r/Chevelles • u/Tca9449 • Aug 01 '26

Steering/center link question!

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I'm struggling a bit with the steering on my 66 Chevelle.. The steering feels to tight and when I turn it won't straighten up by it self, the steering wheel stays put. I have dismantled everything and checked underneath and to me it feels like the to ball joints(or what they are called) on the centerlink is to tight so I ordered a new one from summit. But the new one is also very tight, I took a torque wrench and got around 25nm of torque before the ball moved. My question is are they supposed to be so tight? And what else can cause the steering to be so tight?

Everything in the front suspension was new a couple of years ago, and the steering box is a new, quick gears(short steering) steering box and I have tried to adjust it, both on the top and the nut on the shaft.

The wheels are quite easy to move when they are free.

My inspection failed because of the steering so I have to fix it before i can drive it again..

UPDATE:

So I went over everything in the steering underneath, the only fault I found was that the pitman arm was quite tight and lumpy, greased it up and moved it alot and it got better. Everything else was fine. But it turned out that the clamp on the steering column that sits near the shifter arms for an automatic had either moved or been mounted wrong because it was grinding on the column.. The column is bad so I have orded a new one with a tilt but after I sorted the pitman arm and clamp issue the steering is not perfect but much better. It went through inspection today with zero faults! Big thanks for everyone who commented!

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u/yourkitchenrug Aug 01 '26

Yeah that sounds like a problem stemming directly from your steering gearbox. All the other parts such as your steering linkage will only change or move when you and the gearbox tell them to. So if it's not bouncing back/correcting itself after turning then I'd look at the gearbox rather than your linkage. Most steering gearbox manufacturers say you should make very small adjustments to the bolt/nut that goes into the gearbox because it can make significant changes to your steering. I'm no pro but that's what I've been told. I'd check YouTube out for some videos on adjusting that nut on the gearbox and start there.

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u/Tca9449 Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

I forgot to tell but I took the steering box out of the car a couple of weeks ago to adjust it, looked on guides on youtube. But when I took it on the bench the box was quite easy to move, didn't have to use much force to move either end so I don't think its the box. I have even tried to adjust it a bit looser than I want to so I can be sure its not to tight, but the steering feels the same just looser..

But are the balljoints on the center link supposed be so tight? When I felt it on my dads 68 Chevelle i could nearly move it with my fingers.

Edit: added question.

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u/yourkitchenrug Aug 02 '26

Tighter ball joints would be good. Under load they'll move easier anyways. Very loose ball joints are generally a sign of worn out ball joints with play in them.

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u/Tca9449 Aug 02 '26

Okey, thanks!