Hey guys, I got my 83 running well enough to take it down the road a ways. What a nightmare. The damn thing was jerking and pulling all over. I dared not go over 20 for fear of killing myself. I got back to my place and crawled underneath to discover the steering damper to be almost completely rusted away. Do you think that this could be the sole problem, or should I add some more things to the list when I go order parts tomorrow?

 

spring bushings, Tie rod ends, bad wheel bearings..28 years of lack of maintenance., bad steering box..etc..
put the thing on jack stands, pull the front wheels off and start inspecting the front end...

 

mine did this and i checked everything for play and it was my draglink after i changed that it made a world of difference i hope this helps

 

Have some one turn the steering wheel back and forth and that should show some thing that are so worn and slow to react to the steering motion.

I have seen the Steering Relay Rod or drag link almost to the point that it was about to fall out of it connecting points. Need to be prepared to go thru the whole front end.

Going for the number of years and the neglect these go thru it is typical. Probably still orginal parts under there.

 

I just went through a similar difficulty with my truck and it turned out to be the steering stabilizer but you might have other issues too. check out my thread "death wobble" in this same "pre 84 trucks," it will give some good tips on how to look for worn joints and other things to check. Hope this helps, good luck.