Steering Stabilizer

J

justin brady1

New member
May 4, 2015
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My coach drives well. Front end had very little play and on a decent road with no major wind it's a one finger wonder.
That changes when there's wind involved though, high gusty winds will literally throw me a 1/2 lane over before I can fully react, and some semi
trucks will do the same if they pass me fast enough.

My question is will a steering stabilizer (ie Lenzi) help with this? Or is there somewhere else I should look?
At some point I just have to accept that it's a very large surface area and not very heavy (relatively) and will be moved by the wind, but I'm not
there yet. Some of the gusts in the midwest nearly sent us off the road, and firmly convinced my wife that she doesn't ever want to drive it.

--
Justin Brady
http://www.thegmcrv.com/
1976 Palm Beach 455
 
Look to the rear, for wind steer. Check the wear in your bogie pins and
bushings, condition of your shocks, and rear alignment. Also check the
tracking of your forward facing bogies, particularly on the passenger side.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Or
78 GMC ROYALE 403

My coach drives well. Front end had very little play and on a decent road
with no major wind it's a one finger wonder.
That changes when there's wind involved though, high gusty winds will
literally throw me a 1/2 lane over before I can fully react, and some semi
trucks will do the same if they pass me fast enough.

My question is will a steering stabilizer (ie Lenzi) help with this? Or is
there somewhere else I should look?
At some point I just have to accept that it's a very large surface area and
not very heavy (relatively) and will be moved by the wind, but I'm not
there yet. Some of the gusts in the midwest nearly sent us off the road,
and firmly convinced my wife that she doesn't ever want to drive it.

--
Justin Brady
http://www.thegmcrv.com/
1976 Palm Beach 455

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Thanks Jim,
Will do!

> Look to the rear, for wind steer. Check the wear in your bogie pins and
> bushings, condition of your shocks, and rear alignment. Also check the
> tracking of your forward facing bogies, particularly on the passenger side.
> Jim Hupy
> Salem, Or
> 78 GMC ROYALE 403
>

>
> My coach drives well. Front end had very little play and on a decent road
> with no major wind it's a one finger wonder.
> That changes when there's wind involved though, high gusty winds will
> literally throw me a 1/2 lane over before I can fully react, and some semi
> trucks will do the same if they pass me fast enough.
>
> My question is will a steering stabilizer (ie Lenzi) help with this? Or is
> there somewhere else I should look?
> At some point I just have to accept that it's a very large surface area and
> not very heavy (relatively) and will be moved by the wind, but I'm not
> there yet. Some of the gusts in the midwest nearly sent us off the road,
> and firmly convinced my wife that she doesn't ever want to drive it.
>
>
> --
> Justin Brady
> http://www.thegmcrv.com/
> 1976 Palm Beach 455
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
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--
Justin Brady
http://www.thegmcrv.com/
1976 Palm Beach 455
 
First go drive, I mean sail, a Class C, then drive your GMC.

My GMC does push a little with a crosswind, but not much, a class C, esp and older one is terrifying.

IF your GMC is that affected by cross wind, you definitely have suspension wear like James Says.

can you feel the Semi push hit the rear and push it over, or does it happen as the semi is closer to the front. That info will help narrow the trouble area down.

On my C I could feel the semi pass, it pushed the rear over, then the middle, then the front, it was quite the Hula dance, maybe a chacha ?

________________________________
From: Gmclist on behalf of James Hupy
Sent: Wednesday, August 9, 2017 9:17:44 AM
To: gmclist
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Steering Stabilizer

Look to the rear, for wind steer. Check the wear in your bogie pins and
bushings, condition of your shocks, and rear alignment. Also check the
tracking of your forward facing bogies, particularly on the passenger side.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Or
78 GMC ROYALE 403

My coach drives well. Front end had very little play and on a decent road
with no major wind it's a one finger wonder.
That changes when there's wind involved though, high gusty winds will
literally throw me a 1/2 lane over before I can fully react, and some semi
trucks will do the same if they pass me fast enough.

My question is will a steering stabilizer (ie Lenzi) help with this? Or is
there somewhere else I should look?
At some point I just have to accept that it's a very large surface area and
not very heavy (relatively) and will be moved by the wind, but I'm not
there yet. Some of the gusts in the midwest nearly sent us off the road,
and firmly convinced my wife that she doesn't ever want to drive it.

