My Mav I use for ***DAILY*** driving just started to get a little difficult to turn to the left. Everything's constantly greased (tie rod, upper/lower ball joint, idler arm) and the power steering pump reads at the right level, and doesn't leak. I've rebuilt the front suspension on my restoration car, but I'm not sure how to recognize or troubleshoot steering issues like I'm having with my daily. Whats a tie rod going out feel like/sound like? Same for ball joints,idler arm, and power steering system? Whats the lifespan for the said parts?
the ram is what the hoses lead to that attaches to tie rods? does the power-steering system basically work like a hydraulic system would
I'll look into finding a rebuild kit if there is one and may tackle that someday soon. I just thought it was odd that it is harder to turn left and turning right is perfect. It's not that difficult to turn left but you can notice the difference, in a way it's intermittent as sometimes I dont feel it, which led me to check the pumps belt but that was tight. Now how about schooling me on the front steering components I will always replace anything and everything during a restoration but on a daily driver what are the signs and symptoms and ways to check that your ball joints, tie rods, etc are in working order and what are things to watch out for? Learning more never hurt anybody
I may be way off on this one, it has been YEARS since I had power. There is an adjustment under the end-cap of the ram. If I recall correctly, turning the screw one way makes it push one way more, and vice versa. Maybe you can adjust it so it is equal powered each way? Someone else chime here, please...this may be just for keeping it centered and not wandering. But figured I would throw that out for fodder.
scooper, I read past threads and something like that was mentioned, I'll check it out tomorrow unless someone chimes in and confirms/unconfirms
When I was a kid, my dad put me behind the wheel of his van once a year. With engine off, he told me "go to town" meaning just pretend I am driving, and rock the steering wheel side to side til it felt tight on each side. Meanwhile, he was under the van looking at all the linkages, and making sure they didn't have any slop or play in them. I still do this to this day. Only, I have no kids, so the wife "goes to town" while I crawl under the cars. You are looking for joints that pop out or have a "wobble" to them. They should not wobble. They should be tight and have no movement, except for the rotational movement that each joint is designed to have. ANY wobble or rock means they need to be swapped out. I found a bad upper ball on my truck a couple years ago, and swapped them ALL out! Don't want to wait around and have to do another one every 3 months until they are all replaced. It took me about 2 hours to completely replace all tie-rod ends and ball joints. Never looked back on it, except for my yearly check.
Not to mention that if one part fails in a complete system like that the other parts are starting to wear faster. Plus the bushings and arms all settle together, wear together, in a specific pattern. Replacing one part might not actually help, it could cause one of the other parts to wear quicker. Often times I find that if there is some issue with my car it's a combination of smaller ones. Or theres one big issue and I don't notice the small ones till I get that one fixed. In short. One tie rod goes bad, replace both. One bushing. replace em all. Also make sure there is some movement, not wiggling, make sure the system isn't too tight. The ball joints should pivot smoothly and controlled. If they aren't pivoting, pivoting hard, or wiggling... They needs work.
