Yerf Dog 3202 Steering From Hell

[VetteGuy]

Hi all,

I just tut together a Yerf Dog 3202 Cart and I have found that the Kart is almost impossible to steer for a kid. Is this normal or is there something I should look at? The Pitman Arm was bent so I belt it back out and that did not help at all.

 

[Hellion]

Post some photos, you can upload them directly to the site, and our talented team of experts can put their 'eyecrometers' to work on the issue.

I suspect the kart was allowed to rust top to bottom and the spindles and the kingpins have some corrosion on the insides. I would take the steering apart, de-rust and polish, lubricate all the moving parts and then re-assemble. Aside from that, yes, somewhat normal. The steering is a direct linkage on most karts and takes some muscle to steer (especially when standing still) but it shouldn't be that bad.

Go karts aren't for little kids to be perfectly honest. I don't think Yerf Dog made kiddie karts at all. Karts were designed at the beginning (1956?) by men for men as the smallest race car in the smallest possible footprint, and then later on fun karts were marketed to 12-13 year olds in the Sears and Monkey Wards catalogs. Just saying that you may need to readjust your expectations a little and remember it is what it is.

 

[panchothedog]

Is it hard to turn? Or does it push ( understeer ) once rolling. Everything in post
# 2 is right on. De-rust ( sandpaper or scotchbrite ) and lubricate every part that moves.

 

[Hellion]

Is it hard to turn? Or does it push ( understeer ) once rolling. Everything in post
# 2 is right on. De-rust ( sandpaper or scotchbrite ) and lubricate every part that moves.

Steering the kart where you want it to go is so valid. I thought the OP meant the physical effort at the steering wheel but the effort is part of the steering/turning equation.

FYI: it really is interesting with a live axle kart. Turning or steering it successfully means that you sort of plan your turns in advance and then execute a turn only after you are moving, a “powered turn” so to speak. If you’re at a dead stop and the wheels are turned to full lock, the kart probably won’t move (unless you have massive amounts of torque)…

 

[VetteGuy]

Post some photos, you can upload them directly to the site, and our talented team of experts can put their 'eyecrometers' to work on the issue.

I suspect the kart was allowed to rust top to bottom and the spindles and the kingpins have some corrosion on the insides. I would take the steering apart, de-rust and polish, lubricate all the moving parts and then re-assemble. Aside from that, yes, somewhat normal. The steering is a direct linkage on most karts and takes some muscle to steer (especially when standing still) but it shouldn't be that bad.

Go karts aren't for little kids to be perfectly honest. I don't think Yerf Dog made kiddie karts at all. Karts were designed at the beginning (1956?) by men for men as the smallest race car in the smallest possible footprint, and then later on fun karts were marketed to 12-13 year olds in the Sears and Monkey Wards catalogs. Just saying that you may need to readjust your expectations a little and remember it is what it is.

Interesting info, I was not aware of most of that. The steering issue was related to the Pitman Arm and the fact that the linkage is very basic. I'm used to working on Rack and Pinion Steering, so this was my first attempt with this setup. The arm needed to be bent and when done it relieved some of the tension and made it a little easier to steer. Thanks to everyone for the info

 

[Hellion]

If you’re at a dead stop and the wheels are turned to full lock, the kart probably won’t move

I meant it WILL move, but it might "push" or understeer as Pancho said and just not turn well. The racing guys in the early 1960s used the turn, the weight shift and perhaps a little "Body English" (leaning outward) to lift the inside wheel, but otherwise they were drifting those turns.

 

[Byynow]

This may help. I also thought the steering effort was a bit high for the younger/ smaller drivers. After one of them ran over an immovable object and bent the steering arm, I took it apart for repair.



It looked to me that where the lower part of the steering shaft passes through the support bracket there would be a lot of friction. I welded a nut to that bracket and installed a 5/8” spherical rod end. The end result was less steering effort. This also raised the steering linkage making it less likely to be damaged in the future.

 

[Hellion]

"spherical rod end" is a heim joint. A ball bearing placed there would be even better. Fine work, Byynow

To add more info, there’s a workaround for Steering From Hell, they call it the Poor Man's Power Steering and it is basically a *needle roller thrust bearing* that is placed on the bottom of the steering spindle. It's popular in the riding mower arena but I have not as yet seen it applied to fun karts but I bet someone in cyberspace already has [maybe it's already a feature on racing karts or Chinese buggies?]. The only issue I see is with the spindle, the spindle bracket ["C" shaped piece] and having the proper clearance between both and/or the proper thinness of the thrust bearing itself. If needed, I would remove material from the bottom of the spindle and a little from the bracket, keeping it square and true, to accept a thrust bearing and to create a precision surface for it. They are often sold with two flat washers for a sandwich arrangement but I might consider using no washers:



There are ball bearing spindles for racing or other high-end karts and buggies but I have not seen any that use a thrust bearing that is anything fancier than a plain steel or nylon washer. I would consider getting some ball bearing spindles if you can adapt them to your Yerf Dog.

Here's a lawnmower forum thread on the topic that also includes a genius inner tube idea as a bearing shield:

poor mans power steering - what size bike inner tube to...

I just ordered from McMaster Carr the 5909K36 thrust bearings and the 5909K49 washers . While I wait for those to arrive I want to go purchase a bike inner tube to cut into protective sleeves to help keep dirt out of the bearings . I measured the OD of the spindle housings and on my 330 they...

www.wfmachines.com

 

[Byynow]

I always thought those thrust bearings would work well, until they got filled up with dirt and dust. Still might work okay. I may try that someday. King pin bearings would be much better and are readily available in 5/8”, but are too expensive for me, for this application.

 

[Hellion]

King pin bearings would be much better and are readily available in 5/8”, but are too expensive for me

Is that the same as spindle bearings or spindles with bearing inserts, in go kart applications? I'm trying to educate myself without doing a deep dive and part of the problem is proper terminology.

Here's a caster block, which I am not familiar with but it is in their steering component listing:

Ultramax Caster Block, Front Left | 634ACP500DL-10

www.bmikarts.com