Steering Problems Fixed [message #263310] |
Fri, 03 October 2014 21:30  |
SThornbg
 Messages: 127 Registered: September 2011
Karma:
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Since we bought our coach 4 years ago, driving has been "thrilling" with lots of WHITE KNUCKLE experiences. I have always had lots of play in the steering wheel and had to constantly make directional adjustments with lots of over steer. Cross winds and passing trucks were just plain scary.
I have had experts tell me the front end is tight and an alignment shop told me it was straight.
At Chippewa Falls I met Alex Ferrera and talked to him about his seminar on "Wobbly Steering". Alex came to our coach and looked at the steering mechanism. He agreed that all the joints were good, but he found the steering box was close to 90 degrees out of phase. He offered to adjust the box on site.
When Alex was done setting the box, he cleaned and relubed the lower shaft and cleaned and lubed the CV joint and installed a new protective boot. Then he indexed the steering wheel by setting the upper joint and shaft in proper relationship.
We took the coach out on the road and I first thought it was not our coach. The steering was smooth and tight and as Alex had promised, it was 2 finger steering. And, now I can drive through curves and along side big trucks with confidence.
The amazing thing about Alex is he spent almost 2 hours working on our coach, made a fantastic improvement in the handling and therefore safety of the coach, and the only thing he wanted in return was reimbursement for the protective boot and a portion of the cost of the can of moly grease he used.
In addition to getting our coach fixed, we had the pleasure of getting to know Alex and what a fine gentleman he is. I am proud to be able to count him as a friend.
If you are having steering problems with your coach, talk to Alex before you give a repair shop a ton of money to throw new parts on your coach. He truly understands the steering system and can most likely get you in good shape with virtually no expense - unless you decide to drive to Alex's shop in Florida.
Put me on the "Happy Camper" list.
Steve Thornburg
South Bend, IN
77 exPB 455 "Tinker Toy"
|
|
|