Who Rebuilds Steering Boxes?

Brobrian

Brobrian

Senior Member
A few years back I replaced the internals (Sector shaft, worm gear, bushings) on my '28 coupe's steering box in hopes that I could fix the wobble and ease the hard steering. Since then I've also replaced the pitman arm and all the internals on the tie rod ends. Still wobbles and still steers hard. When I first did the steering box, i found that the Lower assembly was shot and the actually steering shaft was all boogered up as well. Couldn't get a machine shop to turn down the shaft so I could fit it in a bigger bushing, so now I'm thinking I'm just to dumb for the job. Perhaps I should send it to a pro. I believe the car has an early AR shaft. If possible, I'd like to keep it original rather than going with the F100 steering box.
Any recommendations?
 
The problem may not be in the steering column assembly. Hard steering can be caused by a worn or improperly shimmed spindle bearing. If this bearing is worn out or improperly shimmed it will cause the bottom of the axle to rub against the bottom of the spindle and cause very hard steering. This may be more of a job than you want to get into because the kingpins and spindles will have to be removed to correct this problem. If you have a Snyders catalog look at the exploded diagram on page A-107 . The parts that I reffer to is king pin bearing number 2 Part# A-3123 and king pin shim number 3 part# A-3107 . Many times more than one shim will be needed under the bearing on top of the spindle . If the steering assembly doesn't have internal drag, this king pin bearing and shim is the number one cause of hard steering. You can easily check this bearing without removing anything. With the wheels on the ground , bearing the weight of the car, grasp this bearing with your fingers and see if it will rotate back and forth. If the bearing rotates this will indicate that the bearing isn't doing the job that it is suppose to do and the lower part of the spindle is dragging on the bottom of the axle and causeing your hard steering problem. To rule out drag in the steering assembly, disconnect the pitman arm and turn the steering wheel and if the steering wheel is hard to turn, the steering assembly will have drag and need proper adjustment. Improper shimming at the lower end of the column will cause drag on the worm bearings. If the sector thrust screw is too tight it will cause drag on the sector and may need backing off slightly. If the toe in is off it will cause shimmy . The toe in should be adjusted to 1/16. A worn and sagging front spring can also cause shimmy. If the frame is sagging at the rear motor mounts it will effect front end camber and cause shimmy. Anything loose about the front end will contribute to shimmy . Loose spindle arms where they bolt to the spindle is a big cause of front end shimmy. Just a few things to check.
 
What Purdy says.

If that turns out to be OK, then, maybe a proper 2 tooth box may help. I would prefer a box with with a properly fit bushing rather than the bearing.
 
I'd love to tackle the kingpin bushings and bearings. I just don't want to get into something that I don't have the proper tools for. The idea of reaming them out with a reamer and a hand drill seemed likely to turn out poorly. Isn't that something best done with the axle out of the car and maybe in a machine shop? If you say it can be done in a garage then I'll order the reamer, bushings and bearing tomorrow!

The steering is harder than it should be when the wheels are off the ground. I've actually taken the column and box out and seen the bunged up lower bushing and the deep grooves in the end of the column itself. So I know that part is shot. Yesterday when I rotated the tires I inspected steering pitman arm and tie rods and found the play to be in the box. That is, I was able to turn the wheels by hand and watch the pitman arm rotate the sector shaft quite a bit while the steering wheel stayed still.

Also, thanks for helping me out on this. I don't really know anybody who knows A's. And Dad is not as clear on these things as he used to be.
 
Look carefull where the pitman arm clamps to the square shaft. I tiny bit of play here is a lot of play at the wheel. That bolt needs to be very tight.
 
Right, Thanks Tom.

I just looked up King Pins in Les Andrews. I can do this. I was mistaken about where the bushings were. I thought they were in the axle, but I see they are in the spindle, which can be put in a vice, or under a drill press. I'm going to order the parts soon so I can do this over the Thanksgiving weekend. The damn reamer is expensive, though. Another tool I'll probably only use once just like my flywheel alignment checker thingy.

However, I still need to have the lower box repaired, and may need to replace the steering column shaft itself. So, I'll still need to contact the two guys listed above. Hate to send things away to be repaired by people I don't know, and who can't explain to me what they've done.

I'm already looking forward to the king pin repair.
 
I would suggest not ordering the reamer and having the bushings honed. Most any automotive machine shop can do that reasonable. Gary
 
The king pins should probably be done by a good auto machine shop. Both bushings need to be reamed or honed together.
I've done them both ways. In years past we were able to hone them. Now I ream them with out a problem. But, I use an adjustable ream for the final cut.
Whatever you do, turn the ream in only the correct direction, do not turn it backwards. And do not turn it with a drill motor.
As far as rebuilt steering boxes, just about any of the vendors handle them now, but, I think they have a needle bearing rather than a bushing.
 
Rebuilding steering boxes is not hard. Have done several 7 tooth boxes and three 2 tooth boxes. Worst part about rebuilding the 2 tooth is pressing off and on the worm gear. The 7 tooth is not as adjustable as the 2 tooth and seem to wear faster. Rod
 
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