mate

First of all, have you done anything to determine where the "slop" is coming from? Is it in the steering box itself or in any of the various connectors from the steering box to the front wheels, or ????
 
Jack up the front and put jack stands under the axle. Grab fort tire top and botton see if they move in and out at the top and bottom. Worn king pins. Now get someone to sit behind the steering wheel and steer back and forth while you carefully study all the pivots or joints and note where there is play. Those will be drag link, tie rod ends, pitman arm. Replace worn parts. Then check for play in the relation between steering wheel and arm coming from the steering box. If there is much play there you will need to pull some shims from the box (not sure on a '36 car) and or adjust the worm/sector adjustment bolt. It's actually a huge and often complex job taking care of all of this, but with one step at a time it is certainly within the scope of someone that really wants to learn the process.
 
All good advise from GB above, But I can't resist pointing out your poor choice of a thread title, "mate". If you choose a proper title, like "36 steering", it will show up in a search for future 36 owners with a steering problem. And, it may bring attention to a 36 owner who has recent experience with good or bad parts, difficulty of the job, etc. Butt...nobody is gonna search Mate
 
Jack up the front and put jack stands under the axle. Grab fort tire top and botton see if they move in and out at the top and bottom. Worn king pins. Now get someone to sit behind the steering wheel and steer back and forth while you carefully study all the pivots or joints and note where there is play. Those will be drag link, tie rod ends, pitman arm. Replace worn parts. Then check for play in the relation between steering wheel and arm coming from the steering box. If there is much play there you will need to pull some shims from the box (not sure on a '36 car) and or adjust the worm/sector adjustment bolt. It's actually a huge and often complex job taking care of all of this, but with one step at a time it is certainly within the scope of someone that really wants to learn the process.


You could nod off researching this subject and not get more good info than Gary provides here in one paragraph. Bravo Gary!
 
The other item that can cause “play “ is worn and or poorly adjusted front wheel bearings. While you’re at it , how is the tire wear? Are they worn evenly etc? wheel alignment, camber and even a bent axle can cause problems. Once tires begin to wear unevenly they can even follow bumps etc and you will fight them all the time.
Oh just thought of something else, there’s a rubber bush in the rear of the front radius rods.
Now to answer your question box adjustment, there are some adjustments that can be done with backlash etc, but I’m not the guy to explain how to do this. And everything else needs to be done and checked out to be satisfactory first before getting into the steering box.Good luck and let us know what you find. Van pelt has a book regarding steering box adjustment and repairs.
 
Jack up the front and put jack stands under the axle. Grab fort tire top and botton see if they move in and out at the top and bottom. Worn king pins. Now get someone to sit behind the steering wheel and steer back and forth while you carefully study all the pivots or joints and note where there is play. Those will be drag link, tie rod ends, pitman arm. Replace worn parts. Then check for play in the relation between steering wheel and arm coming from the steering box. If there is much play there you will need to pull some shims from the box (not sure on a '36 car) and or adjust the worm/sector adjustment bolt. It's actually a huge and often complex job taking care of all of this, but with one step at a time it is certainly within the scope of someone that really wants to learn the process.

Great instructions!

For the steering box adjustments, check the attachments.

This is the link for "Two Tooth Steering Basics", http://modelabasics.com/twoTooth.htm
 

Attachments

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