174 Auto Suspension and Steering
Steering Arms and Ball Sockets
All vehicles use steering arms and ball sockets to
transmit motion from the steering gear, through the steering
linkage, and into the steering knuckles.
Steering Arm
The steering arm converts the linear (back-and-forth)
motion of the steering linkage to the rotating motion of the
steering knuckle. See Figure 9-13. The steering arms on
each side of the vehicle are shaped to allow the relative
position of the wheels to change as the vehicle is turned.
This position change, called toe out on turns, will be dis-
cussed in more detail in Chapters 15 and 16. A
steering arm can be bolted to the steering knuckle,
Figure 9-14, or may be cast as an integral part of the
steering knuckle, Figure 9-15.
The steering arm usually contains the steering stops,
or tie stops. These are projections on the arm that keep the
wheels from being turned too far in either direction. Some
Pivot point
Lock pin
Tilt lever
Telescopic lever
Standard position
Telescopic shaft
Threaded
portion
Lock shaft
Telescopic lever
Lock key
Steering shaft
Figure 9-12. Telescopic steering column.
Steering lower
shaft
Tie rod
Drag rod
Pitman
arm
Steering
gear box
Steering
upper shaft
Steering
wheel
Steering
arm
Figure 9-13. Turning the steering wheel to the right or left
moves the tires in the desired direction. The steering gear pit-
man arm changes rotational motion to a linear (side-to-side)
motion through the use of steering linkage. (Suzuki)