Thread: Steering Box ?
View Single Post
Old 07-24-2010, 10:01 AM   #6
steve s
Senior Member
 
steve s's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Kalamazoo
Posts: 1,656
Default Re: Steering Box ?

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
In my cocksure youth when I was on the very steepest part of my Model A learning curve, I checked out of the Detroit library a book of service bulletins. THere were several pages of fine print describing how to adjust the steering gear box. I figured, "Heck, it's all spelled out there in black and white--surely, I can do this."

After days and days of messing around, after the pages were barely legible from grease smears, I had the car to where the box was so bound up the car was undrivable and I saw no hope for getting it back to where it was. That original performance baseline I was longing for, by the way, was 1/4 turn of free play--driveable, but one really needed to stay alert.

In the throes of despair and embarrassment, I threw out the whole steering column/wheel, bought a replacement at a junk yard for $15, and vowed never to touch one of those boxes again, convinced that I am only capable of making things worse.

Twenty-some years later, with the car out of storage after a long slumber, I had the box professionally restored by one of the guys who advertises his expertise in the magazines. Again, it was undrivable--arrrgh. I sent it off to another expert, paid more money, and received a very nicely performing product, which I've been using for twenty-some years now, still being careful to look-but-not-touch.

One man's story.

Steve
steve s is offline   Reply With Quote