Grooves in the pavement are BAD for my Dart

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stansblue72

stansblue72

one of one 1953 ME!
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I had my Dart out on the highway and came to a place where there were wear grooves in the pavement, I thought my dart was going to change lanes on me!
It would pitch hard in one direction then back the other way and at 60 mph it scared the s**t out of me!

It was bad enough that other cars backed off to get away from me.

I had new ball joints installed less then 1000 miles ago. And had the front end aligned shortly after.

I was thinking of changing the idler and pitman arms then having it aligned again.

Also the front tires are P245 60R 14s and I was thinking of going to 70s on the front to see if it would help.

Any suggestions wold be appreciated.
 
A few things come to mind.
Are you runing radial tires on the back as well? Mixing them with bias ply can have adverse handeling problems.
How much play is in your steering gear? If it loose it could cause the problem.
How much play is in your pitman arm and idler arm? Excessive play in either of them could cause the problem.

Changing front tire size ain't gonna fix the problem!
 
Those can be real fun on a motorcycle! Not as bad as where they grind the top layer off for a recoat though! That will make you pucker
 
kocuda is on it. My old ' 68 barracuda used to do the same thing. I had preatty wide radials on the front and there was a decent bit of play in the steering. It had power steering so you couldn't tell. I un hooked it when I got home to see how much play there really was and It was un-believable. A lot of play. Ever since I just stay away from A-bodies with power steering. I've never had a problem since. Out of 11 A-bodies. Just a thought.
 
its probably the alignment.
i cant get any shop to do a real alignment on any of my old mopars, they are all too lazy to adjust the caster /camber so they just get it close and send it,,
if i complain then its " its an old car it wont ever be perfect"
:bootysha::bootysha:
 
Play in a power steering gear can be adjusted (tightened)
just like a manual box, to a certain extent unless its very worn.
 
I'll try adjusting the power steering box to see if it helps. There isn't a lot of play in the steering wheel but ya never know.

I know what ya mean 440scout, those where the exact words out of his mouth. (its an old car it wont ever be perfect)

Same tires all around KOCUDA I learned that lesson a long time ago about mixing bias ply and radials! To much beer, to fast on a dirt road, a sharp corner and a BIG stump. Bias ply on the back and radials on the front. CRASH! LOL Only thing hurt was my pride!
 
Before adjusting the steering box and possibly masking a problem or making it worse.......

Try clamping vise grips onto the center link near the middle and roll it back and forth. If there is excessive movement, replace the idler, pitman or both.
 
My wagon used to do that real bad. Come to find out the upper control arm bushings were toast/dust in the wind. After replacing them the car actually drove where it was pointed.
 
Thanks 6pk2goDemon I'll try that tomorrow.

I'll check out the upper control arm bushing while I'm at it.
Thanks 64dartwagon
 
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