--
Justin Brady
http://www.thegmcrv.com/
1976 Palm Beach 455

_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
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Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
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Keith, the semis are as the truck passes the front if memory serves.
The semis are annoying but not troublesome
It's the Gusty winds that are a problem.

I've never driven a class c but I imagine it isn't fun haha.
--
Justin Brady
http://www.thegmcrv.com/
1976 Palm Beach 455
 
GM used the damper on the E cars from which our front end is derived. It is there for a reason. They can fail in several modes. The leak mode is
obvious from an outside glance. Internally they can fail in several ways. I had one that looked perfect but had 1/2" slop (a huge amount in linkage
movement) before it damped. Apparently the internals had started to unscrew. You must take the unit out of circuit at least on one side to test it.
--
John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II
 
Steering stabilizer is only for road shock (potholes, etc,) Check your tires for cupping type of wear and proper load range/inflation. If you are
getting pushed excessively, either there is too much slack in your running gear (entire suspension system) or you are losing your grip on the road
surface. If the tires are not aligned close enough, they are scrubbing/slipping on the surface already and so your grip is already compromised. If
they are overinflated, grip will also be reduced.
--
Terry Kelpien

ASE Master Technician

73 Glacier 260

Smithfield, Va.
 
Steering stabilizer is only for road shock (potholes, etc,) Check your tires for cupping type of wear and proper load range/inflation. If you are
getting pushed excessively, either there is too much slack in your running gear (entire suspension system) or you are losing your grip on the road
surface. If the tires are not aligned close enough, they are scrubbing/slipping on the surface already and so your grip is already compromised. If
they are overinflated, grip will also be reduced.
--
Terry Kelpien

ASE Master Technician

73 Glacier 260

Smithfield, Va.
 
Those loose bogies in the back don't even have to be that loose. The
forward-facing will scrub unless perfect, which it never is, and flex as it
does so.

If we have any money left over for a project next year, it will be a rear
disk and reaction rod kit from Manny. And I will include the tracking
devices for the front bogies. I'm thinking that will make the biggest
difference with wind push.

Rick "who only struggles with crosswind push once in awhile" Denney

> Keith, the semis are as the truck passes the front if memory serves.
> The semis are annoying but not troublesome
> It's the Gusty winds that are a problem.
>
> I've never driven a class c but I imagine it isn't fun haha.
> --
> Justin Brady
> http://www.thegmcrv.com/
> 1976 Palm Beach 455
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
--
Rick Denney
73 x-Glacier 230 "Jaws"
Off-list email to rick at rickdenney dot com
 
Justin,
When I put all new brakes on the front of the coach in November, I also replaced the shocks and the steering damper. I think the new shocks and the
steering damper made a huge difference in lane control from passing trucks and cross winds (IMHO).

Russell
--
Russell Keith,
1978 Eleganza II "Harry" 403, Danny Dunn Tranny (w/shift kit, 3.50 sprockets, Allison), Thorley, Stock Brakes w/Remote Vacuum Brake Booster, Mico
Electric Actuated brake lock, Dakota Digital Dash, 6.5kW Onan,
Dunedin, Florida
 
G'day,

I had occasion to chat with Dave today about some other items and I asked him about the Steering Stabilizer; he advised that he no
longer makes them.

He suggested that you go through the steering system piece by piece to determine if every part was serviceable; see:
http://www.gmceast.com/technical/Mueller_Steering_Inspection_Guide.pdf

He noted that setting the steering box on center as per Alex Ferrara is important. (I can't find the link to his procedure).

He also noted that getting the most amount of caster into the front end by installing offset bushings in the rear of the upper
control arms would help: http://www.gmcmidwestclassics.org/Web%20pages/align.htm

Finally the parts of the front suspension should be checked, ball joints, control arm bushings, shocks, etc.

Regards,
Rob M.
Sydney, Australia
AUS '75 Avion - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
USA '75 Avion - Double Trouble TZE365V100426
USA '77 Kingsley - TZE 267V100808


-----Original Message-----
From: Gmclist [mailto:gmclist-bounces] On Behalf Of Justin Brady
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2017 12:57 AM
To: gmclist
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Steering Stabilizer

For the record this is what I was asking about:
http://www.bdub.net/lenzi/#SteeringStabilizer

Justin Brady
http://www.thegmcrv.com/
1976 Palm Beach 455
 
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