steering and handeling help, 73 duster

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73moparman

73moparman

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Location
Caledonia, MN
I am working on a 73 duster. Was originally a slant 6 car, now has 340, 727 torque flite, 8.75 rear end with 3.55 sure grip.
Whats new for suspension\steering-
Lca bushings
Ball joints
Tie rods and bushings
Pitman arm
Whats old-
V8 tortion bars .879 i believe
Power steering box
K frame is not reinforced
Lca are not reinforced
Shocks are new but nothing special

The problem i am having is when im on a "bumpy" or "rough" road the car likes to sway or "follow" the road..
When im on a smooth road the car seems to handle fine, except for one issue it seems to steer quicker to the left than it does to the right.

What are your thoughts? What should i begin replacing?
 
PoisonDart74 said:
Check the toe.
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Totally agree on this, and just because it has been aligned does not mean it's right.
Do you know how to give it a quick check with a tape measure?
I have poly LCA and strut rod bushings so I run about 1/8 in toe in.

Also I didn't see any mention of of strut rod bushings in your post.
Those are pretty important for the problem you are having.

Might try swapping the tires from side to side to see how much it affects it. (see if the problem changes sides)
 
TrailBeast said:
Totally agree on this, and just because it has been aligned does not mean it's right.
Do you know how to give it a quick check with a tape measure?
I have poly LCA and strut rod bushings so I run about 1/8 in toe in.

Also I didn't see any mention of of strut rod bushings in your post.
Those are pretty important for the problem you are having.
Click to expand...

No i dont know how to check the toe..strud rod bushings are new also
 
I think I'm going to try some tubular upper control arms from firm feel to get more caster, some 1.00 tortion bars and a front sway bar..
 
Well if that's the case then you need to find a new alignment shop that know what they are doing. Not some clown that adjusts till the little light turns green.

Ill bet with a proper alignment you would be a lot happier.
 
73moparman said:
No i dont know how to check the toe..strud rod bushings are new also
Click to expand...

On the front of the tires pick a spot to measure in the tread from point to point from one tire to the other, then use the same spots in the tread on the back of the tires.
The difference in distance will tell you.

Find a comon spot in the tire tread to use in the front of the tire, and the same place in the tread on the rear of the tires.


Example,
This would be 1/8 inch of toe in.
 

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You really should mark (scribe) the tires. You can easily make a pointer to do that. This creates a "plane" that shows the true rotational plane of the tires.

"Crackedback" just jacks a pair of 2x4's up against the sides of the tires in the approx. middle of the tires and measures between them.

But "following the road" is usually something loose/ worn/ broken and can also be tires that have been previously worn in in a bad way
 
73moparman said:
Its just been aligned here at a local shop..
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If you just had it aligned, then you should have gotten a print-out of the before and after specs. You should post the numbers here.

Also what kind of tires are you running?

Before spending $$$ on questionable quality tubular upper control arms, I'd recommend buying the Moog offset UCA bushings. You CANNOT obtain any decent caster numbers with stock parts because there is not enough adjustment which is the key here. Install the bushings in the upper arms such that you get more positive caster. The front bushing goes one way and the rear goes opposite. You want the upper ball joint to be offset towards the rear of the car.

I have Moog rubber LCA bushings, Moog 2-piece rubber strut rod bushings, good ball joints and tie rod ends. poly sway bar bushings, fast ratio manual steering. Also poly rear spring shackle bushings. I went to my alignment place and gave them the numbers I wanted. 1/16-1/8" toe-in, 1/2* neg camber, 2* positive caster. Both sides of the car set equally. The original factory specs are for the old narrow bias-ply tires and need to be adjusted to work with radials. I pretty much followed Tom Condran's ideas in his book. Mancini's has all this stuff if you can't find it.

My 68 tracks like a freight train. Hands-off on the interstate, no wind shift, and no side-to-side darting.....EVER.
 
Has anyone ever used any products from firm feel?? I have good tires on my car..all the bushings are good it j ust won't handle
 
I guess im getting from this that you dont have a front swaybar? That is a huge part of the equation. The alignment sounds run of the mill as well and I bet after it was driven the toe is now OUT with the fresh componets if it is a rut follower. What rear springs? If SS springs or it is "jacked up" like the car in your avatar then your caster is probably a train wreck. With that the car will wander,float and the steering will feel like it has no center. You probably get the car working good with a GOOD alignment and adding a swaybar. My alignment is 1/16" toe in, -1* camber and +5.75* caster. It drives as good as anything ive ever driven.
 
72BBSwinger said:
I guess im getting from this that you dont have a front swaybar? That is a huge part of the equation. The alignment sounds run of the mill as well and I bet after it was driven the toe is now OUT with the fresh componets if it is a rut follower. What rear springs? If SS springs or it is "jacked up" like the car in your avatar then your caster is probably a train wreck. With that the car will wander,float and the steering will feel like it has no center. You probably get the car working good with a GOOD alignment and adding a swaybar. My alignment is 1/16" toe in, -1* camber and +5.75* caster. It drives as good as anything ive ever driven.
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This guy right here just summed up my car in one paragraph..it does and acts exactly like u said..that car in my avatar is my car infact...
 
You should not need a front swaybar to prevent road wander. I've owned several cars with no swaybar. A front bar certainly will not HURT handling.
 
67Dart273 said:
You should not need a front swaybar to prevent road wander. I've owned several cars with no swaybar. A front bar certainly will not HURT handling.
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So what do u suggest then? Because all I'm getting right now from this thread is one person telling me what I need to do and then another telling me I dont need it or its wrong
 
either the Moog offset bushings or tubular uca's. you need 4 or more degrees positive caster and you can't get that with original spec parts.
I use tubular arms with the camber set straight up, alot of positive caster and 1/16" toe in. the car handles remarkably well with 1.06" bars and no anti-sway bars.. yet.
 
73moparman said:
So what do u suggest then? Because all I'm getting right now from this thread is one person telling me what I need to do and then another telling me I dont need it or its wrong
Click to expand...

There have been countless cars and pickups with independent front suspension manufactured and driven through their "lives" with NO sway bar either front or rear



The things that cause "following the road" are

loose / worn/ broken front end parts. READ that AGAIN

Poor alignment.

And last, poor tires, or tires that have already started a wear pattern because of the first two causes.

Also MISMATCHED front/ rear tires can cause poor driveability. We are not talking about cornering, are we? We are talking about "basic going down the highway," is that right?

An example was a nice, nearly new 80's Dodge pickup "back then" my boss had. It needed new rear tires, and he bought two. Whatever was different between the factory front tires (radials) and the rear, that thing on a clean dry freeway nearly walked right off the road. It felt as if there was 10 pounds of pressure in the rear tires. He decided to put two new ones on the front, same as rear, and it drove fine

REAR suspension looseness, and crap like long shackles, can cause wandering. Having the car all hiked up in the rear -- like so many guys did "back then" can cause the same thing.

LOL..................I'll bet the movie driver who had to drive this mess hated every second of it. Eastwood seemed happy to get out of it, as well

i038635.jpg



What all, exactly, have you done to determine if anything IS or is not loose or worn? How about the alignment shop?
 
Ill say this again everything that has to do with suspension..bushings..eveeything steering is brand new on my car except the steering box itself..
 
My car is not all shackeled up in the back..it has stock leafs under it..it just has tall tires. Lastnight my dad and I were checking toe on my car ans I had hI'm watch the steering box while I steered the car and the whole steering box flexes on the k frame so ik there is something wrong there
 
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