Quote:
Originally Posted by BRASSHEAD
I did not change the location of the idler arm on my 66 when I done a crossmember conversion. Mine is out of an 86 half ton. One problem I have is the wheels turn more one direction, other tahn that it drive fine. Would the idler arm location cause my issue?
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Often during these swaps, your issue arises. To eliminate it, simply lengthen the tie rod end on one side and shorten it on the other--just by turning tie rod adjusting sleeve. The direction it turns too short, that tie rod end should be lengthened--then shorten the other side. Playing with it, you can get it turning the same amount in each direction!
To eliminate trial-and-error, turn st. wheel all the way from its leftmost position to its rightmost position,
accurately counting the number of turns(Picture a
clock, as it will have a fraction of a turn on its last one;
count the fraction as minutes on the clock-face).
Now turn it to its center location. Use masking tape and securely tape the st. wheel to the mast jacket on the st. column so that the st. wheel cannot turn. Now, adjust your tie rod ends until you get both wheels pointing straight ahead.
One last maneuver: adjust
each tie rod end such that
front of each tire moves 1/16" toward the center. These 2 sixteenths inch movements give you a total of 2 sixteenths(or 1/8) inch toe-in--which should be proper toe-in for correct alignment.
Have fun and enjoy this more-nearly-correct geometry that you had access to all this time--sorry we didn't meet earlier!
Sam