Steering wheel play

J

Jon-Ohio

Senior Member
How much end play should be in the steering wheel ? - this is for a rebuilt (2 tooth) steering system - new worm, bearings , sector shaft , races . seals, rebuilt pitman arms and yokes , new drag link and tie rod hardware. And I adjusted it according to the service bulletin technique while out of the car.

I have about 3" in steering wheel end play which seems a little excessive to me and it steers harder in making turns - "armstrong" steering to say the least - I'm not sure if this is normal or too much. Any advice is appreciated - thanks
 
I have done the same procedure for my 31 coupe. Before almost a quarter turn worth of play in the steering and now about what you are describing. There are lots of factors here but when I compared mine to the other cars in our local club mine was as good or better than everyone else (over 20 cars). Is this non rolling play? How is it while driving?
 
Jon-Ohio said:
How much end play should be in the steering wheel ? - this is for a rebuilt (2 tooth) steering system - new worm, bearings , sector shaft , races . seals, rebuilt pitman arms and yokes , new drag link and tie rod hardware. And I adjusted it according to the service bulletin technique while out of the car.

I have about 3" in steering wheel end play which seems a little excessive to me and it steers harder in making turns - "armstrong" steering to say the least - I'm not sure if this is normal or too much. Any advice is appreciated - thanks
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First of all, A Model A steering gear correctly rebuilt and adjusted with good parts inside should have just about no play at all in the straight ahead position. I would go back and go over the adjustment.

As far as hard steering is concerned, there are several things you can do to help this.

I like to install needle bearings in the sector shaft housing and in place of the upper column bushing. Be sure you have the proper adjustment on the worm bearings. They should have no end play but not be tight. Using 600W oil is also good. and also you can install a shortened pitman arm which will help with effort required.

Be sure when the front wheels are exactly in the straight ahead position, the steering gear is on center. Go over Les Andrews instructions again, there has to be a reason your car has so much play and steers hard.

Chris.
 
Make sure the steering box to frame bolts are tight and make sure the pitman arm bolt is tight. These are two often overlooked causes for lost motion in steering play.
 
The fun thing about Model A steering is that you can tweek it and make it much better -- every year or two. If you drive the car, you can expect to get really good at the job.
For starters, make sure the steering unit is tight to the frame. The bolts have cotter pins, so plan on a couple minutes for this exercise. Also, confirm that the pitman arm is tight to the sector shaft. Just a smigen of play can translate to another inch of correction at the steering wheel.
Then, turn threaded plug ends into the tie rod and drag link ends. 1/2 turn, each to start. More than that could affect the toe in, so you'll need your chalk and toe in gauge handy. Budget some more time 'cause there are lots of those pesky cotter pings. Grease everything up while you are down there. Then, make sure your wheel bearings aren't too sloppy. Lots of guys like to run them loose. But too loose can add to the wobble.
Finally, after you clean the grease out of the cuts on your fingers from the cotter pins and get your bandaids stuck on, take 'er for a spin. You will have made a big difference, no doubt!
Back in the day, the Ford dealer's mechanic would handle all these details for the cost of a Big Mac while you looked over the new models!
 
All good advice.. The adjustments can be made with the box in the car, even the 4th/last one.. I 'warped ' a screwdriver to fit.. It pays to go over the adjustments several times, if an adjustment is made, the previous ones should to be re-checked.. It could be a two beer job..
 
I just rebuilt my steering box I only put a new upper race and the longer oil fill tube and new gasket set in used all of my old parts they were not in too bad a shape. Before I had a quarter turn of the steering wheel it was just looking for something to hit! Now I have about 3/4" play and steers great! I found a club member from another club to help, I was missing the adjusting cone it would have never adjusted with it gone. By any chance are you missing a part? Try to get with somebody that can help in a local club hope you have good luck, Robert DeBord
 
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