Front end woes

[66stangbluework]

I am having steering problems with my 66 and took it to a local mechanic, The problem was my steering would bind up at random moments and its become worse and worse, to the left and right it does it, and makes a horrible screech that seems to come from the steering column, the shop lifted the car and said that the wheels bow out when taken off the ground, they also said my front end was basically trashed and everything needed to be replaced, Im getting a list from the mechanic with everything tomorrow that he said needed to be replaced, any input would be appreciated. I know the upper balljoints need to be replaced, but would that cause my steering to bind? Thanks for your time

 

[66stangbluework]

one more thing, my dad and I replaced the wheel bearings, and the car drifts at random from left to right

 

[68keyblr]

New Front End

You might want to look into one of the complete suspension kits from the mustang dealers. I ordered the complete front/rear Grab-A-Trak suspension kit from Mustangs Plus for about $1K and have been very happy with it...the car is now tight and handles great! The kit came with new springs, spring perches, upper and lower control arms, 1" front and 3/4" rear sway bars, rear leafs (4 and 1/2) and new poly bushings through out.

Make sure to get the steering rebuild kit too...I think that's 200-300, but worth every penny.

It's a fairly straight forward job to replace everything...the hardest thing was compressing the front springs with a free tool I rented from Autozone. The rest was done with simple hand tools. I completed the whole job by myself in 1 weekend.

Good Luck!

 

[jhbus]

As far as the wheels bowing out on the lift: Normal, every one I've seen does that, it's just the lack of vehicle weight on the suspension, nothing to worry about.

 

[krash kendall]

Ball joints (among a list of other things) can cause the screeching, strut rod bushings or idler arm can cause the wandering, all things combined with the tie-rod ends can cause the random binding. You will probably need to find a complete kit to do things right and then get an alignment. If you are more comfortable with a mechanic doing it, then make sure they don't try to hose you because you lack the experience to do it yourself.

 

[oz]

Not sure if the 66's use the same steering gears as the '69's but there are some adjustments that can be made to the gear. I think you can tighten it up so that it doesn't wander in the center. I had my whole system rebuilt (gear too) and it does not wander anymore.

 

[Fireman255]

Just Do It!

I am 2 months new to the mustangs..... I got a 66 and had the same problems. I was quoted 1800.00 parts and labor to have it done. I got a kit from laurel mountain mustang and saved a ton of money. I am not a mechanic and that was my first project. After some pain and temper tantrums I got it done and it made a world of difference. It is pretty simple, I think the #1 thing is proximity to the allignment ship... a few blocks in my case so the car drove me there in a squirely way. If you don't live close then hopefully you get your tie-rods and strut rods are adjusted close enough to get there or put it on a trailer.

 

[krash kendall]

The '65-'66 strut rods are non-adjustable, thereby making it slightly easier. As I said earlier and as Fireman255 stated above, you can do it yourself and just pay for the parts and an alignment. He was just a little more encouraging than I probably should have been.

 

[66stangbluework]

put the stang on the trailer today and hauled it out to my dads shop. I ordered the Mustangs plus kit for around 1000. We also have a 302 that came with our parts cars that supposedly had been rebuilt, but the guy lined up the slots in the rings. So we should just have to align them correctly if everything goes well. The stang will be better off than ever. I got the 4.5 leaf springs and a 1" lowering kit as well. Anymore advice on things to watchout for/ be careful of during the installation? Also When we put the car on the trailer I noticed that there appeared to be grease or something on the inside of the rear wheels, Im hoping its not a break line leak. Thanks for all the advice

 

[66stangbluework]

there she is I believe those are called moon wheels, correct me if Im wrong, I love her even though shes missin the grill and emblems and lots of stuff

 

[65fastback2+2]

the squeeling and drifting could be a power steering pump, control valve, or ram gone bad....if you have power steering. My control valve does this to my 67 sometimes.

 

[66stangbluework]

dont have power steering, Might want to add it one day if its not too expensive

 

[krash kendall]

Nice looking car, and it's good to here you've got the confidence to take on the project yourself! And yes, those are babymoons.

 

[66stangbluework]

well, weve got the front end done, shocks etc and all steering linkage, however the steering is still binding and sounds like its coming from the steering column, how do you easily remove the steering column? Are there bushings and whatnot in there that could be causing the loud screech and binding?

 

[66stangbluework]

well, after removing the steering column and finally getting the steering box out which was a pain, removing header and jacking up the engine, then having to remove the engine mount lol we were able to get it out, Im going to try and get the steering box rebuilt, should I take it to a tranny shop? Where would you guys take one if you wanted it rebuilt?