steering wanders

this may sound stupid. after I bought my 73, I rotated the front tires. after that, it seemed like the car had a mind of its own. all over the place. come to find out, some tires have directional treads. they are meant to go in one direction only. swaped them bck, and smooth again. thats what so great about this forum...you learn alot.

You might check the toe in adjustment. A little to much toe out will make the car feel like its wants to turn all the time. The car will turn in better. But now you will wear the front rubber faster.

Check your steering rack bushing on the passenger side. If its worn, turning the wheel will first move the steering rod upward before moving the rt wheel. This causes what you might call a 'wander' as the wheels momentarily misalign. Your 10" wheels & extra wide tires will never have the crisp steering feel of a Pantera running narrower tires, but if the bushing is tight and the sliding coupling under the dash is tight, the wandering feel can be minimized. What area of the country are you in?

Thanks for the reply. I've checked the steering rack bushing, it seems to be worn, it has a little play up and down and steering sliding shaft under the dash is ok, thats why I'm hearing a clunking sound sometimes. The steering wandering is more evidence on heavy travel roads. Done a wheel alignment today, drives a lot better. But not sure if the specs are correct for a GT5. The final results are: Front- Caster: 2 deg L. and 2 5/16 deg.R. Camber: 0 deg. L and R. Toe: 1/16" L and R total of 1/8". Rear- Camber: -3/32 deg L and 0 deg R, Toe: 3/16" L and R total of 13/32". These specs are close to PPC street specs I've got.

These caster and camber numbers are different to the one's posted by Marlin on 1st August.

Mike, depending on where you live, I suggest you contact Pat Mical at [www.detomasopantera.net] Pat has worked out some proprietary settings and pieces for wide-tire Panteras (GT-5 & GT5-S), that litrally transform the ride, handling and braking of these machines, according to quite a few East Coast guys. But fix that rack bushing first!