The Ford Barn

Old Redneck · 06-24-2020, 04:33 PM

New Pinion Bearning and two U joints fix the rear end. Now the Steering has two much play. Also I need a front end alignment. The gas tank needs replace. Did fix the gas gauge and it works. I watch the temp gauge driving the car home and it was ok. Steering is the worse that need taken care of.The car does have power steering which I like.On my 50 Ford when I got it and it had a lot of play but it was easy to adjust and now it nice to dive. Not sure what to do about the 56 T-Bird yet. Any of you had this problem?

Dobie Gillis · 06-24-2020, 05:09 PM

The 1st step with the loose steering is to find and eliminate all looseness in the linkage. Depending on how bad the ball joints, idler arm, etc, are you'll note an improvement. After that tackle the steering box. Unless you're familiar with the process it's a job best left to a pro. If you're running bias ply tires consider switching to radials, they have less of a tendency to follow longitudinal irregularities in the road surface.

Old Redneck · 06-24-2020, 05:27 PM

I got new Radials on now. I did not notice until I got on the open highway running 50 MPH. Then I notice I was oversteering the car due to-play in steering. Today is the first time I have drove the car any distance about 40 miles.This has to be corrected before I take any trips. Just not sure what to do.

dmsfrr · 06-24-2020, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dobie Gillis

The 1st step with the loose steering is to find and eliminate all looseness in the linkage. Depending on how bad the ball joints, idler arm, etc, are you'll note an improvement. After that tackle the steering box. Unless you're familiar with the process it's a job best left to a pro. If you're running bias ply tires consider switching to radials, they have less of a tendency to follow longitudinal irregularities in the road surface.

Good advice, fix all other front-end parts needing repair / replacement before looking at the steering box.
There should be sections about the Front Suspension and Power Steering Inspection & Repair in the '56 shop manual.

When you finally get to the steering box you may need to know which one you have. They were upgraded during the '56 model year. The early (two tooth) version has a 5 pointed star on top and the later (three tooth) version doesn't.

Old Redneck · 06-24-2020, 06:45 PM

When My Sister got the T-Bird it had standard steering. Then they had power steering added. Dave Woods installed the Power Steering. He was a good mechanic. That has done work for me. He gone now. Yes I need a Pro. to check the front end.

miker98038 · 06-24-2020, 09:19 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

The steering box is the same for power and manual. The late 56-57 3 sector box is a noticeable improvement if you've got an early 55-56 2 sector box, but probably only if it's worn and needs a rebuild. Red head Steering does great work, but hopefully you'll find someone closer. They're only 10 miles from me on the far left coast.

Do the other front end work first, as stated above. Not too many miles the box might just need adjustment.

https://redheadsteeringgears.com/abo...SAAEgL-z_D_BwE

Daves55Sedan · 06-24-2020, 09:33 PM

If the control valve isn't screwed in to the exact spot where it needs to be on the pitman arm-to-idler-arm rod, the steering can't be corrected.
Screw in until the hole in the drag-link sleeve portion of the valve lines up with the hole in the threads on the steering arm.
If you have doubts about toe-in (which is another factor which can cause a problem like this), take a long nylon string and tie a nut on the end of it and throw it across the rear axle housing, pull it back around the back of the rear tire then pull the string up to the front of the front tire and lay the string on top of a concrete block and some lumber. Hold the string down to the block with a weight. Now do same thing on other side of car.
Make sure the steering wheel is perfectly straight, then look for gaps between the string and outer surface of the front and rear tires. If there are gaps on one side, the toe in is questionable.
The '56 Ford car shop manual gives the following alignment tolerances:
Caster: 1-1/2 degrees max, 1/2 degree min.
Camber: 1-1/4 degrees max, 1/4 degree min.
Toe-in: 1/16 inch to 1/8 inches

Dobie Gillis · 06-25-2020, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miker98038

The steering box is the same for power and manual. The late 56-57 3 sector box is a noticeable improvement if you've got an early 55-56 2 sector box, but probably only if it's worn and needs a rebuild. Red head Steering does great work, but hopefully you'll find someone closer. They're only 10 miles from me on the far left coast.

