The Ford Barn

Colonel · 12-08-2012, 09:08 PM

Started looking at the loose steering on my '30 coupe. It has a tendency to wobble on the road. The steering wheel has quite a bit of play. The Pitman arm is tight. The wobble can get out of hand if not careful. I had a couple uncomfortable situations about 30mph, especially when braking. So I put the car on jacks and started looking at the front end. Everything felt and appeared very tight. I noticed the steering had only a small amount of play in it when on jacks. This puzzled me. I disconnected the drag link(pitman arm ball looked great) and started preparing the steering box for adjustment per Les Andrews instruction book. I haven't done that yet but thought I would see if anyone has any suggestions. I tend to believe that the box is probably good, it certainly has a full reservior of 600w oil.I have read tons of old postings and one thing I will do is check the toe-in. I am buying a new set of tires. Any other suggestions before I dig too deep? Also, is there a real basic instruction on the steering box adjust other than the service bulletin and the Andrews book? Maybe one someone has developed based on their own experience.

J Franklin · 12-08-2012, 09:28 PM

If the steering gear has slop with it centered it should be adjusted. You said it had play on the ground and not when on stands, that is a clue to follow up on. Maybe the springs in the linkage are weak, but not noticeable off the ground.

spike · 12-08-2012, 09:48 PM

Check the front axel for straightness....I use a 4 ft leval....over the years some may have used it to pull the car and it will put a bow in since they are soft....just a thought. it is best to go from one end to the other and get everything right befor you make your adjustments. good luck

Phil · 12-08-2012, 10:17 PM

If you have a front eng shimmy, check if the radius ball has play in it, put a concave washer between the ball and the cap. This takes car of a lot of shimmy. I agree steering box needs adjusting if it has excess play. The Model A venders have washers or you can dimple one. Good luck, Phil.

gweilbaker · 12-09-2012, 08:36 AM

It could be more than one thing causing the problem. The most elusive is what Phil posted, the radius ball. Sounds like you have a repair manual, visit each part of the system with suspect.

Tom Wesenberg · 12-09-2012, 10:49 AM

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"Any other suggestions before I dig too deep? Also, is there a real basic instruction on the steering box adjust other than the service bulletin and the Andrews book? Maybe one someone has developed based on their own experience."

The steering can only be properly adjusted as written in the Service Bulletins. You must follow the prceedure exactly, and since on the 2 tooth box, one adjustment can affect another adjustment, sometimes you have to go through the proceedure a couple times to get all the adjustments right.

The 7 tooth box only has two adjustments, one for the sector shaft end play, and one for the steering shaft end play. The sector shaft end play is adjusted by a bolt and lock nut on the cover plate, and the steering shaft is adjusted by adding or removing brass shims at the bottom of the steering shaft cover/bushing.

12-08-2012, 09:08 PM	#1
Colonel Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 257	Steering Mystery Started looking at the loose steering on my '30 coupe. It has a tendency to wobble on the road. The steering wheel has quite a bit of play. The Pitman arm is tight. The wobble can get out of hand if not careful. I had a couple uncomfortable situations about 30mph, especially when braking. So I put the car on jacks and started looking at the front end. Everything felt and appeared very tight. I noticed the steering had only a small amount of play in it when on jacks. This puzzled me. I disconnected the drag link(pitman arm ball looked great) and started preparing the steering box for adjustment per Les Andrews instruction book. I haven't done that yet but thought I would see if anyone has any suggestions. I tend to believe that the box is probably good, it certainly has a full reservior of 600w oil.I have read tons of old postings and one thing I will do is check the toe-in. I am buying a new set of tires. Any other suggestions before I dig too deep? Also, is there a real basic instruction on the steering box adjust other than the service bulletin and the Andrews book? Maybe one someone has developed based on their own experience.

12-08-2012, 09:28 PM	#2
J Franklin Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 6,373	Re: Steering Mystery If the steering gear has slop with it centered it should be adjusted. You said it had play on the ground and not when on stands, that is a clue to follow up on. Maybe the springs in the linkage are weak, but not noticeable off the ground.

12-08-2012, 09:48 PM	#3
spike Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Jackson Michigan Posts: 245	Re: Steering Mystery Check the front axel for straightness....I use a 4 ft leval....over the years some may have used it to pull the car and it will put a bow in since they are soft....just a thought. it is best to go from one end to the other and get everything right befor you make your adjustments. good luck

12-08-2012, 10:17 PM	#4
Phil Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bethany, Ok Posts: 384	Re: Steering Mystery If you have a front eng shimmy, check if the radius ball has play in it, put a concave washer between the ball and the cap. This takes car of a lot of shimmy. I agree steering box needs adjusting if it has excess play. The Model A venders have washers or you can dimple one. Good luck, Phil.

12-09-2012, 08:36 AM	#5
gweilbaker Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Lindenhurst, IL Posts: 793	Re: Steering Mystery It could be more than one thing causing the problem. The most elusive is what Phil posted, the radius ball. Sounds like you have a repair manual, visit each part of the system with suspect.

12-09-2012, 10:49 AM	#6
Tom Wesenberg Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mpls, MN Posts: 27,582	Re: Steering Mystery Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) "Any other suggestions before I dig too deep? Also, is there a real basic instruction on the steering box adjust other than the service bulletin and the Andrews book? Maybe one someone has developed based on their own experience." The steering can only be properly adjusted as written in the Service Bulletins. You must follow the prceedure exactly, and since on the 2 tooth box, one adjustment can affect another adjustment, sometimes you have to go through the proceedure a couple times to get all the adjustments right. The 7 tooth box only has two adjustments, one for the sector shaft end play, and one for the steering shaft end play. The sector shaft end play is adjusted by a bolt and lock nut on the cover plate, and the steering shaft is adjusted by adding or removing brass shims at the bottom of the steering shaft cover/bushing.