'36 never ending steering problem!

[rich b]

'47 axle; but same CE brake kit, stop on front.

[36tudordeluxe]

Originally Posted by rich b

'47 axle; but same CE brake kit, stop on front.

I'll try that.

[Mart]

For complex technical reasons, that won't work.

It will work, but not as well as on the rear, for two reasons.

1, the angle achieved by the spindles will be sharper than with the stops on the back.

2, If you imagine driving at full lock and the inside wheel hits a small obstruction, it will be pushed back. This would normally be resisted directly by the rear mounted stop on that side. If the stops are on the front, the wheel will deflect back, and put a heavy load on the track (tie) tod and opposite spindle. The wheel will also probably deflect enough to rub on the radius rod.

Not the end of the world, admittedly, but undesirable nonetheless.

The angularity could be reduced by using an oversize acorn nut.

I used a 7/16 mag wheel type lug nut once, to limit steering lock.

If I were there, I could do it all for you. It's not hard, just hard to explain in writing.

Mart.

[jimTN]

You cannot reverse the pins because they are tapered.

[Mart]

With respect, Jim, you can fit the pins from either side. The holes are not tapered. There isn't actually a front or rear to the front axle beam, you can fit it either way round.

Mart.

[Fordors]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Originally Posted by jimTN

You cannot reverse the pins because they are tapered.

Through hole in axle is straight bore and pin is round with a taper machined into it for the wedging action. See this thread-

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showth...xle#post505466

I'd reverse the pins, 36tudor. I think relieving the caliper bracket for stop clearance would weaken that area quite a bit. Mart may have a point from a strict engineering background, but how often will you hit an obstruction at full lock? Even with the pins reversed I'm still wondering how you went from missing 3/4 turn of steering (post no. 11) to full right lock just by adding the stops?

[36tudordeluxe]

Originally Posted by Fordors

Through hole in axle is straight bore and pin is round with a taper machined into it for the wedging action. See this thread-

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showth...xle#post505466

I'd reverse the pins, 36tudor. I think relieving the caliper bracket for stop clearance would weaken that area quite a bit. Mart may have a point from a strict engineering background, but how often will you hit an obstruction at full lock? Even with the pins reversed I'm still wondering how you went from missing 3/4 turn of steering (post no. 11) to full right lock just by adding the stops?

Here's where I'm at now; with everything centered, (wheels, steering box, steering wheel) and hex nut I have 1 7/8 turns to left lock & right lock. I have not road tested the car yet as am addressing other issues. The way I got more travel to the right was by re-indexing the pitman arm by filing new groves in the 4 splines, that allowed me to re-position the '36 pitman arm in the straight ahead position.

[rich b]

Fact is, in real life putting the stops on front works.

But; like everything else, you always need to check how everything fits and works in your own situation.

If you do have to modify the stops, an increase in diameter is more effective than an increase in length.

Another thing to watch for is that some aftermarket stops are smaller than the original Ford stops.

[36tudordeluxe]

BINGO! Nailed it, steering wheel is centered and goes straight down the road. Tried something different, before I was centering wheels by careful measuring with tape and the steering wheel would be off center. This time drove the car straight into the garage and left front wheels as they were, disconnected drag link, centered steering wheel and then adjusted drag link to the pitman arm. I don't know what's going on but even now when I measure with the tape for center on the wheels they're right on the money. One thing I have noticed is that when I ground a corner and the wheels pass over the depression in the road for the rain water to flow; it feels like the front end is skidding slightly. Could it be because of the small 185/65R/15 tires up front?

[Fordors]

As far as the feeling that the front end is skidding it might be related to the Ackerman principle, and in fact caused by the CE bolt on steering arms. For Ackerman to be correct lines drawn through the king pin and the tie rod eye on the steering arm should intersect with the center of the rear axle. Because bolt on arms are designed in a "fits 'em all" manner your Ackerman may be off and as a result the inside tire on a turn scuffs through the turn.
Bolt on arms are an easy way to have steering arms that clear the dropped axle but with the different wheelbases on various year hot rods and the arms being of one length tire scuff can be the result. If it really becomes an annoyance you can check it by putting the car up on stands and plumb bob the necessary points to the floor. Once your marks are on the floor connect the dots with a straight line and see what you get. CE arms are steel forgings so you could heat and bend if need be. A dull to medium red will work, not cherry red, and then let them slow cool.

[36tudordeluxe]

Fords, never ceases to amaze me the amount of knowledge available on this site. One day soon will snap it out on the floor and see what I've got. Thanks