36 Ford drag link orientation question

marko39 said:
From you pics. It looks like your adjuster is way out. Have you checked the adjustment ? Is your steering wheel centered with wheels pointed straight?
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My steering wheel has no way to tell if it is centered or not. The center is the headlight switch and does not rotate with the wheel.

On the outboard side I have 1 1/2" engagement from the edge of the sleeve, it goes about 1/2" past the center of the bolt. The inboard side(closest to the steering arm)I have 1 1/4" engagement past the edge of the sleeve and goes about 1/4" past the center of the bolt
 
outlaw said:
Correct me if I am wrong but it looks like the draglink has been hitting the wishbone & has damaged it? I can't see any damage to the oil pan in the pictures?
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I just checked it and yes, it stops right when it hits the wishbone. There is no damage to the wishbone at all, just a dent in the grease only. The pan is heavily damaged and I am surprised it did not go all the way thru!
 
Kurt in NJ said:
Does the crank hole line up with the crankshaft ratchet?--- perhaps the engine is too low in the chassis--- some later engine conversion need motor mounts with spacers
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I don't know where the crankshaft ratchet is. The end of my crankshaft is the pulley with the bolt in the middle. When I look thru the crank hole in the grill I see a Chevy bow tie looking cutout and that seem to line up pretty close if that is what you are referring to as the crankshaft ratchet?
 
davids2toys said:
I did think about this, is it as easy as just loosening up the 2 bolts and rotate 1/2 turn, then re-tighten?
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Yes, but you also need to check for other clearance issues, such as the wishbone (which you already posted about). Heating and bending the steering arm might be the easiest way to get better clearance (also as already posted).
 
JSeery said:
Yes, but you also need to check for other clearance issues, such as the wishbone (which you already posted about). Heating and bending the steering arm might be the easiest way to get better clearance (also as already posted).
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When turning right it ends up stopping at the point where it hits the wishbone. I am assuming this is not supposed to happen correct? What is supposed to stop the travel? That steering arm off the box is very very thick, is that what you are suggesting to heat and bend? As I stated in the beginning, steering to the right is more than adequate, it is the left that is the issue.
 
There were originally nuts on the king pin retainer pins that stopped the spindles. Sometimes these get changed. Yes, the steering arm is thick and it takes a lot of heat to be able to bend it. I would remove it to do the bending and it takes a rose-bud tip on an oxy tank torch to get the heat. Again, I would figure out how much clearance you need and make a pattern then get someone with the equipment to help you bend it.
 
This would be a last resort for sure! My first attempt to remedy this problem will be to rotate the sleeve 1/2 turn and see if that fixes it.
This would be a last resort for sure! My first attempt to remedy this problem will be to rotate the sleeve 1/2 turn and see if that fixes it.


1 hour later: I turned it but it is still hitting pretty good. If it was not so deeply gouged I would try banging in the oil pan a little, but I am afraid it will break thru if I hit dent it in at all. I guess next would be to try and reverse the whole link as mentioned earlier. I will search for info "front end service kit" as suggested.
 
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David-

Looking at your pictures I see a possible cause of your problems. You have a '49-'53 truck oil pan NOT a '49-'53 Mercury pan. A '49-'53 Merc pan has a shallow set-back sump to give clearance to the drag link. Note picture below. These pans are getting hard to find. You will also need a Merc oil pump and oil pickup.

Hope this helps.
 

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Tom,
What is the difference between a Merc truck motor and a Merc car motor? Or are you saying I do not even have a Mercury motor? Changing a pan in this will be murder, the front bolts look impossible to get at! Hopefully it does not come to this!
Thanks
 
I did a bunch of searching here on how to remove and replace this drag link so I can learn how to flip it around...could not find much. can anyone give me a quick tutorial or post a link?
Thanks
 
David-

To the best of my knowledge there is no such thing as an "American Mercury truck." However, Canada did have a Mercury truck line. As for engine size, I am not totally positive but I believe the standard engine available for all ''49-'53 trucks was a 239 CC, same as the car. The '49-53 Merc engines were 255 CC and were also available as a special order in heavy duty Ford trucks.

