Jseery, I've done what you suggest and the result is I have to turn the steering wheel to the 10 to 4 position to go straight down the road; my question is, if I adjust the steering with the wheels slightly to the right and the steering wheel at approximately the 10 to 4 position to the 15 to 3 (horizontal position) would the car now go straight with the steering wheel in the correct position?
The car has a dropped axle, reversed eyes and split wishbone from CE. I get 2 1/8 turns from center in either direction.
I rebuilt the '40 box completely and maybe the "pre-load" isn't spot on but am told that wouldn't have anything to do with the car going straight down the road. When I had the stock front end, car drove straight but difficult to turn as compared to the '40 setup. Anyway, was hoping someone would confirm my plan of attack as you just did. Will proceed and see what happens.
DD, you just took me back in time to my high school geometry class and that's going way way back!Hmmmmmmm............This ol' problem AGAIN! OK, if I understand your "10 to 4 position" to mean slightly to the right of center, I MAY have the mechanical reason for you, IF you used the '40 PITMAN arm. Refer to the pic below.
The Pitman arm on top is a '36, and the bottom one is a '40. If you look closely, the center to center distance between holes is greater on the '40 arm. Since the drag link (when viewed from above) tends to form a triangle shape of sorts by angling rearward, away from the tie rod at it's extreme left end (where it attaches to the Pitman arm), some strange geometry comes into play if you change Pitman arms (lengths). The '40 arm would place the left end of the Pitman arm closer to the tie rod ('cuz it's longer)...WITH THE STEERING BOX CENTERED. Using Pythagorean's theorem as a guideline to illustrate the dynamics of a RIGHT TRIANGLE (consider the tie rod and Pitman arm as the two shortest sides forming a right triangle), what's really happening with the '40 drag link is an example of the need to DECREASE the length of the hypotenuse. Your drag link is the hypotenuse in this theoretical right triangle. SOooooo..........if you did not initially adjust (SHORTEN) the length of your drag link after the '40 Pitman arm substitution, the "too-long" drag link (with the steering wheel straight ahead) will **** the wheels ever so slightly to the LEFT.........hence, your having to ever so slightly hold the steering wheel to the right......to go straight down the road! There ya have it in an otherwise perfect world. Yes, no? That's what happens when us damn hot rodders go screwin' with Henry's infinite wisdom. DD
Ted, I have 2 '36 pitman arms, one of which I filled so there are no index grooves and would allow me to clock it in any position on the sector shaft but never could get it to improve the problem.
Lost me on that one, not sure what you are referring to. It has to turn in a circular fashion. If it is rotating/moving in any other why it needs to be replaced.
Yeah, I could have done a better job describing the situation. Should have said "where drag link tie rod end goes into pitman arm." Here's a picture.
