Loose steering

F

Ford coupe

Senior Member
Could I adjust the steering on my 55 with the set screw on top of the steering box or do I have to go by the book with the shim procedure..
 
Pretty sure the set screw on top only adjusts end play of the sector gear shaft, not any looseness / lack of direction between the steering wheel and the tires. Double check all the rest of the steering linkage first, if you haven't already.
 
On my 55 sedan, I had the steering gear out on the bench to clean it. I took all the old hard grease out, then did the shim adjustment, then the screw adjustment. I refilled it with 50/50 STP and 90 wt. While every other movable part is OK, at rest these cars displayed a lot of play. That play, at 60, will move the car from fog line to fog line.
 
As dmsfrr said, eliminate all the slop in the linkage before messing with the box. One place that is often overlooked is the ball stud where the Pitman arm attaches to the drag link below the box. The stud can get egg shaped after years of use and little or no attention to lubrication, and the grease can fossilize and prevent the springs and cups from holding the stud tightly. Rebuild kits are available from the usual suspects. The steering gear is designed so that the steering feels tight when going straight and becomes easier when turning. If your steering is sloppy on center the box needs a rebuild. You can take up some of the slack with the screw but be very careful and only adjust in tiny increments. If it binds in turns after adjustment back off the adjustment just until it stops binding. Getting the screw too tight will accelerate the wear.
 
If you adjust the steering box, do it with the wheel off center. At center this is where the most wear is and if you adjust it there, it may bind when turned. It works for me. The first thing I would check is the drag link for play. They have to be greased more often than anything else, I just did mine after 2000 miles.
 
Aside from all the other good suggestions I see here, also check to make sure that the steering gearbox to frame mounting bolts have not come loose. If they have, you not only need to tighten them up, but it may require a re-adjustment of your tie rod end sleeves. The tie rod idler arm can often also be suspect. Make sure bracket to frame bolts are tight and idler arm acme threads are not too worn. I think the book says maximum allowable vertical free play should not exceed 1/8 inch.
 
The only shim adjustment I know of on these gearboxes is for the worm gear bearing pre-load, which only affects the amount of pressure the end-cap forces the bearings against the worm gear bearing races. If there's too few shims (increases bearing pre-load), it makes the steering wheel harder to turn, while at the same time you might still have sloppy steering due to some other malady mentioned by the good folks above. If there's too many shims (decreases bearing pre-load), it leaves a small gap between the bearings and races, but wouldn't really have an affect in causing sloppy steering unless you had a really substantial gap in there. If I remember right, the available shims come in three thicknesses and they are paper thin to less than paper thin, so if you had NO shims at all, I don't think it would have a substantial effect in adding to steering slop. Either way, having too much bearing pre-load or not enough bearing pre-load would probably eventually ruin the bearings. I believe you want to shoot for about 5/8 inch lbs torque measured at the end of the steering wheel spoke near the rim.
 
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