Guest Jerry Moore Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 My 1920 Model 4 Overland shimmies at about 20 MPH when I hit a rough place in the road (sometimes pretty violently). There is no "play" in the tie rods etc. and the front wheels have been balanced. There is a slight bit of play in the steering sector, but does not seem excessive. Is there any way to adjust the steering sector to take up slack due to wear? Also, I have seen an article on shimming the axle at the spring seats to change the castor to correct shimming, but there was not enough details that I could understand. Has anyone had a similar problem that might be able to lend some advice. Any help will be appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 A 1930 book that I have says there was very little trouble with shimmy before balloon tires. It does however list some causes. 1..Unequal tire pressure. 2...loose spring clips. 3...incorrect toe-in. 4...Balance of wheels without tires. 5..camber it goes on for some other things but you suggest most things are tight, My personal choice as first to check is caster. This book puts that as number 17. Personally, every time I had a problem with shimmy (6 Pontiacs 26-32, 26 Studebaker,29 Buick and 41 Dodge pu it was caused by incorrect caster. When I worked for GM in the 60's and 70's we had lots of problems with Caster on Chevs and Pontics built in the 50's. It probably was the most mis-diagnosed problem that our front end department had to repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jerry Moore Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Tinindian, Thank you for your reply to my question. It has been most helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMoneyPit Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I do not know about Overlands, but for Model T Ford cars the two bigest causes seem to be loose king or tie rod pins, and/or the front spring clips binding. I'd look there first on any car of this vintage.Good luck - the "wobbles" are scary to say the least... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Commodore Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Here is an website that shows how to adjust the caster using shims.http://www.neme-s.org/Model_Engineer_Files/3017-Wedge%20Shaped%20Packing%20Pieces.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jerry Moore Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Your input in helping to solve my shimmy problem has given me a lot to go on, I appreciate all the good advice. Happy motoring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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