unknown swerving

Started by shilohako, June 01, 2021, 03:05 PM

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shilohako

Ok I have a 76 Winnebago brave 21ft.  I bought last fall which had a scary steering problem but thought it could be fixed.  I have used the search and found many helpful topics but nothing has helped the problem.  Ok I am turning the wheel very aggressively to keep the rig straight at low and high speeds (45mp being the highest, to scared to drive past that). 

What I have done so far.  I had new tires put on, I have had a new steering box put on, I have put on rear air bags, I have put on steering damper.  None of these things have done anything to make it safe to drive.  I have also had two tire/front end places check out front end to see if they can see anything broken or worn or anything of concern, both have said it looks good.  The last place said they wanted to put it on alignment but lift wont fit my rig.  next place will probably be a semi-truck place.  I wouldn't think it would be an alignment since it aggressively swerves both directions, but Im no expert.
Any ideas

BraveDave

Sounds like an alignment wouldn't hurt.
Has work been done in that area recently?

yellowrecve

I don't know I this would apply to you.  I had a 1 Ton ford van that was all over the road. The king pins felt tight. A shop said it was good. I toke it apart apart my self and found the king pins were dry and seized in their bushings. I was fighting the seized pin.   
RV repairman and builder of custom luxury motor homes, retired, well, almost, after 48 years.

Elandan2

An alignment gets my vote. A garage that handles large trucks will be able to do it. Sounds like the caster adjustment may be out.
Rick and Tracy Ellerbeck

shilohako

ok had an alignment done today, and they said it did need adjusting but the wander is still there.  My next question is if there is more adjustment in the gear box than just the allon screw on the side? which I have adjusted and it did take out the steering column movement, just dont know if there is another adjustment that needs made.  The RV place who put it in said there is no adjustment on steering boxes, so I wont be going back there.

Elandan2

This thread has an excellent description of how to adjust the steering box on the vehicle. Have a look.
https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?topic=2092.0


Rick and Tracy Ellerbeck

shilohako

Ok I have adjusted the gearbox and no change.  When I get a remanufactured gearbox is it just resealed or is the guts gone through as well.  can a new gearbox be purchased.  if so where can I get one?  I put on new kyb shocks, no change.  I was told by a friend that he found in a forum that wheel bearings could be the problem, has anyone run into this.  I am mostly running into problems finding anyone that will touch my rig, I dont have a way to jack up or support to do bearings if that is what it is.

Oz

If your wheel bearings are THAT bad, it would be very easy for any shop to have figured that out. Very worn bearings would cause very unpredictable steering swerve.
Certainly worth checking.
1969 D22, 2 x 1974 D24 Indians, 1977 27' Itasca

shilohako

how do I go about finding a gearbox myself.  I have found some online like napa or oriellys but the connections are wrong.  where can I find one that is the same

Oz

May be the same as used in the same year pickup truck?
1969 D22, 2 x 1974 D24 Indians, 1977 27' Itasca

rube goldberg

I had the same problem and replaced kingpins and runs straight and true now.

shilohako

well heading to I think the 7th or 8th shop to tackle this swerving issue.  I think I am into the steering issue probably more than the rv is worth, but now I have to much money into it and feel like I am so close.  second gearbox, alignment, new shocks, damper, new wheels, kingpins and tie rods checked for the 4th or 5th time.  still no shop has been able to figure it out, but the new shop thinks they can get it, but so have the last 5.

Oz

Damn frustrating.  I hope it gets nailed down soon!
1969 D22, 2 x 1974 D24 Indians, 1977 27' Itasca

LJ-TJ

If it will make you feel any better your now a club member of the " Man I got more money in this thing than it's worth." Everyone of us has had to chase a problem like this. But the rewards are worth it. I no opinions are like arsholes everybody's  got one. You've eat'n the cost of new tires and an alignment. You've eat'n the cost of a new steering box (wished you hadn't messed with it. Since your in this deep why not just replace the tie rod ends and ball joint's. Now you have a hole new front end. I no moneys hard to come by these days but your in this far. Process of elimination.  Hm?

AOBrodie

Have the alignment shops given you some kind of a printout of the angles as measured before and after? Also, double check that the specs they are trying to hit are for the correct vehicle. Have the alignment shops actually measured the squareness of the front and rear axles with respect to each other? Springs and shackles/bushings?

cadillac_al

Is there a lot of play in the steering wheel while it is wandering?  Does the steering wheel have to move very far before it starts turning?  I think if a steering box gets adjusted too tight it loses it's on center feel and gets twitchy.  I try not to adjust them at all and if I did it would be a very little bit.  Since it was aligned it should be close enough to track straight.  Do the front wheels have any drag from sticking brakes?  I hope you can keep the old girl on the road, good luck.

shilohako

well the shop called and said that they got it fixed.  I will pick up later and see for sure.  They made it through 4 gearboxes before finding one that was good.  Another of my RV friends said that he read when they rebuild them most of the time they just reseal them.  So if the gears are bad you are getting a bad non-leaking gearbox.  Well I had three bad ones and then they got a new one, hopefully that fixes it.

Oz

1969 D22, 2 x 1974 D24 Indians, 1977 27' Itasca

shilohako

well another 2 shops cant fix it, it now has new not reman gearbox, but still has play in steering.  I was going to look into replacing tie rod ends but dont know for sure which ones to get, most places dont have m300 but do have d300 or w300, but they are different ends? any help appreciated.  I think I may make it through 2 camping seasons and not have used my rig yet.

Oz

D300 truck parts are used as reference for tge M300.
1969 D22, 2 x 1974 D24 Indians, 1977 27' Itasca

Elandan2

Try napaonline.com I just had a look and they had parts listed for an M300. The other thing to remember is that this is not a rack and pinion set-up. There will always be a certain amount of play in the steering.
Rick and Tracy Ellerbeck

shilohako

well I understand play I have driven old vw buses all my life, but I am scared to drive over 40 in this due to loss of control. 

Does anyone know where I can get a drag link for my rig, I just noticed it is a one piece link.  I think Ill try replacing that and tie rod ends and if that doesnt work Ill just park it and let her settle back into the dirt, since I will never get my money back out of it and have missed my chance at a good road trip this year.

The d300 drag link is not the same as the one on my rig

Elandan2

Rick and Tracy Ellerbeck

shilohako

my friend just went to an RV rally and had a suspension vender say that if drag link is to tight it can cause swerving. has anyone heard of this, or had experience

shilohako

does anyone know if there much difference in m300 between 74 and 76.
i ask because lots of places list 74 but not 76