I want my steering to be tighter, much tighter. Car has 146K miles.

Any ideas on where to begin?



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Gunmetal 89GTA T-Tops L98
Slowly but Surely

 

When's the last time you changed your steering components - tie rods, idler arm, bushings, etc.?

 

I haven't...
Only had the car for a month now.
person I bought it from said something about tightening the tie rods.
Honestly don't know much about the steering components, which is why I want to know where to begin.

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Gunmetal 89GTA T-Tops L98
Slowly but Surely

 

Do you know when the previous owner had them changed? I don't know where/who you got the car from, so that's why I'm asking, but if it's someone you know, you could probably find out. Replacing the tie rods and idler arm isn't that difficult - hardest part seems to be popping the old ones off, but that's what the special tools are for. I really don't know, either, how long these components are supposed to last, but it sounds like you could use some new ones - ball joints as well. Those are the toughies, but I'd do it all. A couple of key things to remember for the tie rods and idler arm - you'll have to set your rod length back to the same length as your old ones (as close as you possibly can) and your idler arm has to have the height set in relation to the pitman arm - you shouldn't just throw it in there. Those things should get ya tightened up good, and obviously you'll need an alignment.

KAM

 

Thanks

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Gunmetal 89GTA T-Tops L98
Slowly but Surely

 

<<you'll have to set your rod length back to the same length as your old ones (as close as you possibly can) and your idler arm has to have the height set in relation to the pitman arm - you shouldn't just throw it in there.

What determines how you set the relation of the idler arm to the pitman arm?

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Chuck Rini
Perry Hall MD
91 Z28 305TPI Convertible Black
92 RS 305TBI T-Top White

 

Believe it or not, that was in my Chilton's book, if I remember correctly, or at least I do remember it was with the directions for the parts...
What it's designed to do, is to keep the centerlink at equal height at the pitman arm and idler arm, basically so that it doesn't bind, although I really don't know the chances of that actually happening.
The method used (and this sounds as back-yard as you can get) is to place a socket on the bolt head of the control arm and place a straight-edge on the flat spot of the centerlink right near the socket and measure that distance. You have to measure the pitman arm side first, so that way you know where to set the idler arm at, since it is adjustable. You can't really "back-door" it by just measuring from the ground (garage floor) up, because if the car (and floor) isn't perfectly level, you're defeating the purpose.

KAM