"Overcenter" Feeling in Steering

[erkbrn]

Hello everyone, I recently went through my front axle and refreshed everything up: new tie rod bolts, spindle bolts, bushings, some ball joint shims (car already had some, I only replaced them and didn't add more), wheel bearings, the works. Didn't replace any large parts (e.g. tie rods, pitman arm), just cleaned up what was on there. During the few times I drove my T since, there is an "over center" type feeling when driving in a straight line. It's not a standard over center that can happen when you turn too far or hit something.

The steering kind of drifts to one side and when you correct to center it will immediately drift to the other side; it doesn't require a lot of strength to correct it, but it's hard to keep in a straight line. This isn't the normal amount of T steering wander I'm familiar with, and the car didn't do it before the refresh. It felt much more severe and potentially dangerous, even at 15 mph and lower.

I did this same refresh on a previous T of mine and didn't experience this issue. Is it just the bushings wearing in? Did I tighten something a little too much? Not enough? I am puzzled.

[CudaMan]

Did you remove the axle from the car during the refresh? Maybe it got re-installed with the top leaned forwards instead of back like it should be.

[Professor Fate]

Check the toe in? Maybe somehow it needs to be reset?

[ABoer]

As Dan says , check your to-in
Toon

[Allan]

Another check to make is on the spindle bolts. When the pins are fitted they must be free to move within the axle yoke. Sometimes when the nut on the bottom of the pin is tightened it closes the axle yoke and restricts the free movement of the spindles. Your steering effort has to overcome this, and getting from left to right becomes a series of corrections like you describe. Do check your toe-in too.

Allan from down under.

[Professor Fate]

I had my '26 with excessive toe out ... the car handled very poorly and was wildly dangerous to drive until i set the toe properly. Huge learning experience!

Is the tie rod in ok shape? It's a hollow tube that can bend or even flex. Also, if your steering bracket bushing is worn and the steering shaft has play there, steering can be weird.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

I'll reinforce what others have suggested. Check your toe-in and your caster angle.

[Humblej]

That is not over centering, that is wandering.
I will add to what the others have already advised with this. Drifting left and right may indicate that you still have a significant amount of play in your steering system. With the car stationary, turn the steering wheel left and right without the front wheels turning. If you have 2" or more of total steering wheel travel you have too much play in the system. Everything from the steering wheel stub shaft, the planetary gears, the steering shaft, the lower steering column bracket bushing, pitman arm, wishbone ball, etc., the combined wear is giving you sloppy steering. Shims in the ball joints indicates you have significant wear in your steering system and it probably isn't limited to the front axle. I had a tractor with almost 6" of steering wheel travel, but driving 2 miles an hour I could get by, but 2 or more inches of travel for a car driving 30 MPH is dangerous and needs to be taken care of ASAP.

[speedytinc]

Trace the slop in ALL the components & fix em correctly. Assuming the pit-man arm is ok & used as is is not a proper front end rebuild.
You wouldn't need shims with a proper rebuild. Did you check the frame mount bushings? The front end is not a place to cheap out.
Did you check your caster? Extra caster helps the car stay in a straight line, if everything else is in proper condition.
I concur with a toe in check.

[TWrenn]

I'll reinforce what others have suggested. Check your toe-in and your caster angle.

And a THIRD to the toe-in! Was my first thought as I read the OP's post.

[Norman Kling]

Did you check the spring perches? It is possible to install them backwards or if you didn't remove them the entire axle with perches backwards will tilt the axle so the caster is reversed. The top of the axle should be farther back than the front and the spindle bolts should tilt slightly back at the top.
Norm

[Dan Hatch]

Kingpin should NOT move . Spindle should move on the kingpin.
Sounds like play in steering system. Start at the steering wheel and work your way to the wheels. Remove all play. Specially at the kingpins.
Get the Service Manual if you don’t have one.

[Allan]

Absolutely correct Dan. My response did not make it clear that the spindle had to be free to move in the axle yoke, not the spindle bolt.

Allan from down under.

[Art M]

Early this year, I had a similar problem with my 23 touring. I just could not keep the car in the middle of the lane. Everything looked good until I noticed that the steering column box to the frame was loose. The mounting bolts were pinned but loose. The wood must have shrank. The bolts were tightened and pinned. Now the car steers like it should.

Art Mirtes

[erkbrn]

Hi all, I did not remove the axle and did not make any adjustments to the tie rod ends or anything. Tie rod is in good shape. I measured camber and toe-in and they were within spec, but I will check again to make sure; I will check the steering box as well. The king pins do not rotate. Again, this problem was not present with significantly worn spindle bolts and bushings so I doubt the answer here is that the system is still too worn to drive straight. There may be something to Allan's suggestion...my friend was helping and he has a tendency to over-tighten things (he may have been a gorilla in a previous life). I may even recall having the same over-tighten problem before years ago, now that I think about it. I will report back when I figure it out. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Professor Fate]

Is there a local T club that has somebody that
can help?

[Dan Hatch]

Are the threads in the axle bottom good?
Usually they are gone.

[speedytinc]

Early this year, I had a similar problem with my 23 touring. I just could not keep the car in the middle of the lane. Everything looked good until I noticed that the steering column box to the frame was loose. The mounting bolts were pinned but loose. The wood must have shrank. The bolts were tightened and pinned. Now the car steers like it should.

Art Mirtes

You will get the same result from a worn mount bushing. Its usually overlooked.