Winter to-do's

Siggymanx33 · Post by **Siggymanx33** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:30 am

I am starting to get around to do some winter stuff to the buggy and I wanted some opinions for troubleshooting sake. The engine is off the car and I was pushing it into the garage and I noticed the steering is "tight" is one spot right off of center. The car steers perfectly to the left and as the wheel gets centered and I start going to the right it goes through a bit (maybe an inch) of tightness before it loosens up again. Should I begin looking at the steering wheel adapter end or the steering box end? Thanks for any advice.

fubar · Post by **fubar** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 3:49 am

As you are removing the rod ends to replace the box.....turn it by hand and make sure the box itself is draging. Steering and brakes are not worth cutting corners, even in the sand having your wheel lock can mess up your day. A different wrecking yard model that has not been thrashed around the desert might last a long time trouble free.. ( I am assuming all the adjustment is out of the old one??)

Siggymanx33 · Post by **Siggymanx33** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 3:58 am

This box hasn't done much thrashing around the desert. Would the worm gear adjustment work for a tight spot?

fubar · Post by **fubar** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 6:58 am

I had a "crunchy" box on my sand buggy. I pulled the top cover off thinking i could rebuild or pepair it. It was full of sand so I $hitcanned it an got another for free. It still took a while to replace. I have sinse learned that they are packed in grease, not oil filled like I had assumed. Perhaps if I had cleaned the chunks out the old one would have worked???Sounds like more work for a maybe...I tend to go with OEM parts with life in them as opposed to rebuilds with crappy parts. My theory goes from easy to change parts like alternators to engines..But I am pretty cheap. And lazy. But I do get alot of wheel time in for my money. Just make sure you are fixing the right problem before you take the whole thing apart.

newmanx59 · Post by **newmanx59** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:33 pm

After exhausting the other possiblities you can try adjusting the box. If the adjustment is too tight it will affect the resistence to turning. Loosen it a bit and see if it helps, what do you have to lose?

Reverb · Post by **Reverb** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 6:05 am

I`m planning on just buying a new steering gear box. Brand new ones are only around $65.00...unless theres a reason why an original one is better.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 4:17 pm

Steering boxes are designed with a high (tight) spot in the center. This is so when you are going straight down the highway there is no play in the steering. When you turn the wheel to either side of it there will be a little bit of play to make it turn easier. You can not feel this play (very slight) because you are putting pressure to turn and the wheels are trying to push back. The proper and only way to adjust the steering is in the center on the high spot. If you adjust it to either side you will get it too tight and when you ty to go straight it wants to come off the high spot and makes it wander. They are a real bear to drive like that especially if it is to tight. Turn your wheel all the one way and count the turns to full turn the other way. Turn the wheel half that many turns back the other way and that should be straight no matter which way the wheels are pointing. It should also be right on the high (tight) point. Then adjust yours wheels and toe in to match without turning the steering wheels. When finding the center make sure your steering is being stopped by the box's limits, not by the stops on the linkage. This is where you make your adjustment. Adjust it down to where it just makes contact. If you have the wheels off the ground or linkage disconnected you can feel the center. When adjusted correctly there will be no play in the center and slight play off center. You might check to see if your tie rods on one side are showing a lot of threads and next to none on the other side. That's a lot of typing, hope it makes sense.

Disclaimer This is the it is done on a normal car, who knows on a VW.