1957 wandering at moderate speeds | Ford Thunderbird club group 1955-2005 T-Bird models

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1957 wandering at moderate speeds

  • Thread starter Thread starter suzukijohn
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suzukijohn

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Thunderbird Year
1957
Here is a problem I just can’t figure out.

1957 Bird. At 30-40 mph you need to hold the steering wheel with both hands. It not only “wanders” from left to right it actually PULLS left or right. Replaced factory wires with brand new wheels and issue didn’t change. Put rear wires on front and no change. Add brand new rack and pinion power steering and still no change. All new tie rods, A arm bushings, ball joints, etc and you guessed it, no change. Front end alignment … no change. Any thoughts?

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Has the rear axle and it's mountings been looked at? I had a car that sheared the center locating pin for the leaf pack and the axle started migrating backwards. Maybe you have a frozen shackle or cracked shackle or ?????
 
suzukijohn said:
Here is a problem I just can’t figure out.

1957 Bird. At 30-40 mph you need to hold the steering wheel with both hands. It not only “wanders” from left to right it actually PULLS left or right. Replaced factory wires with brand new wheels and issue didn’t change. Put rear wires on front and no change. Add brand new rack and pinion power steering and still no change. All new tie rods, A arm bushings, ball joints, etc and you guessed it, no change. Front end alignment … no change. Any thoughts?
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So above 40 it drives normally? This is extremely odd. My best guess is steering box adjustment or even rebuild, but I wouldn’t think that gets better above a certain speed.
Also there are no “factory “ wire wheels for a 55-57 T bird. Those are either from a 62/63 T-bird or an aftermarket supplier. Count the spokes to know which. Replacing the wire wheels with oem steel wheels made my 57 much more enjoyable to drive at freeway speeds.
 
Have you looked at the rear suspension? Maybe the spring shackles are cracked or a leaf is cracked or the pin in the spring perch broke and the axle is shifting backwards on the springs.
 
Looks like many possible items have been discussed/investigated.
Also;
Check the U-joints for a bad universal on the drive shaft.
Check for bent rims. I had a vehicle with a similar problem that drove me crazy but after eliminating all the possible steering items, it turned out to be bent rims. Changed the rims and the problem was solved.
Check the lugs on the wheels, Sometimes when using an impact gun, it will tighten the first lug and the rim will not sit flush on the hub. Use a regular lug wrench to snug all five lugs evenly and then a final tighten making sure all five are tightened evenly.
 
Last year I purchased a 55 TBird in excellent condition and have done extensive additional restoration. Prior owner converted to power steering and the car wanders and is not safe to drive after 35-40mph. Body and chassis have no rust and the pads between car and chassis mounting points are all new.
If you turn and then let go of the steering wheel the car will continue to go in circles and the steering wheel does not return to neutral. On the parkway it wanders all over and my wife refuses to drive it or go anywhere other than local roads. It’s not safe to drive at speed!
I have new period correct radial tires, added a rear stabilizer bar, replaced the front stabilizer bar with a heavy duty. Changed to adjustable Bilstein shocks.
Replaced the ball joints and all bushings and rebuilt the power steering unit.
Alignment shop made adjustments and has stated the angle of the steering column to the power unit is too steep and has two universal joints. Next week a speciality shop will soften this angle and make a new steering column and brake motor mount.
Once done we will increase the castor by a few degrees. Camber and Toe In-Out are both OK.
Anyone else have this problem and find a solution. I’m not willing to accept when people say you have a beautiful car show cruiser! I’m running out of options.
Gerry
 
Tom Alpers said:
Have you looked at the rear suspension? Maybe the spring shackles are cracked or a leaf is cracked or the pin in the spring perch broke and the axle is shifting backwards on the springs.
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The car does squat an inch or two in the back and we discussed increasing the length of the rear shackles or replacing rear leaf springs. Are the cars supposed to be level or squat?
 
Becoming more stable at higher speeds may be result of the gyroscope effect of the wheels or what ever is causing the wander has reached the point of max deflection and thus no more random change. Is your steering wheel centered when the wander stops? After all the front end work you've done I think Tom is on the right track. When ever there is a steering problem we naturally tunnel vision front end problems.
 
suzukijohn said:
Here is a problem I just can’t figure out.

1957 Bird. At 30-40 mph you need to hold the steering wheel with both hands. It not only “wanders” from left to right it actually PULLS left or right. Replaced factory wires with brand new wheels and issue didn’t change. Put rear wires on front and no change. Add brand new rack and pinion power steering and still no change. All new tie rods, A arm bushings, ball joints, etc and you guessed it, no change. Front end alignment … no change. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Can you describe the rack & pinion changeover, what style unit and who did it? OEM control arms or tubular? PS or MAN? Were front springs good (trim height) or were they replaced w/ the R&P CONV?

Radial tires? You say new wheels, were they steel? With radial tires the CASTER angle setting has to be increased +.

As for body trim height, you should find the trim height specs in the FORD WORKSHOP MANUAL. If the rear of the car is squatting (worn leaf springs) the front end cannot be set correctly.

If the alignment was done in a competent shop (hard to find as is old tech), it got a thrust angle alignment whereas the rear axle is determined to be square to the frame and the front is then set off that, Did they give you a printout?

If she needs new leaf springs, consider EATON SPRING for quality.
 
If the alignment shows it in spec I don't think an inch or 2 of squat in the rear would cause your problem as the alignment has already compensated for that. What happens if you raise the front wheels off the ground and start the car and operate the power steering? Does it have a mind of it's own and start turning the tires whether you want to or not? I had a 71 Chrysler that started doing that. The slightest movement of the steering wheel and the PS system tried to turn it to full lock if you didn't keep a firm grip on the wheel. Since you have replaced the factory stuff with the rack system my suspicion is the problem is in the rack or that the new systems geometry is not what it needs to be. I think you mentioned the pump was rebuilt but is the pump pressure and volume compatible with the racks needs?
 
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