View Single Post
Old 11-08-2018, 04:35 PM   #1
whirnot
Senior Member
 
whirnot's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Bend Or.
Posts: 1,057
Default Do you polish your balls?

I pulled the steering column out of my 29 roadster and tore it down for overhaul. I am trying to make this thing as driver friendly as possible so my wife can drive it. I decided to look at all the steering joints as well, and was amazed how hard they were to turn. After tearing it all apart and cleaning everything, I ordered all my column parts, new arm rubbers, shortened Pitman Arm and a full set of teflon cups. The balls all looked pretty decent, one had a minor ridge that I was able to sand off pretty easily. But then I got to thinking since the goal is to decrease friction as much a possible, doesn't it make sense to polish the balls?


The steel is really relatively soft, and after a short time on the buffing wheel they look like chrome. Should make a huge difference in steering, and make the cups last longer.
__________________
Bill Worden

1929 Roadster
1929 Briggs Town Sedan
1930 Closed Cab pickup
Smith Motor Compressor
1951 Ford F1

High Desert Model A's
whirnot is offline   Reply With Quote