Steering damper, too much forces

Werner

Werner

Well-known member
Hey


I've now bought the steering damper, installed it, and test-driven it for 100 minutes. Smooth asphalt, patched tar holes, etc.


Unfortunately, I'll be removing it again.


What works really well is on bumpy roads; the straight-line stability is very good there. But I can no longer turn the steering wheel when maneuvering while the car do not move.


For example, I have to drive reverse into the Garage very tightly, and therefore I also have to turn the steering wheel when the vehicle isn't moving.


I also screwed on the short Pitman, but the steering forces are too high for me.


Very sad, it's a pity shame!
 
The question comes to mind of why did you install the steering dampener? Were you having shaking in the front end? Or what?
 
Good afternoon...I've run a steering Damper for years with no problems. A couple of questions...Do you run stock tires, wider tires make the car hard to turn when not moving...check to see what the resistance is on the shock that is included with the damper. You might just need a shock that is a little less powerful...Ernie in Arizona
 
Guten Abend und Dank!


The problem is shimmy on bad roads at 45 mph and above. And the car lurches unsteadily in ruts.


I completely overhauled the front axle. There's only some steering play from the (new) 7-tooth worm gear.
21" Firestone.



New shock absorbers from Mr. Stipe (or similar). The steering damper is new from MACs for Model A.
 
Good afternoon...The guts of the steering damper IS a shock absorber. I still think that you could find one locally that would fit and be just a little less powerful...so it would steer a bit easer when the car is not moving...No need to go back across the ocean...Ernie in Arizona...Who once spent a year in Heidelberg as a guest of the United States Army. Very beautiful city...
 
Ernie Vitucci said:
... Ernie in Arizona...
Who once spent a year in Heidelberg as a guest of the United States Army. Very beautiful city...
Click to expand...


Jawohl, Ernie,


Heidelberg is considered a particularly beautiful city! Elvis Presley and Peggy March knew this too and sang about it.
 
Werner said:
Guten Abend und Dank!


The problem is shimmy on bad roads at 45 mph and above. And the car lurches unsteadily in ruts.


I completely overhauled the front axle. There's only some steering play from the (new) 7-tooth worm gear.
21" Firestone.



New shock absorbers from Mr. Stipe (or similar). The steering damper is new from MACs for Model A.
Click to expand...

When I have had shimmy, it has been at lower speeds and has disappeared well before 45 mph. Strange!
The car lurching in grooves (try tram tracks) is what conventional cross ply tyres do. That is normal with Firestones (conventional tyres) and will not be helped by a steering damper.
 
Werner said:
Guten Abend und Dank!


The problem is shimmy on bad roads at 45 mph and above. And the car lurches unsteadily in ruts.


I completely overhauled the front axle. There's only some steering play from the (new) 7-tooth worm gear.
21" Firestone.



New shock absorbers from Mr. Stipe (or similar). The steering damper is new from MACs for Model A.
Click to expand...

Model A’s don’t need a damper if everything is correctly redone.

I think you still have a problem that needs to be addressed.

😉
 
Werner, You may have already addressed this but here are my comments: Check the ball and socket at the end of the wishbone. Check the front spring mount. Adjust the new steering box so that the play is zero. (how much is "only some steering play"?) Check and grease and adjust the front wheel bearings.
 
Guten Abend alle miteinander.




this workin' was all done by me about 4000 mls ago with new parts.


"Some play" in the steering wheel is about two men's fingers. At the wheel outside it's about 10 mm.


But I can't adjust it directly on the 7-tooth steering gear. The segment and worm shaft are new. This can't be eliminated; the thrust pin is tight.
The steering shaft can also be moved vertically by only <5/100 mm.

The steering damper drives noticeably smoother at robly roads. Even when braking, the car no longer moves to the right or left.


But, as written, when stationary, the steering wheel is no longer turnable. It creacs when I try to to turn it with all force. It works better with tire pressure of 3.0 bar. But only slightly.


I'm going now to drive it for 500 miles. Then I'll remove the damper to feel the difference again.


Also, as Ernie wrote, it's worth trying a weaker steering damper. The one on the MACs is very tight; I can only push/pull the piston between the two arms together with a lot of force and very slowly.


Perhaps this is a tolerance error from the manufacturer?


There is no check possible with other A's.
 
Werner -
This topic has been discussed before and pretty much the same answers have been posted again. Some people like dampers and defend their use, others don't like them and feel they aren't necessary in a Model A. I'm in the second group. Since 1973 when I first drove a Model A from Arizona to Iowa on vacation until my last trip in 2004, I traveled mostly on interstates at 60mph because I had no other choice of roads. The trucks didn't like sharing the road with an old car like mine at my speed and laid on their air horns as a commentary as they blew past me 20 mph over the speed limit. I was still learning about Model A's and hadn't done much to the front end and steering in the early days. But I never experienced any shimmying even back in those "Dark Ages" for my Model A knowledge.
As the years rolled by and many more Model A cross-country drives were under my belt (even through Germany on the Autobahn!), I learned more through experimentation and reading. I upgraded my touring package to an overdrive and an overhead valve conversion with a Weber downdraft carb, Aires muffler and headers. The '29 Cabriolet cruised at 70mph no problem, touching up past what the speedometer read for maximum speed. This went on for two days at a stretch, 24 hours a day, no stopping except for gasoline and the call of nature - and there was no shimmying. The front end and steering had only received the standard rebuilding/freshening up. That means, in my opinion a steering stabilizer is NOT needed to keep a Model A from shimmying. It only masks other more serious problems and also makes steering more difficult.
You need to COMPLETELY go through the front end, steering box, steering arm balls, radius rod mounting (the #1 cause of shimmying in my experience), tires, wheel bearings, front end alignment and so on to find out why your car shimmies without a stabilizer bar. There IS a reason why it shimmies. 5,000,000 Model A's left the factory able to attain 65 mph (per FoMoCo advertising claims). They certainly weren't manufactured with a built-in shimmy.
For those owners who swear by stabilizers, fine. If they're happy with a stabilizer bar, enjoy it. But it's only a Band-Aid covering an open cancer sore. Something is going to give someday. The shimmying is the Model A's warning sign that it needs help. Listen to your car, fix the root problem and toss that stabilizer!
Marshall
 
I will second what Marshall said. I want to add to check the shackles to the list I had in post #9.
 
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