Steering Wander

gary635g

gary635g

Member
New 1950 Ford with G78 15 has serious wander problem, had front end lined up in Yuma it looks like the only thing done was adjust the toe. Left King Pin shows some wear but no evidence of attempt to correct minor camber problem I. suspect they did not have the correct tools. Any suggestions? I will replace left King pin next chance I get though I may have to find drivers and reamers. All other linkage and steering box seem to be good with no play.
 
gary635g said:
New 1950 Ford with G78 15 has serious wander problem, had front end lined up in Yuma it looks like the only thing done was adjust the toe. Left King Pin shows some wear but no evidence of attempt to correct minor camber problem I. suspect they did not have the correct tools. Any suggestions? I will replace left King pin next chance I get though I may have to find drivers and reamers. All other linkage and steering box seem to be good with no play.
Click to expand...


You may want to consider that a Sunnen hone will do a more accurate job of sizing king pin bushings than any reamer can... I like a tight fit, where you can just barely get the king pin in by hand.

I would do both sides at once...

Karl
 
Quite possible that bump-steer is causing the wandering sensation.
The suspension has built in bump-steer, that is when one side hits a bump it pulls the opposite side making it feel like it's wandering. I suspect that the cure for your 'wandering' problem is to install a trick bumpsteer kit from Fatman fabrications as I did on mine. This is what the kit consists of.
 

Attachments

  • bump steer.jpg
    bump steer.jpg
    249.8 KB · Views: 143
When I purchased my 51 conv.it wandered badly worse on crowned back roads.Finding nothing wrong I changed the Coker tires to Diamondback radials,problem solved,handles and rides great.Gave the Cokers to a friend and he has not spoken to me since.
 
Pressure 21# rear 24# front, Thanks for info on hone and bump steer kit also. I will not have a chance to work on it until October thanks. I should put radials on and they would be DB as I have on two 41 Chevys, I have had bad luck withe Corker but the G78 are in such good condition I really do not want to replace.Gary
 
I had this problem when I got my 51 merc. years ago. the bias-ply tires were in such good cond. I hated to change them out for radials. I suffered the" wandering blues" until I finally wore the tires out. I then went to Diamond back radials. I could not believe I was to cheap to change earlier there was that much difference . I tell people the change in ride and handling was like going from a Ford to a Lincoln.
 
Tire pressure is too low for bias tires. Put 32# in and should be a noticeable improvement. Try it.
John
 
Instruction manual calls for 21# rear and 24# front for the original tires that must have been bias, I will increase to 32# and see how that works. I expect the change to DB Radials would make a major change. I had a 49, 51 and a 53 that all steered good with the bias tires of the day. Gary
 
I run 32-34 psi in my radials on my 51 Merc. the car is fairly heavy @ 3800lbs. my car also calls for lower press, but wear better with more . got my recommendation from Diamond back classics, where I bought my tires.
 
Regardless of what your manual calls for read the side wall of the tire & it will give you the correct pressure for that tire.
 
Ford specified an air pressure based on the weight of the car and the bias ply tire characteristics. My operator's manual specifies 28 psi all 'round and that's what I've always run them (plus double cross rotation every 5,000 miles) and the tires wear very evenly clear across. Overinflate your tires and you'll wear out the middle before the edges and they'll ride a lot more bumpy. The pressure specified on the side of the tire is a safety limit (that's why it has the word "max" in front of it). It has nothing to do with the proper inflation for the weight of the car.
 
Last edited:
Bias ply tires like to climb up the side of the slightest rut in as asphalt road and follow the grooves in concrete roads which causes the familiar "bias ply boogie". It's part of the total package of going back in time in your time machine. No way to get rid of that other than replace with radials.

When I'm traveling an asphalt 4 lane road the right lane has the ruts in it from the big trucks so I drive in the left lane until someone comes up from behind, (no "boogie" there - straight and smooth) then I pull into the rutted lane to let them pass then return to the smooth lane.
 
Maybe they didn't have the tools ? .There's a indicator .Measure with a tape measure from the centre treed front and back ,make sure you have toe in .1.8 to 3/16 ,do that then road test it .ad a little or take away ,try this if it don't cure it then look for something else .Ted
 
gary635g said:
New 1950 Ford with G78 15 has serious wander problem, had front end lined up in Yuma it looks like the only thing done was adjust the toe. Left King Pin shows some wear but no evidence of attempt to correct minor camber problem I. suspect they did not have the correct tools. Any suggestions? I will replace left King pin next chance I get though I may have to find drivers and reamers. All other linkage and steering box seem to be good with no play.
Click to expand...
You need to find someone who can set the caster and camber along with the toe in. I suspect that as you say, the shop did not have the knowledge or tools to give your car a correct alignment.
 
New 1950 Ford with G78 15 has serious wander problem, had front end lined up in Yuma it looks like the only thing done was adjust the toe. I think they did the toe ok, left camber was the only question everything else looks good. I will try and get the specs for Camber and Caster tool and do my own adjustment after I replace the left king pin. Thanks all for input. Gary
 
I always ran 28-32 psi in my old bias-ply tires, and adjusted in that range according to center wear. A wear gauge was helpful in determining tire wear.
 
The new Coker 6:00 X 16 Radials I just bought call for 41 PSI all around ! They made a big difference in handling !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top