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My 76 has had everything replaced in the steering system. Problem is, if I just turn the steering wheel less than an inch in either direction the car will jump into the other lane. There's no play whatsoever, and leaves no room for error. It loosens up a little at 100 mph or over, but not much. When I drive on the freeway, I look like a rookie jerking from side to side in my lane. Is there any way that I can loosen this up a little? Thanks
Does the steering return to center or do you constantly need to correct it! That would indicate the steering box adjustment is too tight.
Generally....That's pretty much the way they are. You can drop a few psi in the front tires and loosen the steering box adjustment a half turn.
One way to 'slow' the perceived steering response down is to increase caster. If your current alignment has 2 or fewer degrees of caster, your 76 will feel twitchy - as you describe. As C3's age, they tend to lose the ability to get sufficient caster adjustment when aligned. Many recommend 4 to 5 degrees caster for good stability and tracking, but unfortunately this is only achievable by replacing the upper A arms (or possibly with offset bushings).
Almost sounds like you have either the wrong pitman arm (manual steering pitman arm on a power steering car) or you have put the tie rods into the wrong holes on the spindles. For power steering you want the tie rods in the holes towards the front of the car NOT the rear.
Last edited by mysixtynine; Jun 10, 2015 at 05:13 PM.
Reason: messed up typing
Steering's too tight
