33 pickup steering box issue

Ken/Alabama

Ken/Alabama

Well-known member
I rebuilt the steering box in my 33 pickup with new bearings,bushings and the worm and sector showed no signs of wear. The box turned nice and smooth on the bench. I reinstalled it in the truck and put the front tires on the ground it makes an awfull screeching and squawking noise and feel like its binding. Jack the front wheels up and its smooth again and no binding. I disconnected the drag link and its smooth and also turned the front wheels by hand and it doesnt make any noise so Im convinced its not tie rods or kingpins. Any ideas before I pull it all back out, could this be an adjustment issue? Im just curious if anyone has had this problem before.:confused:
 
What sort of oil did you use, In my A I had the same problem,but changed the lube to 140 gear oil ,that fixed it,but I don,t try to turn the wheels unless the car is moving,Lawrie
 
jerry grayson said:
did you replace the rubber bushing under the steering wheel?
Click to expand...

Could very well be the problem I use a caged needle bearing with a hardened inner race in place of the original style rubber bushing. I feel this works much better, smoother and less steering effort.

I also replace the sector bushings with needle bearings and also put a seal in the outboard end of the sector housing to help keep the lube in the box and off the floor. These old steering boxes need all the help they can get.
 
When rebuilding my box, I experience what you see with a poorly adjusted box. How much of the adjusting screw is above the adjusting star. Back it out, and see if it binds. Worked for me with all new parts.
 
Earlier 33 steerings were 13:1 until changed to 15:1 during the year. If you have a 13:1 worm/sector (same as 1932) the steering will be very quick, but very difficult. Changing to 15:1 gears is highly recommended.

If the end play on the worm gear is more than zero, the worm gear can get out of position and bind. It should have no pre-load and no end play. The gears should have zero lash at center, but will have play in either direction, as they are made that way so as they wear in the center, they can be re-adjusted without binding off of center. If with zero lash at center they bind off of center in both directions, the gears may be worn too much and should be replaced. There is also another
adjustment for centrilization of tooth contact to equalize play off of center, which may cure binding if it is in one direction but not the other.

The steering housings need to be made leak-proof. In addition to adding the seal on the sector shaft as CW advises, the oil tube that goes up into the shaft can come loose in the bottom plate, allowing oil to run out into the lighting switch. The tube needs to be soldered to the plate. Once made leakproof, heavy gear oil should be used as stated on the filler cap. STP is not heavy gear oil and may not properly migrate to where it is needed, nor will grease. Lack of proper lubrication can cause gauling, binding and the noise under load that you describe.

Even with the original sector bushings (properly honed/fit to the sector shaft - if the sector is loose, binding can result) if all of the above is properly done, the steering should be smooth and quiet. We have built many many with 15:1 gears (the latest gears from Argentina seem to be ok, so far...) and they perform very well. Adding the needle bearing at the top of the column as recommended by CW makes a huge difference. We use a bearing with a separate race that presses onto the steering shaft, and install the bearing into a rubber bushing (the currently available one without the bronze bushing) that is modified to fit into the column tube, thus insulating everything from the tube.

There is a chapter in the 1932 Ford Service Bulletins that provides excellent instructions on overhaul and proper adjustment, which also applies to 1933
and 1934. 1935 and 1936 are also of similar design.
 
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There is a big 'spring' washer deal that goes on top of the top bearing cup, if this is installed the wrong way up, steering is extremley heavy.
 
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