Steering Play

[johnssi]

I'm posting this question here , I hope it's in the right place. I have a pretty good bit of play in the steering and was wondering what to do about it, even where to start looking. Like when passing someone on a straight and level road, when I cross the center line on a "crowned" road the car will swing wide to the left and then back over wide to the right when I get back into my lane. Can anybody point me in the right direction?

[narfire]

What size tires? I have 205/15's and feel the crown. Last year I had another spider for awhile with stock 13's and It did'nt have the "pull" when changing lanes. The highway here is a main north south route and plenty of large (up to 65,000 kg gvw) trucks every day so the crown can get pronounced.
Also you can tighten up the steering a bit by tightening the screw at the top of the steering box. There is a 17 mm ring nut ( i think) to loosen first and then try one turn of the screw,tighten up and try that. A bit fiddly because of the location but doable.
Chris

[124JOE]

i had trouble a long time ago
the car was all over the place so i took it to get an alinement
he told me i needed so much work done that he wouldnt do
didnt even tell me whats all wrong

turns out my cross member was torn and pulled apart a bit
had some bad ball joints and tie rod ends

tires make a big differance!.joe

[Italchic]

question for narfire, where is the steering box and how do you get to it?

[narfire]

follow the steering colum in the engine bay. It goes into a box of sorts under the brake booster. There is I think a 17 mm ring nut on top with a slotted screw. Loosen the ring and half turn increments turn the screw in untill the play in the wheel is less or gone.

[azruss]

adjusting the play in the steerbox will only minimize play in the center position. this you can test while the car is standing still by seeing how far the steering wheel moves berfore you get motion in the tire. . you can get this adjustment too tight. If your box is worn, you may never get it out and will need to replace. It sounds like you have more issue than centerplay in the box. sounds like an alignment or worn ball joints issue.

[SOPHIA]

I had the same problem. But lucky for me the shop I took it to did all the work after I bought the parts online @ VAS & IAP. I purchased a '82 Spider that was OEM. So it needed a lot upfront work done.

[ROOK1]

adjusting the play in the steerbox will only minimize play in the center position. this you can test while the car is standing still by seeing how far the steering wheel moves berfore you get motion in the tire. . you can get this adjustment too tight. If your box is worn, you may never get it out and will need to replace. It sounds like you have more issue than centerplay in the box. sounds like an alignment or worn ball joints issue.

Is this play only in the center position? I have a "dead" spot in my steering. It is only when I am turning left and it will "hesitate" or "skip" usually when returning to center but not always and not always when returning to center.. Do you think this adjustment help me?

[azruss]

sounds like you have more issues than just center play. you can tighten the center play adjust and see if it helps. sounds like you have a a chipped or badly worn tooth inside your box. I had a steering box worn so bad that it would bind up leaving the center position and took a good tug to get it to move off center. tightening the center play did nothing to help this problem. ended up replacing the box. How are your tie-rod ball joints. you may have one that is worn out.

[124JOE]

i have a used steering box for sale $100
pm me