Greetings,
Yes...again. I'm getting much closer to resolving this "shimmying & sloppy
steering" bugaboo. Unfortunately, we're not there yet.
Since the last time I queried this great list, I've tightened up the
steering box (via the adjustment screw on top of the steering box. I have
NOT yet played around with the shim setup...) and the steering has improved
immensely...nowhere near the amount of slop I had before.
But...the damn thing still has a shimmy - only occurs around 60mhp. please
recall; I've rebuilt the ENTIRE front end. During the initial rebuild, I
left the steering box alone, which alot of you told me I shouldn't have
done (and I sorta thought that before)...so, I went back in there and
performed this first adjustment. The good news is that it does not appear
that this steering box is the problem. The box looks like its' in pretty
good shape; no wear on the adjustment screw anyway and plenty of oil in it.
Anyway, Now, I'm thinking the wheel and tire setup might be at fault. I've
recommended to the owner that he look into some top quality tires like
Michelins, (or whatever else was std equipment on these things). right now
he has some cheap tires on it, and the steel wheels were always suspect. I
understand that the PO drove this car hard, and off the highway, through
the mojave desert, where I live.
But...aside from the wheel/tire factor, I have noticed something else just
looking at the car tonight...
This thing LEANS...to the left (pass side). Not much, but its' there.
My questions are:
1. bad spring? and would this contribute to shimmy'ing? I did NOT replace
the springs on this job.
2. I put oem front shocks back on it...should I have gone with Konis?
again, are these shocks junk? and would contribute to this problem?
3. or, are these cars THAT squirrely to begin with? (I would find that
hard to believe...)
I set the front-end toe, camber, according to the numbers in the manual
(I'm using the Bentley repro of the factory pub.).
4. Are these numbers correct?
5. are some other tricks to getting this geometry right?
6. Is there a quick way to determine if the frame itself is tweaked up?
Any comments?
please help...we're getting closer to getting this thing resolved and this
list has been a huge help. Please remember-we have STEEL wheels on it, not
wires.
Again, the car's owner and I thank you in advance...
Cheers
Thom Kuby
Porsche freak, with a TR3 in his garage
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