New to owning a Corvette and definitely see a difference in how tight the steering is in my 2001 Volvo S80 T6 vs the Vette. I have assumed that this is due to the fact that all of the Bushings are original in the front and rear end. I recently replaced the power steering...but there is no noticable difference.

Will this improve significantly once I rebuild the front end and trailing arms?

 

Greetings and Welcome to the Insanity!

I would think that replacing the 25 YO bushings, etc would be an improvement. However nothing you do to the current setup is going to make it feel like a modern car. I can't say for sure but if your Volvo is a rack and pinion setup, you are never going to get the "old technology" steering box on the Corvette to feel the same.

Of course another option is ripping it all out and installing a "Steeriods" (sp?) rack and pinion system that some here have done. However I have no experience with this system so someone else will have to chime in and comment on this.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

 

Check the steering coupler (rag joint) for looseness. My 77 steered like a bus until I replaced the coupler with a GM replacement part, now the car is fun to drive.

 

It could. Any worn components should be replaced. The steering play can be tightened w/ the lash adj.
Steering is excellent on mine.

 

STEERIODS rules...the ONLY way to fly!

 

The steering can be made excellent on these cars. I've driven one C3 that had near perfect steering response. Your feel will definitely improve if everything is up to spec. Unfortunately, I mean "everything" literally. These cars are very picky if anything at all is worn out. Replacing ancient bushings etc should be a noticeable improvement though.

My vette was terrible at high speed, so I went the "easy route," and bought the steeroids kit. I regret this now, and wish that I'd just fixed the stock system. It has a very disconnected feel during cornering. I don't have a corvette to putt around on the highway...

Modern technology=cheaper to manufacture, more compact, and more durable. It doesn't mean that there's any performance improvement (FWD was supposed to be better technology too). As I've learned now, its quite an involved engineering problem to design a good steering system, and it needs to be custom to each car to work well. Even the professional engineers don't do a good job on most cars (largely due to requiring parts to interchange with several cars). Throwing in a steering system from another car isn't the answer IMO. And its from a grand am of all things.

Mercedes has used recirculating ball steering in many of their cars until very recently (maybe they still do) with excellent results. They have great cornering feel, and will track perfectly at 110+ mph. There's nothing inherently wrong with this type of steering.


[Modified by aharte, 1:35 AM 6/28/2004]

 

Thanks everyone! I believe I'll stay stock and make a complete pass through the car this coming winter. Will probably send my front and rear off to Van Steel for an overhaul. Will wait for the Dallas Ice to start.

Thanks Again... Ed

 

All the facts stated above are true. I rebuild my front suspension a year-a-go and it made a world of differance. I did find this to have the most wear. This is the ball stud that connects the pitman arm to the relay rod (no power steering). I think this was causing most of my steering play. These can be purchased from any on the parts catalogs.

 

Hmmm.. Thanks... clearly, I will purchase the "delux kit" and go after all of the components.

Thanks again everyone!

 

Late reply here, but check the power steering control valve. It sits on the end of the center link and connects to the end of the pitman arm. Mine was worn to hell. There was about a half inch of play in it. I replaced it ($99 from ecklers) and it made a HUGE improvement.


<EDIT>

Or I could read your entire post first. I guess you've already replaced it.


[Modified by GTLocke13, 7:03 PM 6/28/2004]

 

Theandies listed the most guilty culprit with my car after changing so many other obvious steering components. I drove the C3 designs when they were new, they were not sloppy! Tires and willowy frames makes the handling of the early cars greatly inferior to the c4's and especially the c5's.

A loose or worn idler arm will cause a large amount of what seems to be torque steer. At a minimum, make sure that all your bolts mounting the steering box and idler arm are present, in good shape, and tight.

Chuck

 

No problem... I appreciate all of the input...

 

Thanks... The steering just seems "sloppy"... seems to want to pull when I accelerate hard and will sometimes want to pull when I brake...definitely not an issue with the brakes as ALL IS NEW in the brake system and I just double checked it.

Read a post regarding the rear arm bushings potentially being a contributor as the rear can shift if these are DOA.

 

Your symptons remind me of 1bad69's gorgeous black BB. His frame was rusted out. Trailing arms and rear main bearings will cause this too. The joys of finding all those little things that add up to overall slop. A few thousandths here and a few thousandths there make a 1/4" combined slop real fast.

Chuck

 

Yup, me too. My car would go one way on acceleration and another way on braking. Seemed like one could have called it torque steer.

Turned out to be bad strut rod bushing combined with a loose rear wheel bearing. After the suspension rebuild project of 2001/2002, it's gone.

My steering is still a bit sloppy though.

 

Norval Wilhelm has made some comments in the past about rebuilding his steering gear. He custom machined and honed a set of pitman shaft bushings to a much more precise fit than the production clearances. This eliminated some side to side slop that he was experiencing with the production fit of the pitman shaft. He mentioned that it made a big difference in the steering feel. Obviously, you will need access to a shop or equipment that can perform this custom machining.

Be sure to check the flexible coupling for wear. If the rubber disc looks worn, or you can see noticeable wear on the stop pins, it is time for a new one. Please do not try and go the cheap route with the "rebuild kit." Purchase the entire OEM type flexible coupling from a GM dealer or from any of the Corvette suppliers.

 

Nobody commented on Ganey's reply. Has anyone else done this adjustment successfully?
On my car, when I look at the steering box I can see that the steering column has some free play versus the pitman arm , so it seems like either the gears are worn, or they need adjustment. When I move the wheel back and forth, I can feel a clicking sound deep in the steering assembly. I am guessing that its the lash adjustment or it looks like my control valve is giving away more as it too looks to have some looseness in it.

Tie rods ends are new and bushings are in good shape.

 

I did lash adjustment. Then 3 months later I did it again. Then 3 months later I did it again. You get the picture...

Personally, I think the original steering/suspension system was indeed great, but it doesn't stay in peak condition for as long as modern vehicles.

My choice: I went with Steeroids, and I love it! Although it's true that I could likely have fixed up the front end (and I eventually will), it seems the Steeroids kit makes up for a lot of other ills in the steering system.

 

After inspecting the rest of your steering and suspension components and are confident that the others are in fairly good condition. You can also try this in-car steering gear adjustment procedure:

http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/GearAd...-Rev21FE04.doc

The input (worm) shaft adjustment is done first, with the gear near full lock.
Next, the pitman (sector) shaft adjustment MUSTalways be done with the gear right on center.

Good luck

 

I have done it successfully many times on many cars. Have posted how & several on the forum did it successfully & were overjoyed.


Since steering expert Jim Shea is on the forum, he normally handles these topics now.