Steering - Bent part?

[dansenander]

I was looking under the hood and noticed the steering linkage is bent. Is this bent at the factory for some reason or do I have a problem?

Can some one else look under their hood?

Thanks in advance.

DS

[Blackened300a]

I have a slight bend as well, I dont think you have anything to worry about

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d12/blackened300a/DSCN0565.jpg

[RR|Suki]

I was looking under the hood and noticed the steering linkage is bent. Is this bent at the factory for some reason or do I have a problem?

Can some one else look under their hood?

Thanks in advance.

DS
I have the same:P

[fastblackmerc]

The bend is part of every MM.

[rvaldez1]

Or every 2003+ panther for that matter. Its the steering shaft.

[JMan]

Funny. I've been asked to explain that set-up by many a mechanic. Whereas I don't know the specific reasoning behind it, I do speculate (It makes me sound smarter than I am!). The only thing I can come up with is, a straight linkage with a joint (Universal joint for lack of a better name) is more prone to binding when it is askew of a true axis (Not lined-up). By geometrically offsetting the shaft, the steering effort is always "over-center" and never on the axis. In other words, utilizing a U-joint at an angle all the time is asking for wear and binding. Skewing it continually keeps it off-axis but over-center. This produces greater effort (leverage) on the rack stub as well. While I'm sure this is pure :bs: , it sounds really great among my peers!

My $.02,

J

[MM2004]

Funny. I've been asked to explain that set-up by many a mechanic. Whereas I don't know the specific reasoning behind it, I do speculate (It makes me sound smarter than I am!). The only thing I can come up with is, a straight linkage with a joint (Universal joint for lack of a better name) is more prone to binding when it is askew of a true axis (Not lined-up). By geometrically offsetting the shaft, the steering effort is always "over-center" and never on the axis. In other words, utilizing a U-joint at an angle all the time is asking for wear and binding. Skewing it continually keeps it off-axis but over-center. This produces greater effort (leverage) on the rack stub as well. While I'm sure this is pure :bs: , it sounds really great among my peers!

My $.02,

J

If you can't dazzle 'em with brains;..Baffle 'em with :bs:

Can I quote you? :D

Mike.

[JMan]

If you can't dazzle 'em with brains;..Baffle 'em with :bs:

Can I quote you? :D

Mike.

You can quote me all you want. Keep in mind I'm not an engineer, heck, I'm not even a mechanic anymore!

Q: Do you know how to tell when a salesman is lying?


A: His lips are moving!

J