Do the other front end work first, as stated above. Not too many miles the box might just need adjustment.

https://redheadsteeringgears.com/abo...SAAEgL-z_D_BwE

Lares Corp. is closer to you.

https://www.larescorp.com/

Ole Don · 06-25-2020, 08:47 AM

Lares does very good work at a reasonable price.

06-24-2020, 04:33 PM	#1
Old Redneck Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Waynesburg,Pa. Posts: 1,909	My switch replaced and rear end fixed. New Pinion Bearning and two U joints fix the rear end. Now the Steering has two much play. Also I need a front end alignment. The gas tank needs replace. Did fix the gas gauge and it works. I watch the temp gauge driving the car home and it was ok. Steering is the worse that need taken care of.The car does have power steering which I like.On my 50 Ford when I got it and it had a lot of play but it was easy to adjust and now it nice to dive. Not sure what to do about the 56 T-Bird yet. Any of you had this problem?

06-24-2020, 05:09 PM	#2
Dobie Gillis Senior Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Middle TN Posts: 1,060	Re: My switch replaced and rear end fixed. The 1st step with the loose steering is to find and eliminate all looseness in the linkage. Depending on how bad the ball joints, idler arm, etc, are you'll note an improvement. After that tackle the steering box. Unless you're familiar with the process it's a job best left to a pro. If you're running bias ply tires consider switching to radials, they have less of a tendency to follow longitudinal irregularities in the road surface. __________________ Often wrong but never in doubt.

06-24-2020, 05:27 PM	#3
Old Redneck Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Waynesburg,Pa. Posts: 1,909	Re: My switch replaced and rear end fixed. I got new Radials on now. I did not notice until I got on the open highway running 50 MPH. Then I notice I was oversteering the car due to-play in steering. Today is the first time I have drove the car any distance about 40 miles.This has to be corrected before I take any trips. Just not sure what to do.

06-24-2020, 06:45 PM	#5
Old Redneck Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Waynesburg,Pa. Posts: 1,909	Re: My switch replaced and rear end fixed. When My Sister got the T-Bird it had standard steering. Then they had power steering added. Dave Woods installed the Power Steering. He was a good mechanic. That has done work for me. He gone now. Yes I need a Pro. to check the front end.

06-24-2020, 09:19 PM	#6
miker98038 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Kent, WA. Tucson, AZ Posts: 1,397	Re: My switch replaced and rear end fixed. Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) The steering box is the same for power and manual. The late 56-57 3 sector box is a noticeable improvement if you've got an early 55-56 2 sector box, but probably only if it's worn and needs a rebuild. Red head Steering does great work, but hopefully you'll find someone closer. They're only 10 miles from me on the far left coast. Do the other front end work first, as stated above. Not too many miles the box might just need adjustment. https://redheadsteeringgears.com/abo...SAAEgL-z_D_BwE

06-24-2020, 09:33 PM	#7
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: My switch replaced and rear end fixed. If the control valve isn't screwed in to the exact spot where it needs to be on the pitman arm-to-idler-arm rod, the steering can't be corrected. Screw in until the hole in the drag-link sleeve portion of the valve lines up with the hole in the threads on the steering arm. If you have doubts about toe-in (which is another factor which can cause a problem like this), take a long nylon string and tie a nut on the end of it and throw it across the rear axle housing, pull it back around the back of the rear tire then pull the string up to the front of the front tire and lay the string on top of a concrete block and some lumber. Hold the string down to the block with a weight. Now do same thing on other side of car. Make sure the steering wheel is perfectly straight, then look for gaps between the string and outer surface of the front and rear tires. If there are gaps on one side, the toe in is questionable. The '56 Ford car shop manual gives the following alignment tolerances: Caster: 1-1/2 degrees max, 1/2 degree min. Camber: 1-1/4 degrees max, 1/4 degree min. Toe-in: 1/16 inch to 1/8 inches

06-25-2020, 08:47 AM	#9
Ole Don Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: St. Michael, Minnesota Posts: 1,713	Re: My switch replaced and rear end fixed. Lares does very good work at a reasonable price.