Need help with steering

P

Pastor Bill

Junior Member
I got to drive my 29Tudor today for the first time. It was very difficult to keep it within my lane. Before I drove it, I put the front end on jack stands, greased every fitting I could see, including the steering box. I held the top and bottom of each wheel and tried to shake it. Very little play, probably less than 1/8 inch. Am I correct that this can usually be corrected by tightening the wheel bearings?
When I shook the wheel sideways, I got about 5/8 inch wobble. I looked at what was moving and removed the cotter pin and tightened the castle nut and this reduced the wobble to less than 1/8 inch. The tires are new and inflated to the recommended pressure. I have done a search on this forum and did not find anything which I believe addressed my problem.
I received a lot of help here when I was working on my water pump/cooling system problems, and that has been resolved.
Although I am not a trained mechanic, I feel very comfortable working on older cars. I have the les Andrews book and other books which came with the car.
Once I resolve this problem, I have a number of issues with the car which need to be addressed.
Thanks for your help, Bill
 
When you get the problem solved, I hope you post it. You have probably already double checked everything steering related in the Les Andrews bible. If you have the old Jim Schild manual, his steering gear diagnosis and adjustment section is very clear and straight forward. If you have a worn-out 7-tooth, you may want to find an early 2-tooth (shorter st. col. for the '29) to rebuild. Watch out for the degree of taper on the ends of the worm and its races and bearings, so you get that all matched up, if you go that route. I think the after market st. gear guts have evolved to useable. One problem I've had, though, is that some of the aftermarket sector gear teeth are too square on the ends and will dig into the worm gear and need to be carefully dressed down so the gears will mesh at the right spot. Otherwise, the st. gear can't be adjusted because the st. shaft will bind. Also, don't over-tighten the worm gear bearings, as I think that is the cause of most of the galling that occurs on its tapered ends and bearings. This is is just one possibility for your problem.
 
As an aside to your question, the steering box doesn't take grease, it takes 600 gear lube....... That has no effect on your question, however.
 
King bee
Yes, I read that the steering box takes 600 wt. oil, but the steering box on my car has a zerk fitting on the top. Wow! I just looked at the drawing of the 7 tooth steering box in the snyder's catalog, and it shows an oil fill plug in the location of the grease fitting on my car! There is another grease fitting on the lower steering housing. When I greased it, I put in a lot of grease!!! Apparently the previous owner, who is now deceased, also used grease in the steering box, based on the fact that the fitting had dried grease around it. Do I have a problem?
 
If you have not already done so, check the toe-in on the front wheels. If you have tightened up the tie rod ends, you need to go back and check toe. If the toe is not set correctly, the car can wonder all over the place. I usually set the toe to about 3/16 to 1/4" toe in.

Also, do not over tighten the front wheel bearings. Do it according to Les Andrews book. They need just a slight amount of play, but NO PRE-LOAD.

Just a suggestion, CW
 
Pastor Bill said:
King bee
Yes, I read that the steering box takes 600 wt. oil, but the steering box on my car has a zerk fitting on the top. Wow! I just looked at the drawing of the 7 tooth steering box in the snyder's catalog, and it shows an oil fill plug in the location of the grease fitting on my car! There is another grease fitting on the lower steering housing. When I greased it, I put in a lot of grease!!! Apparently the previous owner, who is now deceased, also used grease in the steering box, based on the fact that the fitting had dried grease around it. Do I have a problem?
Click to expand...

If your steering box is full of grease, yes, you have a problem. Get rid of that zirk fitting, and determine what you've got in the box. That may answer your questions about loose steering. You may have to disassemble it if it's clogged with old grease. When you put it back together, use the 600w only.
 
Pastor Bill said:
King bee
Yes, I read that the steering box takes 600 wt. oil, but the steering box on my car has a zerk fitting on the top. Wow! I just looked at the drawing of the 7 tooth steering box in the snyder's catalog, and it shows an oil fill plug in the location of the grease fitting on my car! There is another grease fitting on the lower steering housing. When I greased it, I put in a lot of grease!!! Apparently the previous owner, who is now deceased, also used grease in the steering box, based on the fact that the fitting had dried grease around it. Do I have a problem?
Click to expand...
If it has been used with bearing grease for several years, you do have a problem. Bearing grease has no clinging properties so, as the worm turns it squeezes the grease off the sector. This creates a metal to metal condition and wear is rampant. This is more than likely why you have so much play in the steering when driving. The steering can be tight in every way sitting still but wander all over the road when running because the play in the worm and sector is very small at the gears but huge at the wheels. It's a leverage thing. The only cure is to replace the worm and sector. The worm is pressed on and not a job for hobbyists to try at home unless you have a mill, band saw, and press. I do these and bent several shafts before I made the tools to do it correctly.
 
Check your toe in as was said before. Mine did the same thing when I first bought it. I found it to have a 3/4" toe OUT! Corrected it and the difference was amazing. I talked to an alignment shop and they recommended ZERO toe in, they insisted on it even when I told them that that Fordbarn people had told me 1/4". It sure drives nice now so I guess I would recommend the zero.
 
' 1/4" ' ,, Humm,, thats a lot.. I think Ford first recommended 3/16" but changed to 1/16" not too long after production started.. But, maybe it was 1/4" rather than 3/16".. I try for 1/32",, but,, it doesn't take much of a twist to change this quite a bit..
 
The early toe in specs was changed to reduce drag and tire wear . Three sixteenths would be enough drag to even effect power . You do need some toe in to keep it going straight and prevent shimmy . I have been setting mine at 1/16 for the past 20 years with good results .
 
Page 282 in the "Service Bulletins" states that the toe-in should be changed from 3/16" to 1/16".

I wonder if the allignment shop that recommended zero toe-in wasn't thinking of front wheel drive cars, where the front tires pull the car, and would tend to turn inward, vs the Model A with rear wheel drive, where road friction would tend to turn the tires outward.
 
Not to be disagreeable , I wouldn't worry much about the grease right now as long as it has enough and not leaking . If it has a lot of play at the steering wheel, the usual cause is not a tight enough connection at the pitman arm . Look under the drivers side front fender at the pitman arm where it connects to the steering sector . While you watch, have someone move the steering wheel back and forth . Not far enough to really move the wheels but firmly from end to end of the slack at the steering wheel . If you detect the slightest movement between the square end of the sector and the pitman arm, this will be a large part of the problem. The slightest fraction of movement between sector and pitman arm will end up as inches of play at the steering wheel . If movement is detected , Remove the cotter pin, I use a six point socket and a long 1/2 inch drive pull handle to tighten this nut . A 3/8 ratchet and socket would strip the ratched before it could tighten the pitman arm nut enough . Tighten the nut enough to remove all slack and replace the cotter pin . If the pin doesn't line up, you can slighgtly tighten more for alignment but don't back off on the nut to align the cotter pin .

As said above toe in is important. If it happens to actually be toed out at the front , it would really cause problems . I would have the toe in set at 1/16 plus or minus a 32nd . I would check for slack at the wishbone connection, under the bell housing . I use the rubber ball cover setup on mine and have never had a problem . Some go to a lot of expense with the original metal to metal set up . I almost forgot but you need to check the bolts that connect the steering box to the frame. These bolts and nuts need to be very tight or it will cause wander and sometimes shimmy . There are a couple more adjustments that can be made for the seven tooth steering . If any of this helps and you need help with the oither adjustments, I will try and walk you through them .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top