Before i tell what all i have done, this problem was happening before i replaced and rebuilt everything. When traveling around a sweeping corner at highway speed, the steering wheel will jump about an inch, but the car will hold a steady line. I replaced the whole front end suspension parts. new Spohn centerlink, tie rods, ball joints (http://www.spohn.net/shop/1982-1992-...GM-F-Body.html) new poly A arm bushings, New Eibach sportline springs. Complete front end alignment. Rebuilt the steering box with an Edelmann #8522 kit. So could i have a bad bearing in the steering column? The rag joint looks very good yet. This just started last year and i only put on about 1000 mi a year. My pump seems good with no noise and the belt is fairly new.

 

Besides noise, what other kind of issues would a power steering pump cause? Mine seems smooth with no noise. I'm just chasing my tail on this one.

 

Hi, can you describe the jump a little more? Up and down or back and forth?

 

While holding the wheel steady on a sweeping corner for example, the car will hold a steady line, but the steering wheel will move the direction of the turn about an inch. I just replaced the pump now also, and took it for a test run and it did it again, but not as bad, maybe a half inch. It also only happens at highway speeds. I have an idea that maybe my belt is bumping the water pump pulley that's close to it. It has it's own separate power steering belt that runs off the crank pulley only.

 

Hmm odd. Could the steering box be a little tight? Maybe a weird spot in the steering box worm gear? With an all new front end and new steering box rebuild seems like an unfriendly little gremlin.

I'm thinking since it does it every time and only while holding steering wheel steady and only at a particular place it seems like it's either the box or possibly a tire, seems like if it was the pump being impeded you would notice something like that all the time. Possibly alignment? Like excessive caster or not enough? Tire wouldn't be rubbing during turns? But since the car is holding steady my first guess would be the steering box or the steering box adjustment. Maybe the steering shaft does not like that spot on the gearbox gear at that point? I remember my old dodge dart would steer kind of choppy if I tightened the steering box too tight, but when backed off was just fine.

Of course just throwing that out there until someone else might have an idea....

 

I ran my fingers in ball bearing channels in the pump and also on the worm gear, and couldn't feel any abnormalities. There is no stickiness in the steering box at all. Remember in my original post that this just started last year, and has carried over after rebuilding everything and a new alignment. The alignment was done by a friend of mine in his shop and i was standing there with him when he done it, so i know everything is correct according to my factory shop manual.

 

Could it be a tire?

 

Or a brake thing? Hard to say without being there unless someone else has experienced something like this

You're car is beautiful btw!

 

Thank you for the car compliment. I also replace my brake pads with ceramic pads when i finished up the rebuild. I know this is a tricky one. I measured for a new belt so i can route it around the water pump pulley, the crank shaft pulley and the power steering pulley. I have a double pulley on the power steering pump because i have AC so that won't be an issue. The way it is now just around the crank and the power steering pump. there is only about less than a 16th of an inch clearance between the belt and the back of the water pump pulley. Maybe the belt slapping on the pulley and causing an interruption or something, I don't know. If it still persist, i know that everything is tight and new so I'll let it go for a while. But thank you for your idea's, more heads are better than one.

 

Just a follow up as to what I found. I've had a aftermarket Grant steering wheel for years and found the hub nut was a smidge loose. That in turn wore the splines down in the aluminum hub. The only thing from preventing my steering wheel from going "free wheeling" was the plastic horn button wire tube. A possible tragedy was prevented with a new aluminum hub and Loctite.

 

F*ck.