Upper Steering Column bushing

[johnbuckley]

I can shift my steering column shaft laterally slightly and I assume the wick in the bushing has worn away over the years. Is there a " farmers fix" that people have used as I don't want to dis-assemble the whole steering just to remedy this minor rattling irritant . ( 1928 RHD 7 tooth just to add to the equation)

 

[Lawrie]

There was available a few years back a little kit that replaced the top bush assy with a needle roller.
Cant remember where though.
Lawrie

 

[nkaminar]

Without dissembling the steering box, remove the steering wheel. They sometime pop right off but you may need to use a puller (sold on the vendor's sites). Remove the control levers (note which way they install so that they get put back correctly. Hammer the rods up from the bottom to break the little pins. Depending on your body style, you may need to lower the steering column by removing the pitman arm, the two bolts that hold the box to the frame, and the brace at the top. The bearing is held on with two screws. Remove the screws and pull up the bushing at the top. You may need to drill and tap the bushing and use an impact puller like that used to pull out dents. Replace the bushing after saturating the bearing with oil. Drill and tap for new screws. Put everything back together. Remove what is left of the pins at the bottom of the control rods and the levers and install new pins. The pins are held in by the spring tension. You can compress the springs in a vice and use 4 loops of strong waxed twine to keep it compressed by using a surgical knot. After installation of the levers, cut the twine and pull it out with a set of pliers.

Another option is to just put a shim at the bearing after removing the wheel. I have one of those shims that came with my car but don't know where to get them. You can fabricate a shim using some brass shim stock. It is shaped like a sleeve bearing with a flange but has a gap at one side.

 

[Benson]

delete

Never mind ... I miss-read the question ...

 

[rotorwrench]

The material is like a piece of cotton webbing in the reproduction bushings. It's relatively thick webbing or strap material and the bore is recessed inside so that it won't work It's way out. A person applies grease to the new part to let it rotate.

On a 7-tooth, the steering shaft and worm would have to be pulled or pushed out the bottom far enough to allow access to the bore. If the outer bore allows due to whatever clearance is there, a person might be able to push something like a shoe lace in there but I've never tried it. I just replaced one for a 29 2-tooth Gemmer unit but the column jacket pulls off so it's different on them. I converted a later 30/31 unit to a 29 unit so it'll finally have a 29 wheel on it. I had to shorten the jacket by 13/16" to get it in the right place. I'm shortening the throttle & spark rods right now. I think the quadrant is from an older 7-tooth column but it fits right on there.

 

[johnbuckley]

Thank you everyone...shimming it had crossed my mind...but a shoe lace.... never thought of that, what an excellent idea!

 

[rackops]

I just had this same experience. Having had the opportunity to be an apprentice judge for Area 8 (steering column) at the MARC national meet, the first thing I did when I saw my potential new Model A was check for side-to-side play in the steering wheel. And...sure enough...it had plenty of play. Of course, the seller informed me that "it's always been that way...shouldn't the Model A have loose steering??"

LUCKILY, I knew what the problem was and how to fix it.

I pulled the steering wheel, and sure enough, there was the old piece of woven material. Since the ends of the spark and throttle levers were painted into the springs and control arms, I ended up using my Dremel to cut the control arms off. It wasn't awesome, but it was the best and fastest way to get it done (new arms aren't expensive).

I pulled the levers and the bushing was 100% stuck in place. I tried removing the screws on either side of the steering column, but they didn't budge. I then resorted to more extreme measures and drilled out the screws. Still. The bushing didn't budge.

I finally had to go in with a drill, hammer, and chisel and break the upper bushing out in pieces, being careful not to get any of the chunks lost in the steering column. At this point, it would have been easier to remove the steering column from the car and work on it, but I was already committed and wanted to see if I could do it.

I got all of the old pieces of the bushing out and then installed the new bushing. I copiously saturated the woven lining around the steering column with oil and then went to work pressing the bushing into place. It did NOT want to go in the column! I finally got it into place but marred the finish a bit with the punches I used. I cleaned it up with a polishing tip on my Dremel to remove the scratches.

I then drilled and tapped screw holes on either side of the steering column into the bushing and replaced the #10 screws that were originally there.

I also noticed that the spark and throttle rods did NOT want to go back in! So, I ended up drilling out those holes in order to get the rods in place. THEN came the joy of aiming the rods "just so" in order to get them in the holes at the bottom of the steering column. It probably would have been easier (and better) if I had installed the rods into the bushing before installing the bushing, but it would have been impossible at that point to get the bushing into place.

Once the rods were in place, I replaced the springs on the ends. I used a vice and thin picture hanger wire to compact them. I only used two strands of wire and the first spring went on, no problem. The second spring kept "springing" itself and I finally had to fight the wire to get it to hold and get it into place. That was a pain! I got both arms on, installed the pins, and then gave the ends of the rods a nice coat of clear spray as the rod ends are unpainted and I didn't want them to rust.

This might have been one of the more painful repairs I've done, but it went about as smoothly as I could hope. I wish the woven material in the steering bushing was better...or if they sold a roller bearing to take it's place (I haven't seen one, but it might not be where I've looked either), but otherwise it was not impossible and took care a serious issue.

Dave

 

[nkaminar]

One option is to machine a brass or bronze bushing to replace the woven material. Or use JB Weld and ream to fit the shaft.

Rackops: If you use 4 loops to keep the springs compressed, they don't tend to spring. Also, if you use the waxed wipping cord available from marine supply stores, you can cut it with a knife when the arms are in place and pull it out with a set of pliers. Use a surgical knot to tie the cord.

 

[rackops]

Yes, the whipping cord probably would have been easier. The picture hanging wire was convenient though (I had it handy) and twisted nicely with a pair of needle-nosed pliers. Using four lengths would have been helpful though...that was the issue with the second spring. I got it to work out, but still a bit of a headache. I have no idea how someone would be able to do it without compressing the springs though!

 

[rotorwrench]

I went through the same problems as above. I had to resess the screws for the bushing & quadrant to match the rusted out originals. I had to file and sand the bushing to remove the machine marks. The new ones are aluminum so they will likely come out easier than the OEM zinc die casting. I sanded & smoothed the inside of the column jacket. I have tail pipe expander that I used to remove dents in the jacket and make the bushing slide in a little easier. I still have to drive it a bit but I can start it by hand. It makes it easier to put the anti rattlers on the rods then start driving it in. The Gemmer boxes with the separate column jacket is much easier than the Ford 7-tooth box & column to reassemble.

One guy soldered some welding rods on the ends of the spark & throttle rods so he could get them to go through the spring bulkhead. The 7- tooth is complicated to reassemble for sure.