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3Likes
10-14-2022, 03:43 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Westport,
CT
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 575 with Shelby Aluminum 427 Stroked to 468
Posts: 362
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Not Ranked
ERA 427 Steering Adjustment
Hello,
I recently got a 4 wheel alignment on my ERA #575. Car drives smooth, no shimmies or problems tracking the car straight. However, I noticed that when pushing the performance and applying harder steering on curvy roads, the steering feels much less linear, like I'm tracking into a turn at say 40-50mph and when the normal instinct is to start increasing my turning of the wheel, the car doesn't turn without over steering the steering wheel. So as you transition from a straight stretch of road to a gradually increasing radius, you need to apply a disproportionate turn of the steering wheel. It feels like there is play in the wheel yet on straight driving, I can jiggle the steering wheel and the car noticebly moves left and right. I could see this performance in turns being an excessive play in the steering but it only displays this excessive play in the turns. Curious if anyone has experienced this and if there is an adjustment people have done to remedy this situation.
Thanks
Frank in Connecticut
ERA 575
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10-14-2022, 06:02 AM
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CC Member/Contributor
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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Greenville,
SC
Cobra Make, Engine: 70 Shelby convertible, ERA-FIA, 66 mustang convertible, mystery Ford powered 2dr convertible
Posts: 12,614
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Not Ranked
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankym
Hello,
I recently got a 4 wheel alignment on my ERA #575. Car drives smooth, no shimmies or problems tracking the car straight. However, I noticed that when pushing the performance and applying harder steering on curvy roads, the steering feels much less linear, like I'm tracking into a turn at say 40-50mph and when the normal instinct is to start increasing my turning of the wheel, the car doesn't turn without over steering the steering wheel. So as you transition from a straight stretch of road to a gradually increasing radius, you need to apply a disproportionate turn of the steering wheel. It feels like there is play in the wheel yet on straight driving, I can jiggle the steering wheel and the car noticebly moves left and right. I could see this performance in turns being an excessive play in the steering but it only displays this excessive play in the turns. Curious if anyone has experienced this and if there is an adjustment people have done to remedy this situation.
Thanks
Frank in Connecticut
ERA 575
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Quite a few items can cause the lack of feel, so let me ask a few questions:
Age of tires
Make and model of tires
Ambient temperature outside
Mileage on your chassis/build
Maintenance to suspension (IE: lube as an example, tightening/checking all connections, an alignment shop may not know enough about your build to check everything)
We will start with these basics, then go from there.
Bill S.
__________________
Instead of being part of the problem, be part of a successful solution.
First time Cobra buyers-READ THIS
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10-14-2022, 06:11 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Clayton,
IN
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 838
Posts: 1,064
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Not Ranked
Your alignment is likely off. I think your caster and camber are not the same on both sides.
John
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10-14-2022, 06:16 AM
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Senior CC Premier Member
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Bellevue,
WA
Cobra Make, Engine: Everett-Morrison 514, Toploader 4 sp, Jag IRS
Posts: 278
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Not Ranked
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankym
Hello,
I recently got a 4 wheel alignment on my ERA #575. Car drives smooth, no shimmies or problems tracking the car straight. However, I noticed that when pushing the performance and applying harder steering on curvy roads, the steering feels much less linear, like I'm tracking into a turn at say 40-50mph and when the normal instinct is to start increasing my turning of the wheel, the car doesn't turn without over steering the steering wheel. So as you transition from a straight stretch of road to a gradually increasing radius, you need to apply a disproportionate turn of the steering wheel. It feels like there is play in the wheel yet on straight driving, I can jiggle the steering wheel and the car noticebly moves left and right. I could see this performance in turns being an excessive play in the steering but it only displays this excessive play in the turns. Curious if anyone has experienced this and if there is an adjustment people have done to remedy this situation.
