How do I tell if my steering box is shot?

[blurple124]

I haven't had much time to drive my spider yet, as it is staying cozy in a barn for the winter, but while it is, I am trying to get an idea of what kind of shape it is in as I start my restoration.

When I was driving it I recall it being very hard to turn the wheel beyond a few degrees (of tire movement). Basically my turning radius is crap, especially at low speeds. I had to do a big three point turn on a country road to turn around. Now, I am used to a Jeep Wrangler, which can practically turn circles in a living room, and I have no idea what these cars are supposed to be able to do, which is why I am asking.

There is also some play at center, but if my box is okay, then that can be tightened out. I just don't know if my box is actually in decent condition.

What are some of the signs of a bad steering box?

[kmead]

It would be unusual for the box to be shot. It is an adjustable part so the play can be adjusted out.

There are a variety of reasons for the steering to be heavy. There might be no oil in the box (which could ruin it), the idler arm on the other side of the engine bay could be siezed (which does happen due to its design, lack of oil, nearness to the exhaust downpipe), the tie rod ends and ball joints can also be worn out and contribute to hard steering.

The 124 has a very large turning radius compared to some other cars at 34' in diameter.

Your steering can also be very heavy feeling due to the offset of the rims that may be on your car. Many folks find the steering on these cars rather heavy while at rest.

Having said all of that, with the car up in the air does the steering feel heavy and bind with no weight on the wheels?

This is a good time to go through the whole front suspension to replace many of the worn parts of the front suspension which likely have never been updated. There are lots of parts which likely need replacement after all these years.

[124JOE]

yes make sure all other stering componants are 100% ok
then adjust box if needed

[blurple124]

Okay, that all sounds reasonable.
When the weather warms up, I have every intention of putting the car up on blocks and restoring the front suspension and replacing all bushings, but I was going to leave the ball joints as they are. Should I not? I am told they are quite durable. Here is what the front end looks like now:



As for the steering, I am considering at least protecting linkages and preventing rust, but if I need to replace the tie rod ends, I can. Here is the condition they are in now:



And is this the steering idler? How does it's condition compare to other examples? (this is a '78)





Thank you for all of the help.

[wachuko]

I would not look forward to ever changing that brake line

All joking aside. Check the basics first... tire condition, air pressure, size all play into steering feel.

As others have mentioned, raise the front and check again... you could have a combination of things contributing to the steering feeling like that.

[124JOE]

i bought a new lower aarm it came with everything ready to go 72.50
but your car needs an hour per side with a wire brush"and goggles"
then black paint everything thats NOT brakes"alum or rubber" get the tierod connetor and the spring

my stering got hard to use then snaped off at the mounts on the idler
all of a sudden it was very easy to turn,but i was stuck
that was froze up
then theres falling apart
they are messy and dirty from the start
and mabey a striped arm if it gets loose there and nobody fixes it then it will strip out

[kmead]

Definitely some worn parts visible there. Those A arm bushings are rather sad looking.

Tie rods can be checked easily by turning the wheel all the way to the right and going to the left wheel and putting your thumb and forefinger tightly around the rubber cover compressing it so you can feel the metal within the tire rod end and the steering arm intersection. Have another person wiggle the steering wheel back and forth. If there is any relative motion between the two parts you have a worn tie rod end. Repeat this for each joint in the system (turn the wheel all the way to the left when on the right side of the car). There are six joints that are basically tie rods that can be checked this way.

To check the ball joints is a bit more involved (it is delineated in the Haynes manual) though I can describe it for you if needed. It requires lifting the front of the car and then using a jack and a pry bar to see if there is relative motion. You may also want to use a dial indicator to measure the motion.

The damper can be checked in a similar manner to the tie rods, you are looking for relative motion of the arm to the body of the damper.

Hope that helps.

Karl