Out of the blue today, my '70 Cougar (351 ci with factory power steering) has this problem at low speeds with the steering wheel going back and forth. The feeling diminishes almost to nothing at highway speeds and at low speed when turning. It's most noticeable at low speeds on the straight.
All the lug nuts are tight. I put the front end on jack stands and shook the wheels and there's no slop in the tie rods or ball joints that I can tell (although if anyone has a tried and true method for checking this please share it). I looked all around for signs of broken parts. (Did a chassis lube while I was at it -- 20 zerks on this car!) I checked the strut rod nuts for tightness. I eyeballed the front tires while rotating them by hand, and I rotated the rears with engine power, and all four rims look straight.
I hate to guess in these posts, because it tends to narrow the focus, but I suspect the power steering system. Is it possible that the valve body is directing pressure to the cylinder, left then right then left then right, etc., without any steering input? Anyone ever hear of this?
TIA
All the lug nuts are tight. I put the front end on jack stands and shook the wheels and there's no slop in the tie rods or ball joints that I can tell (although if anyone has a tried and true method for checking this please share it). I looked all around for signs of broken parts. (Did a chassis lube while I was at it -- 20 zerks on this car!) I checked the strut rod nuts for tightness. I eyeballed the front tires while rotating them by hand, and I rotated the rears with engine power, and all four rims look straight.
I hate to guess in these posts, because it tends to narrow the focus, but I suspect the power steering system. Is it possible that the valve body is directing pressure to the cylinder, left then right then left then right, etc., without any steering input? Anyone ever hear of this?
TIA