Steering Wheel cocked. I fixed it!!
Last year, my wife and two friends took a trip out west in our Monaco Diplomat DP. The Power Steering Head went out in Utah.
She found a truck repair shop that could order a rebuilt unit and install it. She rented a car for the week.
When she finally got home, she said the Coach drove fine, but the steering wheel was now off center a lot. More of an annoyance than anything.
But last Sunday I decided to fix it. I read up on it, and came to the conclusion that the shop that replaced the head should have adjusted the Drag Link. Heck, I could do that.
I took the Coach to my shop, (I own a Machine Shop), and removed the big drag link ball joint from the Pitman Arm. I loosened the clamp that locks the ball joint thread, and tried to screw it in. It would not budge.
I removed the other ball joint from the driver's side steering arm, and removed the whole drag link so I could secure it in a large vice. Even after applying heat and liquid wrench, it still would not turn. I figure the threads was galled.
This is why the shop in Utah did not adjust the length of link.
Rather than just putting it back together, I decided to fix it by making the drag link adjustable in place.
I took a piece of 4140 steel bar stock, cut it about 7 1/2 inches long, and threaded one end for 1 1/4 12 TPI right hand, and the other end for 1 1/4 12 TPI left hand thread. I also had to make two jam nuts.
I then cut a 4 inch section out of the drag link at a appropriate spot. I drilled and tapped each end with the same 1 1/4 12 TPI, one left hand, one right.
I then assembled the drag link with the "turnbuckle" in place, and remounted the link from the pitman arm to the steering arm. I shortened it about what I thought it needed.
Did a test drive, I had to adjust it a tad more, and now the steering wheel is dead straight when going down the freeway.
I would post a picture of the fix, but I see there is no provision, such as a "manage attachments", for doing such.
By the way. I am 72 years old, and getting to old to be climbing around under a motor home. But my wife is happy.
She found a truck repair shop that could order a rebuilt unit and install it. She rented a car for the week.
When she finally got home, she said the Coach drove fine, but the steering wheel was now off center a lot. More of an annoyance than anything.
But last Sunday I decided to fix it. I read up on it, and came to the conclusion that the shop that replaced the head should have adjusted the Drag Link. Heck, I could do that.
I took the Coach to my shop, (I own a Machine Shop), and removed the big drag link ball joint from the Pitman Arm. I loosened the clamp that locks the ball joint thread, and tried to screw it in. It would not budge.
I removed the other ball joint from the driver's side steering arm, and removed the whole drag link so I could secure it in a large vice. Even after applying heat and liquid wrench, it still would not turn. I figure the threads was galled.
This is why the shop in Utah did not adjust the length of link.
Rather than just putting it back together, I decided to fix it by making the drag link adjustable in place.
I took a piece of 4140 steel bar stock, cut it about 7 1/2 inches long, and threaded one end for 1 1/4 12 TPI right hand, and the other end for 1 1/4 12 TPI left hand thread. I also had to make two jam nuts.
I then cut a 4 inch section out of the drag link at a appropriate spot. I drilled and tapped each end with the same 1 1/4 12 TPI, one left hand, one right.
I then assembled the drag link with the "turnbuckle" in place, and remounted the link from the pitman arm to the steering arm. I shortened it about what I thought it needed.
Did a test drive, I had to adjust it a tad more, and now the steering wheel is dead straight when going down the freeway.
I would post a picture of the fix, but I see there is no provision, such as a "manage attachments", for doing such.
By the way. I am 72 years old, and getting to old to be climbing around under a motor home. But my wife is happy.
