Re: [DML] Stiff Steering

["Walter" <Whalt@xxxx>]

Joe, et al -

I have the factory original tires with vary little tread left. The car has
almost 12K miles on it now. I got under the front and greased the king pins
top and bottom. I found fittings for those, but the tie-rod ends have no
grease fittings. My experience with other cars is that the manufactures
often get cheap and don't use steering parts that can be greased. I've
heard of people taking them apart, drilling/taping holes and adding grease
fittings or replacing the whole piece with a higher quality new piece that
uses a grease fitting. Do you have any opinion on doing this with a
Delorean?

So far, the only parts that I am aware of that use grease fittings on the
Delorean is the king pins (one on top, one on bottom for the front wheels.)
Are there any others that I am missing, such as on the rear some place?

Apparently the suspension on my car got some front-end damage before I got
it. The right front rim has a rub on it like it struck a curb pretty hard.
It did not dent the rim, but it took some metal off of it. There is some
similar damage to the other side, but not near as bad. The guy who runs the
shop who is selling me after market rims told me that my OEM rims are easily
repairable. It involves building up the scratched area with welding and
then machining it back down flush with the rest of the rim. Any opinions on
having this done?

I put about 2500 miles on the car before I realized how far off the
alignment was. With the steering wheel straight, the left front was fine,
but the right front was toe out several degrees and both front tires were
wearing heavily on the outer edges. I re-aligned the front myself by
adjusting the right wheel only to bring it in to match the 3 degree toe-in
of the left wheel. I drove all the way to 'A day in the doors' and back
without any noticeable wear on the tires, so apparently I did a good
alignment job. I intend to have the whole car professionally aligned once I
get the new tires/rims put on with new front springs & shocks. I need to
get busy and order the shocks from Marty I suppose. I'm not too crazy about
Marty's method of attaching a slip ring to the rear shock body, but at least
what he has is adjustable. As you know, Byrne Heninger's rear shock kit
isn't adjustable, and being the Libra that I am, I like adjustment and
balance. The driver's side of my car sits about 1/2 inch lower than the
right, so I want to be able to correct for this if necessary when I replace
the rear shocks. Do you have any ideas or suggestions? What would cause
this? Uneven rear springs? Would it be beneficial to put my old OEM front
springs on the rear and raise it up using Marty's adjustable shock collars?

The dealer whom I bought the car from told me a long story about how some
photographer wanted to use the car in some crazy BTTF photo shoot. The
dealer couldn't legally rent the car as a driver, so the only way he would
let the photographer use the car is if it were towed everywhere it went.
The price paid for a few days rental was $1000. It sounds like a tall tale
to me, but that's what I was told by the seller.

Anyway, I'm wondering if with all this towing, front end misalignment and
front rim damage that perhaps I could have a damaged steering rack. From
the external symptoms, it would make sense that any damage to the rack is
one of stretching or elongation of about 1/4" on the right side. The tie
rods look nice and straight. After I adjusted the alignment, there wasn't
much thread left exposed on the right tie-rod. I didn't adjust the left.
It seems to me that any deformities that could have happened are hidden in
the steering rack where they are not visible. Should I take this apart and
check it? And if so, what should I look for?

Also, I sometimes get steering wheel pulsation on heavy breaking. I'm
suspicious that one or more of my break rotors are warped. Do you think
this problem could be related to my suspension damage? I'm wondering if I
should have the warped rotors turned or if I should replace them. The
photocopied '94 vintage D1 catalog that came with the car has various break
parts colored with a highlighting marker. I'm curious to call them with my
VIN and ask what they know about the car, but from past experiences,
unfortunately, I know better than to even try.

I have an idea for an interesting 'stiff steering' diagnostic. What do you
think of putting the front end of the car in the air, pulling the center hub
off the steering wheel and turning the wheel by the center nut with a torque
wrench to measure exactly how much force is required to turn the wheel. It
might be useful for other people to have knowledge of average steering
stiffness measurements to know if their car is harder to turn than average.
What do you think? It could also be a good way to measure front end play.
Apparently, my car has none. If there isn't enough resistance to measure
with the car in the air, then how about parked on loose sand. I don't think
concrete would give a good standard of measurement.

Spoken like a true Libra,

Walt Tampa, FL
Delorean mechanic apprentice