The car: 1973 Plymouth Valiant w/ manual steering

Let me first start off by saying that I LOVE my manual steering. I don't think I could ever go back to an A-Body with power steering. I love the way my car handles and it can drive a straight line for an impressive distance without touching the wheel. I've had this car for about two months and it came to me this way, so I think it's safe to say that the previous owner probably always kept the car in good alignment. And the steering feels tight. There's not a lot of slop. I can almost always make this car go right where I want it to go.

My questions, however, is in regards to a vibration I get in the steering wheel around the range of 45mph, usually on the highway. Sometimes at these speeds the wheel starts to slightly jiggle back and forth rapidly. It's never anything that makes me feel like I'm losing control, it's just a sort of vibration! But then, as I gain more speed it goes away. I can cruise anywhere between 60-75mph, usually with the steering feeling "normal" or what I would expect. Anything below that strange 45mph "not-so-sweet spot" is also exactly what I would expect.

So is this normal? Does it mean anything? Should I tighten my steering box like Dan specifies in his response to that other post? Or is it most likely an alignment thing? Or is it just plain old typical?

If anyone out there has ever experienced anything like this I'd love to know. THANKS!!

-Matt

Sounds like a tire balance or wheel straightness issue to me.

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Joshua

yep.....

rotate the tires and see what happens.

you can check wheel straightness while your at it by spinning the tire just before you take it off.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Classic symptom of wheel balance problem, smooth up to 45 mph, shake for the next ten mph or so, and than smooth out around 55-60. Second choice of vibration source could be from a bad cord.

Also, if you have been in some mud, check for clods stuck on the back side of the rim. They will act as a wheel weight, and un-balance the tire until removed.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

yes check for lump of mud....balance , spin balance also can see bad runout

Or the tire place tried to get fancy and did the balance with only inside weights so the outside looks good............

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Thanks for the input everyone. Good to know it's probably just a balance issue. I'm going to have some good winter-ready tires installed on my car soon so that should take care of it. I'll post again if there are any issues afterward.

-Matt