RE: Safari Steering

[kathybrj]

 
Blaise had been complaining about the steering on our  97 Safari for a few months now (it was great last year and into the spring, he said. Something went wrong in the course of a few months). With or without the camper, the van seemed to need constant small steering corrections while driving. There was a drifting kind of feel to it-sloppy in general.
 
 Had it in the shop and the mechanic replaced the steering box and one (why would anyone replace one was my question???) idler arm with OEM. Well, that s a no-no right there. We asked for two Moogs and the garage owner said our warranty (one of those aftermarket things-fairly worthless, except they covered the new steering box) wouldn t cover them. We called and the warranty company said it would cover the cost of the Chevy idler arms only (or whatever Chevy uses).
 
 We had the front end aligned, tires rotated and balanced and it still wasn t steering quite right. Felt like we were driving in a stiff cross wind all the time.
 
 Anyway, I went yesterday and got two Moog idler arms and we replaced them last night. Better but not quite right yet. We also did 4 new shocks all around.
 
 This morning, Blaise was back under the van and he sees the adjustment nut on the steering box. Now, many years ago, he had adjusted the steering box on his brother s old Land Rover so he did to the Safari what he had done to the Land Rover.
 
 He just got back from a test drive and is convinced that the steering is MUCH improved. Well, he s the one driving it- to and from work on rainy days- parks it and jumps into his company Astro van to drive for his 8 hour shift. I guess he knows what the steering should feel like (he s been driving either an Astro or Safari or both for over 12 years running).
 
 The test comes Thursday when we hitch up and head for Essex County, NY for a bit of camping.
 
 Now he s tearing down the motorcycle. One thing fixed, another to be torn apart....[:@]

[mike4947]

 kathybrj
Kathy, my dad was an " Astro nut" . He owned three of them and of course I had o keep them up for him. The front ends on the Astro/Safari s are one of their three weak points. Good choice on getting the Moog parts. I replaced the OEM s on two of the three vans with Moog at less than 30 thou and never had to touch them again, The third one never got a change to make it to the point the front end needed work. I loved my dad but he was not the greatest driver.
 
 In case you re wondering I consider the foot wheels the second weak point and the rear suspension when towing as the third.

[kathybrj]

 kathybrj
I hear ya Mike. I found the Astro/Safari message boards and they say the same thing- Moog all the way.
 
 We ve been fairly pleased with this van, but the steering was really throwing a damper on Blaise s enthusiasm to tow the camper (I personally hate driving that van and haven t towed since we got rid of the Dakota).
 
 Hopefully, things will go well this week. I will relay the message to him about the foot wells and the rear suspension. Thanks!

[mike4947]

 kathybrj
Well if DH is driving you re the one with the foot well problem. If we went anywhere I always offered to drive just so my feet wouldn t  be all crunched up.

[tlhdoc]

 kathybrj
I have never owned a Chevy because of the narrow cramped foot wells they always seem to have.

[kathybrj]

 mike4947

 

ORIGINAL:  mike4947
 
 Well if DH is driving you re the one with the foot well problem. If we went anywhere I always offered to drive just so my feet wouldn t  be all crunched up.
 

 
 Lol- well, actually, I have a bad habit of sitting on my feet when I m a passenger, so it doesn t bother me!