Slack/Play in Steering
I have a Allegro Bus 2002 on a Freightliner Chassis. My question is that I have a considerable amount of play on the steering while traveling down the highway and is there anything I can do to correc...
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Some boxes, such as TRW do have an adjustment. However, this is a VERY persnickety adjustment. If you get the box too tight, and it is very easy to get it too tight, then you will have the most evil handling beast you can imagine. You can find a procedure on the internet to adjust it, but it involves disconnecting the drag link so that you can feel any freeplay in the gear. Do NOT adjust the box until the adjustment screw feels tight. Don't ask me how I know this? ;)
Some FL chassis actually have a right angle miter box in addition to the steering gear box. That can be a source of slop.
Sticky u joints in the steering column can made the steering seem sloppy, then twitchy as you turn the wheel more.
How much freeplay do you guestimate that you have? What diameter steering wheel do you have? I have had three Class A DPs, and I am OCD about the way they track and steer. The very best I have ever driven, including Prevosts, have about 1 inch of numbness in the center.
As previously stated, it is easy to overdrive the vehicle since there are two huge differences between a DP and a car. One, you are sitting in front of the tires, not behind them. This will make any front end side to side seem exaggerated compared to a car. Two, the steering has indirect linkage, compared to the direct linkage of almost all cars these days.
Some FL chassis actually have a right angle miter box in addition to the steering gear box. That can be a source of slop.
Sticky u joints in the steering column can made the steering seem sloppy, then twitchy as you turn the wheel more.
How much freeplay do you guestimate that you have? What diameter steering wheel do you have? I have had three Class A DPs, and I am OCD about the way they track and steer. The very best I have ever driven, including Prevosts, have about 1 inch of numbness in the center.
As previously stated, it is easy to overdrive the vehicle since there are two huge differences between a DP and a car. One, you are sitting in front of the tires, not behind them. This will make any front end side to side seem exaggerated compared to a car. Two, the steering has indirect linkage, compared to the direct linkage of almost all cars these days.
