before I give up and take it to the shop I would like to find a way to make sure its not the lower a-arm bushings.
How would loose lower a-arm bushings affect handling, And how would i be able to tell?

also, i would like to go over the steering box on more time...make sure everything is set right and everything in the entire system is "on center".

Corvette fever highly rated a corvette restoration shop in Ohio that is about a 70 mile (highway miles) drive from where i live which is a little beyond my comfort level, but still a possibility

FWIW, what kind of alignment tools could I find to use at home? Preferably for under $300?

Between the initial alignment after the rebuild, the 4-wheel alinement and two subsequent checks of said alignments, it probably would have been cheaper to buy some decent tools of my own.

 

I was having problems with the steering wheel returning on left turns. The
problem started when I rebuilt the front end and had an alignment done at Firestone.
I noticed the front of the left control arm had more shims than the front of
the right side. I moved a couple shims from the front to the back of the left side.
My steering returns much better now. I am doing my own alignments from now on.

 

*I don't like taking my car to the shop. Or maybe I just haven't found the right shop.

It takes a lot of shims...unequal shims, and there is a sloppy weld on one side of the front crossmember, but if it aligns right, does that even matter?

 

okay, I just hooked up all the power steering stuff and loosened the lash adjustment on the box by 3.5 turns (the adjustment for the vertical shaft, not the worm gear) the steering is so light that it is almost not there, but it still doesn't snap back to center. I took it to an empty parking lot to test the steering and the car can make about two full circles and it will bring the wheels about 75% back to center, but then i have to help it the rest of the way....bumps seem to help move the wheels back to center, if that matters.

oh, and i made the 3.5 turns of the lash screw by testing it gradually, half turn by half turn.

 

I think you may be ready for the allignment shop. Did you skip new ball joints?

 

ball joints/ tie rod ends/ A-arm ball joints, its all new except for the Arms themselves

Also, i just bought a caster/camber alignment tool, so i guess i kind of am the alignment shop now, spc fastrax.

At the very least I am going to reset the steering box to spec and set up my own alignment before sending it off to someone else

 

Corvettes were first equipped with 255 tires in 78-79. On cars so equipped, the lower lip of the fender, at the rocker panel, and the front edge of the wheel opening were trimmed away at the factory. These cars usually had the spoiler package and the front edge being trimmed away isn't noticeable.

 

It looks like this may be a good jumping off point for this thread. Most of the work i have ahead of me could take a week or two, and i think we have concluded that my wheels (the original subject) are correct and not the cause of my troubles.

....but they seem wide