Thanks
Frank in Connecticut
ERA 575
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Hi Frank,
If you know the settings the alignment shop used (ex: caster, camber, toe) it might help to include here for perspective. Just curious, where you indicate that when you jiggle the wheel and the car noticeably moves left or right, do you recall if on similar jiggle before did it move any more or less to the left and right? Am I correct to assume that you don't have a variable adjust steering/effort type system and that they didn't change the steering rack bushings?
Thanks, Brent
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10-14-2022, 07:45 AM
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Half-Ass Member
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA #732, 428FE (447 CID), TKO600, Solid Flat Tappet Cam, Tons of Aluminum
Posts: 21,889
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Not Ranked
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrmustang
Quite a few items can cause the lack of feel, so let me ask a few questions:
Age of tires
Make and model of tires
Ambient temperature outside
Mileage on your chassis/build
Maintenance to suspension (IE: lube as an example, tightening/checking all connections, an alignment shop may not know enough about your build to check everything)
We will start with these basics, then go from there.
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And add to that a picture of the rack itself. 575 is an older girl -- it could very well have an original Subaru rack in there.
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10-14-2022, 09:37 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Westport,
CT
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 575 with Shelby Aluminum 427 Stroked to 468
Posts: 362
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Not Ranked
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10-14-2022, 09:53 AM
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Half-Ass Member
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA #732, 428FE (447 CID), TKO600, Solid Flat Tappet Cam, Tons of Aluminum
Posts: 21,889
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Not Ranked
Those pics look like the the Flaming River #FR1502 that they mill down a bit to mimic the size of the original Subaru rack. So, never mind.
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10-14-2022, 09:59 AM
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Half-Ass Member
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA #732, 428FE (447 CID), TKO600, Solid Flat Tappet Cam, Tons of Aluminum
Posts: 21,889
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Not Ranked
Now, I can't imagine you would miss munged up rack bushings while taking your pics, and it doesn't look like they're bad from your pics anyway, but check this thread out from where I replaced mine. It doesn't hurt to just double check.
Bob P. - What's Wrong with this Picture?
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10-14-2022, 10:31 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Westport,
CT
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 575 with Shelby Aluminum 427 Stroked to 468
Posts: 362
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Not Ranked
I don't think my bushings look great, so it probably wouldn't hurt to replace the bushings. here is a better picture.
https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/render...&ts=1665768635
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10-14-2022, 10:33 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Westport,
CT
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 575 with Shelby Aluminum 427 Stroked to 468
Posts: 362
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Not Ranked
Patrick, from your post... could you confirm which parts you ordered (assuming the ones you listed were correct).
*~~*~~*~~*~~
OK, after more than a decade, maybe it's time to replace my steering rack mounting bushings. I ordered Energy Suspension #15.10.199.39, which I think is the right part, but they don't give you pictures on the Energy Suspension parts web site, so you kinda have to shoot in the dark. I'll know when they come. Do you guys put any grease on these bushings? Or do you install them dry? Am I going to need to drop the rack, or am I going to be able to squeeze them in after just taking off the brackets? And, yes, I see those funky little spacers in there under the bracket -- I'll try not to lose them, but no guaranties.
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10-14-2022, 10:35 AM
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Half-Ass Member
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA #732, 428FE (447 CID), TKO600, Solid Flat Tappet Cam, Tons of Aluminum
Posts: 21,889
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Not Ranked
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankym
Patrick, from your post... could you confirm which parts you ordered (assuming the ones you listed were correct).
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They were not correct. They weren't even close in fact. You have to call Bob and have him send them to. He's got a whole box of them in the closet left over. You can't buy them at the auto parts store either.
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10-14-2022, 10:43 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: New Britain,
CT
Cobra Make, Engine: Size 10 Feet
Posts: 2,993
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Not Ranked
If one of the bushings is round, the other "D" shaped, they are duplicates of the Subaru rack that we used many years ago. We had a bunch custom molded. Send me a PM.
