Hey guys I'm new to this forum and actually I'm new to mopar. Its been fun trying to get used to working on my plymouth. I bought it 3 months ago from a guy that let it sit under a tree cause he thought the tranny was blown. well I purchased it for 150 bucks and hauled it home. after gas and a battery it started. I replaced the tranny filter and it ran. the car is all original, paint to drive train. so thats what got me started.

My problem is, the sterring bar is hitting my exhaust pipe and my car wants to oversteer in a turn. I'm not that keen on suspension and steering, I'm more of a engine and tranny guy. so any help will do cause i have no idea what it is.

thanks
frank white

 

Hard to say definitely what's up without seeing the car, Frank but it sounds like you have either a serious misalignment problem or some mismatched components.

If you assume that the car has all the correct components, is there any evidence of collision damage to the chassis or suspension...??? A little time measuring side for side, front to back, etc might be well spent. A bent drag link could cause the symptoms you describe. People sometimes reach under the front and tie tow ropes to suspension components when trying to move a dead car. Bearing in mind the suspected dead tranny in your Plymouth, how's the car been moved around..?????

It's also possible that one or more components are incorrectly fitted but may still be the right parts for your model. It concerns me that the drag link hits the exhaust pipe (does the car have headers or the factory system ?). If the exhaust is stock, something is clearly very wrong.

Lastly, some clown may have fitted the link off their gramma's 37 Hupmobile for all we know. So you may want to check what's fitted.

If you don't get your Sat sorted out, I'l give you $200 for her and you get a quick profit............

 

looks pretty nice in your avatar there...i'll shoot a lil higher than raindance did and u wont have to mess with overseas shipping...ill double your paying price and give ya $300 for it..lol

 

I appreciate it but I'd kick myself in the *** if I sold it for that. thanks for the help raindance. I think i'll try the bearings first and work up from there. I think my car came stock with 1 exhaust line but whoever put it on did a good job and it looks stock so it could have been an option. I am just having problems working on the suspension. I can't find literature on the car so its really became a hassle since i'm new to mopar. I used to be a chevy man. thanks for your help

 

That's a clean looking car-you did great, even with the steering problems and you just don't see the 4 doors much anymore.
great buy

 

If you're talking about wheel bearings, they'd have to be pretty bad to affect steering geometry and don't forget that this wouldn't cause the steering linkage to hit the exhaust. A really bad drop arm or idler arm bush may cause a knock on the downpipe but I wonder how bad this would need to be to affect the steering in the way you mentioned.
A quick and easy check may be to measure toe-in -which you can get a close approximation of with a tape measure and a helping hand on your driveway if you have a reasonably flat and level one. I don't know the exact specs for your model but it's probably around 1/4 to 3/8 toe in. If you find something like a couple of inches toe in or out then pretty obviously you have some serious misalignment issues.

All joke bids aside, Frank. That's a nice looking car you have there (even with the extra set of fire exits, lol).
It looks well worth the effort of solving the steering problems. I hope you "git 'r done" and back on the streets. Good luck and hopefully you'll let us know how you get on.

Terry

 

The pitman arm, first guess. When they go bad, the drag link will move up and down, especially on the pass. side. could concievable hit the exhaust.

 

thanks guys. when I get a day off work I'll check those out