Buzzing noise from spark lever

mngreen

mngreen

Senior Member
I seem to be getting a really loud and annoying buzzing/vibration noise emanating from the spark lever on the steering column. The noise seems to happen only at a certain speed of around 45 MPH. I assume the rod is vibrating within the column with the engine harmonics at that speed. When it buzzes and I lift the lever away from the quadrant it stops, only to resume when I let go. I thought of cramming a piece of cardboard between the lever and the quadrant but I do need to move the lever occasionally to advance the spark for high speed runs. Any thoughts about how to hush that buzzing sound?
 
You may have to pull the rods and bushing to install the felt bumpers, whose purpose is to eliminate that rattle.
 
Just a small piece of scotch tape wrapped around the lever where it touches the quadrant, easy to replace and easy to re-do each time.
 
al's28/33 said:
Just a small piece of scotch tape wrapped around the lever where it touches the quadrant, easy to replace and easy to re-do each time.
Click to expand...

Now THAT's what I'm talking about...an "old timey" fix which I will try! ;)

I also was thinking about wrapping some cordage around the rod end between the small lever and spring to pull the lever down harder against the quadrant.
 
The felt anti rattlers must have been left out. A few years back, Terry Oberer posted on Ahooga, an easy way to get rid of the buzz without having to go back in to the steering column to install the felts. Remove the steering column clamp, inside the car. Drill a hole in the column tube, just under where the clamp mounts, so that it will be hidden when the clamp is replaced. Spray WD 40 through the drilled hole, so as to coat the steering shaft and spark and throttle rods inside the column. Spray expanding foam through the drilled hole so as to surround the shaft and control rods. The WD40 will prevent the foam from sticking to the shaft and rods. I would go back and move the steering wheel back and forth, momentarily untill the foam had set. I remember when I posted this info here, one guy almost fainted and said that he would never do this mod on his model A. This mod has worked very well for me, it is hidden and easily solves the problem. If the column needed to be disassembled, even years later, for whatever reason, it would leave a guide that would make installing the spark and throttle rods easier. Anybody can do as they please,It works good for me, anyway.
 
The rods originally came with short rubber tubes around the shafts. Today you get felt to stick on the rods. either should work to dampen the vibrations. As mentioned, to do it like original, you'll have to remove the rods and top bushing.
 
Purdy Swoft said:
The felt anti rattlers must have been left out. A few years back, Terry Oberer posted on Ahooga, an easy way to get rid of the buzz without having to go back in to the steering column to install the felts. Remove the steering column clamp, inside the car. Drill a hole in the column tube, just under where the clamp mounts, so that it will be hidden when the clamp is replaced. Spray WD 40 through the drilled hole, so as to coat the steering shaft and spark and throttle rods inside the column. Spray expanding foam through the drilled hole so as to surround the shaft and control rods. The WD40 will prevent the foam from sticking to the shaft and rods. I would go back and move the steering wheel back and forth, momentarily untill the foam had set. I remember when I posted this info here, one guy almost fainted and said that he would never do this mod on his model A. This mod has worked very well for me, it is hidden and easily solves the problem. If the column needed to be disassembled, even years later, for whatever reason, it would leave a guide that would make installing the spark and throttle rods easier. Anybody can do as they please,It works good for me, anyway.
Click to expand...
Purdy,
God! we think so much alike, are you sure we're not BROTHERS?? Chief always said, "The easiest way is the best way if it does the job properly!"
He also said, "Don't patch it, or it'll come back to "haunt" you, patching is only to get you home when the danged thing breaks!" Bill W.
 
YAY what a great solution! I replaced the felts in our Coupe steering collumn, and the darned thing still rattles. had been thinking about the WD40/spray foam solution, but hated to leave a visible hole. PROBLEM SOLVED thanks to FordBarn. I already knew Terry O. was a smart & resourceful guy, this reaffirms it.......
 
Thanks Bill. Kindred spirits???? I mostly think its just common sense. It really wasn't my brain child (expanding foam fix) I could just see that it was a good thing and glombed on to it. Trying to install the spark and throttle rods through the steering column with the little felt anti rattlers is a real pain!!!!! Like Tom, I felt that rubber tubing over the rods would be a better anti rattler. I tried the rubber tubing and it was too thick to clear the column tube and allow the rods to enter the holes farther down the column. I don't even try using the anti rattlers. I use the expanding foam trick and it has worked good for me for several years. It really makes no difference whether it is original, if it works and doesn't show. Except for the steering shaft and control rods, the steering tube is empty. The foam surrounds the control rods and stops the rattle of the control rods against the column tube. There is no oil in the steering tube that the foam can contaminate. I'll be 66 years old at the end of November and I feel that the foam will last more than a lifetime for most of us.
 
Hey Purdy:

Thanks for passing on the expanding foam trick! I did this over the weekend and it certainly fixed the problem! But for those of you doing this, don't do what I did. I didn't give it sufficient thought before drilling the column as I drilled at the 6 o'clock position--that didn't allow the foam to get to the control rods (dumb, dumb, dumb!)

I then had to drill another hole at the 9 o'clock position in order to get the foam to the control rods--all good as nothing shows since the column bracket covers my botched job!

Mike Green
 
Many thanks to Purdy Swoft for his recommended procedure to eliminate buzzing/vibrations from inside the steering column from the spark and throttle rods.

I followed his "expanding foam" procedure, and it worked perfectly; all vibrations and noise from inside the steering column are gone.

Now I can work on the other 57 sources of noises, vibrations, rattles, and squeaks.

(BTW - This is only one of several successful "fixes" that Purdy has offered to me over the last couple of years, and I am most grateful.)
 
Well, as a follow-up to this thread, after doing Purdy's expanding foam fix for steering column/control rod vibrations over 2 years ago, I recently had the entire steering column removed to have a rebuilt box installed (over 6 inches of play on the wheel for the last 40 years :rolleyes:).

The box with steering shaft came apart from the column tube and were reassembled perfectly with the existing expanding foam fix left in place within the column. No problems at all and still NO VIBRATION NOISE.

I consider this a permanent fix.

Thanks again, Purdy! :D
 
Another buzz that can come from the steering colum is the horn wire inside the light switch tube. Fix for that is drill several small holes along the length and fill with silicon. Just drill till you start to break through the wall of the tube, so as not to drill into the wire.
 
Another buzz is the light switch tube at top.

I unclipped light switch and slid the top out a bit and wrapped a few winds of insulation tape and a bit of oil.

No more buzz.
 
mngreen said:
Well, as a follow-up to this thread, after doing Purdy's expanding foam fix for steering column/control rod vibrations over 2 years ago, I recently had the entire steering column removed to have a rebuilt box installed (over 6 inches of play on the wheel for the last 40 years :rolleyes:).

The box with steering shaft came apart from the column tube and were reassembled perfectly with the existing expanding foam fix left in place within the column. No problems at all and still NO VIBRATION NOISE.

I consider this a permanent fix.

Thanks again, Purdy! :D
Click to expand...


Thanks Mike for the rest of the story !!! Its good to know how well the foam held up and the problems worked out. Thanks again, Purdy.
 
Sometimes the soy in the steering wheel will swell and rub the horn button. shaving to soy back will solve that.

I get a lovely buzz out of the wiper knob. It's shaft rubs the frame. A folded piece of cardboard fixes that noise.

If you want some fun whack the end of your bumper with a rubber hammer. Hit your end bolts straight down. The whole car will sing with opportunities to fix things.
 
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