Diesel pushers popping up

[J Alan]

Originally Posted by Paul Dobbin

Mike 1997
Ours is a 1994 on a Sparton Chassis with a Cummins 230 Turbo & Allison set up. Looks just the same but is 34'11" and is called a 35 Foot, but says 34 on the front fenders. I guess year to year changes have gone un-noticed by me.
Thanks,
Paul

Does your Spartan chassis have it's steering miter box mounted so that it flexes when loading the steering wheel by say, bumping it on either lock?

The mount on mine is not triangulated and a design and engineering failure that must be corrected. Everything in the steering is tight and unworn. That flexing has it being a real beast to keep between the lines at times.

I called Spartan and asked it there had ever been a recall on it and was told negative. Frankly, unless mine is missing a strut or brace (I see no evidence of anything missing) I can't imagine it not being recalled.

I'll get better pix when I disassemble it to fab a properly overly robust mount for it. I can see that mount plate fatiguing and breaking as it is.

[Paul Dobbin]

Originally Posted by J Alan

Does your Spartan chassis have it's steering miter box mounted so that it flexes when loading the steering wheel by say, bumping it on either lock?.

No ours steers fine, just hard to make a U Turn when towing a trailer. Turnlng radius is pretty large, making wrong turns a real problem at times.
Paul

[Mike1997]

J Alan......after I bought my Landyacht, first long trip was from NC down to Key West and back. Drove about 1000 miles each way. It had wheel play that was so bad it made my shoulder hurt at end of trip. Took it into Frieghtliner and they said the bell camber needed replacement. Its a part that should be replaced every 10 yrs according to them. Once replaced and new shocks mounted, its drives like a dream now.

[J Alan]

Originally Posted by Paul Dobbin

No ours steers fine, just hard to make a U Turn when towing a trailer. Turnlng radius is pretty large, making wrong turns a real problem at times.
Paul

Have you looked at how the Miter Box is mounted? It is the gearbox that is coupled to the steering wheel shaft and then sends it towards the straight axle at less than a 90-degree angle.

The problem I see with it is about impossible to photograph and even when looking, it doesn't jump out and grab you unless you have somebody bumping the steering off one of the locks.

The mount-plate and miter box only deflects slightly, but, there should be zero movement of it.

I will try to video it and if your's is assembled the same, I suspect you'll want to have a look at it. It only is really noticeable in normal driving when a wheel drops off uneven pavement or catches a rumble strip.

It feels sorta like a tie rod end may be made of rubber, not so much worn out and clunky.

Mike1997, I don't see anything in my Spartan chassis manual that naming anything a "bell camber". In my years of less heavy steering and suspension work, I've never heard of such a part.

Is yours on a Spartan, EC2300 series I think is what mine is.

The Spartan has a straight axle and camber is a function of what I believe are unadjustable king pins and bushings, at least without bending the straight axle in a press, I think. I haven't dug in deep enough to see if any eccentrics are part of the design. If so, they would have to be just two position without affecting caster.

I'll have to look much closer at the manual and rig. I don't claim to have seen or know much of anything!

Perhaps a bushing was bell'd (worn) and they replaced a king pin and/or bushing?

[J Alan]

Here are pix of the miter or steering box. Basically, a piece of flat stock is bolted to the frame with 4 bolts, the flat stock has a bend in it and the miter box is bolted to it. No brace to triangulate this wiggly mount exists and I don't see where one has been removed.

Easy enough to make it flex with moderate pressure on the steering wheel bumping it to either lock.

Does anyone else with a Spartan chassis have your miter box mounted the same way?

[Vycan]

I too have a Spartan Chassis with that mitre box setup. Mine has zero movement at the mount though, but I have 0.5" of left and right play as a function of the steering gear box being loose.

[Mike1997]

Mine is not on a Spartan chassic, its on Freightliner.

I misspoke on the part replacement. Its a Bell crank assembly. Its something that Freightliner recommend be replaced or rebuilt at 10 years. Mine was original before repaired in Aug 2015.

[J Alan]

Originally Posted by Vycan

I too have a Spartan Chassis with that mitre box setup. Mine has zero movement at the mount though, but I have 0.5" of left and right play as a function of the steering gear box being loose.

If yours is mounted the same way as mine, I can promise you that bent plate will allow 1/8" side to side movement of the miter box, where it hangs like a pendulum on the end of the un-braced mount plate, not of the mount plate where it bolts to the frame.

Short of that plate being made of something exotic, like PWA 1480, and then the frame would have to be as well, it simply isn't possible for that engineering failure to solidly mount that box as executed.

Try more force on the wheel against the locks. I'll even go further and say to see it move you don't even need the power steering pump to assist you.

I'd like to know if yours has an actual second mount piece that triangulates it and makes it rigid.

Spartan said there were no recalls to the chassis along these lines but I didn't get verification if mine is missing a part.