Cant tighten steering wheel nut - pressing into quadrant

[99sh]

On to the next project. My steering wheel had a bit of a wobble so I decided to pull it off to see if the nut was loose. Yep - it had backed off and I was able to pull the wheel with no issue.

I tightened the nut but noticed the back side of the wheel was pressing against the outer lip of the quadrant. I wasnt able to rotate the wheel with the nut hand tight. How is this supposed to work?

 

[Marshall V. Daut]

Loosen the two gas tank steering column clamp bolts and the one bolt that tightens around the bottom of the column jacket just above the steering box. Then drive the column jacket downward from between the steering wheel spokes until it bottoms out against the steering box. Your problem is the column jacket is up too high because it wasn't seated before the steering wheel was installed. After the steering column jacket is seated, re-tighten the gas tank clamp and bottom collar bolts. A very common restoration error when re-assembling two-tooth steering columns.
Marshall

 

[Marshall V. Daut]

More - There should be NO gap between the bottom edge of the steering column jacket and the top of the steering box. Drive the column jacket down until it bottoms out. Problem solved.
Marshall

 

[99sh]

I see the gap, about 6/32" till it bottoms out. In the garage now struggling getting that last bit over. Loosened the two column bolts, lower clamp and even the two bolts going thru frame for steering box. I can rotate the column cover but cant slide down.

Tried hammering top if steering column and bottom clamp to make it move. No go

 

[99sh]

Here's a picture. I pulled it back a bit. It's certainly hitting a stop when I reach 6/32" from bottoming out.

 

[Marshall V. Daut]

That column jacket must bottom out or you will never be able to seat the steering wheel properly. Remove the steering wheel so that you can directly drive the jacket downward by striking with a large drift as close to center as you can, alternating side to side. But do not place the drift against the upper shaft bushing (surrounding the steering upper shaft) because it is made of pot metal and will shatter. Try to apply equal strike force just outside of that bushing. The closer to center you are, the better chance you will have of pushing the jacket the rest of the way to seat it against the top of the steering box.
You might try pulling the jacket up higher after removing the steering wheel, twist it 180 degrees and use a large chisel to spread the slit open wider on the bottom side of the jacket. That will relieve the tightness around the steering box's upper bushing collar. Then turn the jacket back 180 degrees and try to seat it. Once the jacket is seated and the collar tightened again, that slit will close up and clamp around the steering box's upper bushing shaft like it's supposed to do.
Marshall

 

[bobbader]

This is a bit out in left field, but here goes. The early 2 tooth steering box/column (from Feb 29 into early 30) assemblies had an outer tube that was shorter than the later units. This is because the inner shafts on these early columns were an inch shorter. You may have one of the shorter tubes that someone used without knowing the difference. The problem lies in the upper bushing in the tube that supports the spark & throttle levers and that the inner shaft rides on. The shaft is tapered to fit properly through the opening in the bushing. BUT, if you have the shorter tube, it will go down over the shaft only until you reach the bottom of the tapered area. at that point, it will reach an "impasse" .................. or the scenario you have where it seems like the downward travel of the tube has "hit a STOP". See if you can measure the length of your tube from top to bottom. Then, if you have a friend nearby who has a 30/31 car that does not have this steering wheel interference problem, ask if you can measure their column tube.

If that's not a possibility, have patience. i have both long and short tubes at my shop and I'll reply back when I go there Monday or Tuesday.

 

[99sh]

I gave up, but by luck it worked. I ended up separating the gearbox from the column sleeve. There were no impediments in the tube and was clean. I dremeled the slit another 1/4" for good measure. Everything should slide on still didnt. At this point, I had given up decided to reassemble everything. I ended up hammering the top center of the steering wheel to put a center load on the column. Did that a few times and was able to get the gap down to 4/32". I tightened the nut and to my surprise it tightened up without binding the wheel. Looks like I got the column down enough to torque down the nut.


Thanks for the help. This may be one of those unsolved mysteries (for now), until I need to take it apart for another reason.

 

[Marshall V. Daut]

The quadrant on the 1929 two-tooth steering column resembles the one on the seven-tooth, i.e. open with a wider range of up and down movement compared to the more common and restricted '30-31 quadrant. "bobbadder" is correct about the shorter mast jacket on those 1929 two-tooth steering columns with shorter shafts. But from what I can see in "99sh'"'s photo in his initial posting, he has a '30-31 mast jacket, not an earlier one. So, I wouldn't think the binding problem lies in an incompatibility issue.
But I do wonder what the reason for this situation is. It's possible that the pot metal upper bushing has swollen to the point that the more tapered upper end of the shaft will go through the bushing's hole, but the larger diameter shaft beneath that taper cannot pass through the swollen bushing. That's about the only explanation I can come up with for this problem. What else lies between the steering box and the upper bushing that could impede the mast jacket from seating over the steering box's upper bearing snout? Nothing that I can envision. My money's on a swollen pot metal bushing being the cause of all this frustration. One way to find out: replace the upper bushing and see if that helps. They're cheap enough and easy to install.
Marshall