Thank you Dennis.  Since my Son is nearing the point where he will be
driving the van, I took it to my local Tires Plus not only for new tires
(Hankook RA08) and alignment, but also for a check on the steering
problem  They installed new inner tie rods.  Not sure why that fixed the
problem, but it did.

John

On Sun, 2014-09-14 at 09:51 -0400, Dennis Haynes wrote:
> Does the steering feel normal when driving on the road? Yes check tire pressure. Also lift the front and check the steering system for normal operation. It is rare but hi have seen the manual powers steering racks fail this way and once the angle gearbox.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of John Lauterbach
> Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2014 6:20 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Hard steering when van not moving
>
> Either I am getting older or my '84 Vanagon is getting older or I have a steering problem.  My driveway is tight, and as soon as the front clears the garage door, I need to do a hard right turn before I back into the driveway and then a hard left turn to go forward.  Steering seems awfully stiff.  Van does not have power steering.
>
> John