To remove an oil pan without removing the engine from the car is not exactly a "walk in the park." I Imagine all Fordbarners have done it at least once so, there should be lots of advice/help available. Still, it is a nasty job.

Tom
 
davids2toys said:
I did a bunch of searching here on how to remove and replace this drag link so I can learn how to flip it around...could not find much. can anyone give me a quick tutorial or post a link?
Thanks
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David,


This Youtube vid shows how to remove the tie rod ends.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jotYlVj09xM


Did you try to rotate the adjuster sleeve so that the bolts are out of the way? This would tell you if flipping the drag link end for end will solve your problem.
 
Good on the thread engagement!



davids2toys said:
My steering wheel has no way to tell if it is centered or not. The center is the headlight switch and does not rotate with the wheel.

On the outboard side I have 1 1/2" engagement from the edge of the sleeve, it goes about 1/2" past the center of the bolt. The inboard side(closest to the steering arm)I have 1 1/4" engagement past the edge of the sleeve and goes about 1/4" past the center of the bolt
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David,


I'd be buying this if rotating or flipping the drag link end for end won't work. You are concerned about the deep gouge in your pan and will have to repair that anyway.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/49-50-51-5...743151?hash=item216368f32f:g:fOUAAOSwiXNdlrdy


Glenn



Tom-MI said:
David-

Looking at your pictures I see a possible cause of your problems. You have a '49-'53 truck oil pan NOT a '49-'53 Mercury pan. A '49-'53 Merc pan has a shallow set-back sump to give clearance to the drag link. Note picture below. These pans are getting hard to find. You will also need a Merc oil pump and oil pickup.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
 
Tony said:
Look at the various drawings on VanPelts site to determine what engine you might have. http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_drawings_engines.htm
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This is a nice find Tony, thank you. It sure looks like I have a 24 bolt 49-53. Looks like they have a bottom plug and a rear plug for the oil pan diagram, mine is definitely the bottom plug. None of this gets into whether it is a Ford or Mercury engine, it just says Flathead
 
There are bolt-on differences between the Ford and Mercury, heads, oil pan, water pumps, that sort of thing, but the only really internal difference is the crankshaft and the matching pistons. The blocks are the same. About the only way to know is to measure the stroke.
 
glennpm said:
David,


This Youtube vid shows how to remove the tie rod ends.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jotYlVj09xM


Did you try to rotate the adjuster sleeve so that the bolts are out of the way? This would tell you if flipping the drag link end for end will solve your problem.
Click to expand...
Well that video helps me get an idea of what needs to get done. Is it the same for the pit-man end? I did rotate it, it still interferes, but nothing like before, it is more like a hard rub vs. smashing into it with the bolt head. I could live with the hard rub for sure, eventually would just put a slight wear groove in the oil pan but nothing crazy like the gouge I have now
 
glennpm said:
David,


I'd be buying this if rotating or flipping the drag link end for end won't work. You are concerned about the deep gouge in your pan and will have to repair that anyway.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/49-50-51-5...743151?hash=item216368f32f:g:fOUAAOSwiXNdlrdy


Glenn
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This is just a unrestored survivor with a tom of patina, so if this gouge does not leak, I won't fix it, but I will stop it from getting worse. I totally like the idea of getting rid of the bottom drain/ clean-out flange because the whole thing leaks like crazy! The 8 bolts holding it on are not fixed so when I changed the gasket, there was no way to stop the bolts from turning. There is also an inner gasket that I did not change. I replaced the bolts with studs with an Allen slot so I could hold it. Put nyloc nuts on the other end inside the pan. All of this leaks a lot so I need to address it in the future. As someone said earlier, I think this pan would need a different pump and pickup?
I had back surgery last year and a knee replacement 10 weeks ago so it is really a challenge to do some things right now. That oil pan looks like a major PITA to R&R


Thanks
 
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