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10-14-2022, 10:58 AM
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Half-Ass Member
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA #732, 428FE (447 CID), TKO600, Solid Flat Tappet Cam, Tons of Aluminum
Posts: 21,889
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Not Ranked
Maybe like this?
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10-14-2022, 03:39 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Frederick,
CO
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA FIA 2158, ERA 427SC 649 sold
Posts: 169
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Not Ranked
I had an issue with 649, the rack would slide back and forth under pressure.
I would turn, then on a straight the steering wheel would be crooked, turn the other way and the wheel would be crooked the other way. If the rack is twisting in the frame on turns the steering could feel very strange. New bushings fixed the issue on my car. My new ERA car uses a Mustang 2 rack mounted with through bolts, a much better setup. You night want to make sure the shaft bushings in the rack and the inner tie rod ends are tight.
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10-14-2022, 04:31 PM
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Half-Ass Member
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA #732, 428FE (447 CID), TKO600, Solid Flat Tappet Cam, Tons of Aluminum
Posts: 21,889
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Not Ranked
You'll note in the vids that I posted in the thread that is referenced above that I put a magnetic dial gauge on the rack and measured it both before and after my repairs. There actually is a relatively common industry standard out there for steering rack slop. OK, they don't call it steering rack slop but that's what it is. And they like to call them “steering gear insulators” and “steering gear isolators.” If you don't use their particular lingo then they won't tell you what the slop value is. Regardless of their specs, less slop is better than more slop. Here is one shop manual:
Quote:
Check for movement with the front wheels normally loaded (on the ground). If the housing moves more than 1.5mm (0.06 inch) the steering gear isolators may have deteriorated or the steering gear mounting bracket nuts should be tightened to 37-52 N-m (27-38 lbs-ft). If the housing movement is still excessive after tightening the steering gear mounting bracket, replace the steering gear isolators.
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10-15-2022, 09:21 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Westport,
CT
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 575 with Shelby Aluminum 427 Stroked to 468
Posts: 362
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Not Ranked
Problem solved
Ok, I think I solved my issue. From the Youtube links Patrick provided, I could see that the old style rack mounting allowed for way too much slippage inside the C clamps. I will show a before and after. In the before, there was a 1/4 inch sway and now: 0. It's not as pretty as I would like it to be but I made a square clamp to attach to the rack as an anchor point and welded 2 studs onto the outer plate. I made 3/8 rod connectors with stainless fender washers and bolted them to one of the C clamps. Posting videos in a minute.
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10-15-2022, 09:25 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Westport,
CT
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 575 with Shelby Aluminum 427 Stroked to 468
Posts: 362
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Not Ranked
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10-15-2022, 09:58 AM
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Half-Ass Member
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA #732, 428FE (447 CID), TKO600, Solid Flat Tappet Cam, Tons of Aluminum
Posts: 21,889
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Not Ranked
That's quite a difference. From that first vid the slop is clearly too much and the passenger side bushing looks particularly bad. Let us know the results of a hard corner to the left and whether the wheel returns to the same spot. Then repeat to the right, and then try and drift a hairpin at a 110 like Morris and report back.
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10-15-2022, 11:32 AM
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CC Member/Contributor
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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Greenville,
SC
Cobra Make, Engine: 70 Shelby convertible, ERA-FIA, 66 mustang convertible, mystery Ford powered 2dr convertible
Posts: 12,614
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Not Ranked
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankym
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That is a huge amount of movement pre-fix, can't say I've ever seen so much on any of my Cobras.
As Patrick has already pointed out, that passenger side bushing needs to be replaced. I suggest you do both at the same time and be done with them.
Bill S.
__________________
Instead of being part of the problem, be part of a successful solution.
First time Cobra buyers-READ THIS
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10-15-2022, 04:21 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Adelaide,
SA
Cobra Make, Engine: AP 289FIA 'English' spec.
Posts: 13,139
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Not Ranked
What would be the anticipated effect if the rack is hard mounted (ie no bushing)?
It's a Cobra, after all
Cheers,
Glen
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