Steering shake

[mickmate]

Regarding your steering shake you've chased your tail on balancing, alignment, tire shaving, rolling road balancing and every other trick you can think of.
Check the steering inner tie rod ball has a preload on it to ensure no steering play. It needs the outer tie rod end disconnecting to feel the play in the inner ball end. Check the outer while your there. If it is loose or floppy and basically doesn't support its own weight it will need the steering rack boots pulling back. There is a fine thread jam nut on the inside, a locking tab washer in the middle and a ball socket nut on the outside.
The tabs need to be straightened to unlock the jam nut and it needs the ball socket screwing in to tighten the inner tie rod end. When you have a good tension on it screw the jam nut back against it and make sure you try it again. The book actually asks you to get your old fishing scale out and use it to measure the deflection force required. It can be a bit of a trick to get it just right and needs a couple of attempts. The ball and socket don't always wear evenly to each other and it can be just a case of achieving a happy medium on the adjustment.
Don't forget when you get to a good tension on the tie rod to tighten the nuts up well against the tab washer and each other. Remember also to bend the lock tabs back against the flats. If it needs a new one or worse doesn't have one then put a new tab washer in before you shoot for correct adjustment.

[Silversmith]

Nick, would you say this applies to most AC front end types ie; csx, contemp, era, ccx, spf, etc. Or are you refering only to contemporary front ends?

Thanks,

PS; sorry I didn't see this was from contemporary forum

[mickmate]

Hi Sage, certainly a lot of rack and pinions use a similar or the same method. Check your rack manufacturers settings.

[Danr55]

The Jag manual says to tighten the inner end until it takes 12 pounds to.move the tie rod. That isn't near enough. .when I got.it.tight enough to get the shake.pit of the front end it took 22 pounds to move the tie rod.