Early Ford Steering Problem

I recently got my 36 on the road and I am having a problem with the steering. I am running a F100 steering box with standard I-beam front end. I had the vehicle aligned and the steering wheel is not always centered when I am going straight.

If I make a right turn the steering wheel is cocked to the right after I straighten out in the lane, and if I make a left it will be cocked to the left. Then after a while the wheel will level out. All of the steering components are new and tight. The guy at the alignment shop told me that the gear box was too tight so I loosened it a bit. I am not sure what else to look at. Any suggestions?

 

Hmmmm....the wheel is turned but your still running straight...and your running a drag link forward.

Rocking on very tight spring shackles maybe?
They would then take a bit of time for road roughness to let them settle back in place.
You could loosen them a bit and use locking nuts or castle nuts and cotter pins.

Not running a Panhard bar, are you?
Installing one could be a good fix as it would prevent the side to side movement from happening at all.

Just thinking out loud. Pics of the setup would be a huge help!

 

Steering box adjustments are done by a procedure, not just loosen or tighten while the box is hooked up to the pitman arm or draglink. All correct steering box adjustments are made with the pitman arm dropped or the drag link disconnected. How long they last and perform is what you lose by incorrect adjustment.

Your wheel is rotating on the shaft, is it? Worn out splines or wheel hub?

Since all Fords prior to 1942 have the springs mounted in tension there should be no sway involved unless the shackles are worn out.

 

That's a logical possibility. I'm slipping, didn't think of that.

 

This is the best pic I have of the steering setup.

 

The steering wheel is new and locked into place with a key-way so there is no way it is moving around. The way that the alignment guy described the steering was that it was so tight it was falling to either the left or the right, and I would constantly have to correct my steering to keep it going in a straight line.

When I did loosen it the steering was much better, but the issue that I posted above was happening before I messed with the steering box.

 

Cross steer...F100? Wasn't expecting that!
What year F100? Kinda looks Vega-ish....

How tight are your king pins and what about your spindle thrust bearings??? Well greased?

Pop off the box tierod end and check everything in the axle for binding.

 

that is an f100 ????does not look like one...

 

Thats true...but without having seen a picture until now it seemed a possibility what with the mixing and matching people do. I've seen them sit almost vertical!!!

This one looks nice though. Clean car and workmanship Rusty Rod!

 

I guess Im not sure what the box is. It was on the car when I got it. Here is a better pic.

 

thats not an f 1oo box. 1940 or so.

 

That is a standard 35-48 car,35 -41 truck style box . Your worm shaft bearings or sector shaft end play adjustment maybe to tight. You need to disconnect the drag link to the right wheel before trying to adjust anything. With things disconnected the wheel should rotate smoothly with only a light drag with the box centered . That is one half way from either full right or left. If that checks out then look to to tight kingpins . Is everything properly lubed?

 

Thanks John,

Before I put the steering together the steering was super tight in the center. I may have to drop the pitman and check it again now that it has been adjusted. The kingpins were good and everything was lubed properly.

 

..also the worm adjustments are done with thin shims on the bottom small cover. So, if you back off the slotted screw aduster for the sector, and it still feels stiff, you may need to shim.


stiff king pins usually make the car wander all over..impossible to keep it going straight.

 

All steering boxes are "tighter at the center" They are made that way internally. So that there is no play in the box when cruising straight down the highway. When adjusting the steering the first thing that you do is center the steering wheel. Disconnect the drag link and count the turns lock to lock. Go back exactly half way and then make any adjustments.

Alignment shops have tools to hold the wheel centered while the steering is adjusted from underneath. This is where the box gets adjusted for no slop when centered. Then you adjust the drag link length to get the wheels pointing straight ahead. The box is built to loosen up a little as it is turned either left or right away from the center high spot when turning a corner. (less friction...easier turning)


When this is done there will be no slop in the box unless it is worn out. If someone tried to adjust the box when it was not centered then it will be too tight at the sweet spot when centered. This often happens when changing steering boxes to a different application like an F100 in an early Ford. (not your case) It's too easy to turn the steering wheel a 1/4 turn instead of modifying/adjusting the drag link to a proper length. If the box is adjusted off center, it will have a tight spot when turning one direction as it passes over the high spot

Your wheel should be centered when you take the above steps and there should be no slop. It should return to center every time unless there is something moving in the linkage....not good.

 

I have one of those set up as a cross steer in my 32.

I found that you have to center the box in order to get the thing adjusted properly. Turn it full lock to lock, divide by two, and that's where you need to be to set the steering preload.

It tends to be a little looser on center. If you take all the slack out of the center, it will be too tight when turned. This is an old style worm and roller. Driving it, you will find a lot of slack when going straight compared to a modern car with R&P, but that's normal.

There's a procedure on the web, but I can't seem to find it. Google around and you'll find it.

 

Mr. Six, That is the defininition of a worn out box!

If you take all the slack out of the center, it will be too tight when turned.

 

I have the same set up, but have occassional right to left wheel wobble problem at any speed. I jacked up the front and the drag link and tie rod seem to be nice and tight, but the steering box arm moves back and forth quite a bit when shaking the wheel by hand. The wobble comes and goes, but scares the heck out of me when it happens. The steering box is probably worn out with age (1936 box), but is there an adjustment to tighten it up a bit to see if that works first? Thx, Casey

 

Refer to JohnEvans post above;

To clarify; disconnect the link like said. Get the box at true dead center by counting turns, to adjust the slotted screw with locknut. You can usually feel with the screwdriver when the screw finally " starts to hit something". Don't overtighten it, or it will cause a bind at dead center. Now you can hook the link back up, put tires on the ground and test for freeplay at the wheel.

The other adjustment is for up and down movement on the shaft that the steering wheel hooks to. If you can see the steering shaft/wheel move up and down a little while lightly rocking the steering wheel back and forth, then you need to change that play to zero by the shims under the the bottom 4 bolt plate.

To me it sounds like you have borderline "death wobble".


EDIT: I forgot an important step; After you find true center of the box with link off, put the link back on to see if your tires are really at true dead center. If not, then adjust your steering link. If you don't get it centered good, you will have free play when driving straight, because like was said, the box does have freeplay at "off center"

 

"death wobble" - I think my 36 has that disease. I am going to stop driving it until I get this sorted out. Would a steering dampener work, or is that just a bandaid? Casey

 

If you have a cross steering set-up a well engineered panhard bar is a good thing... and SoCal and others always use a steering damper, too.

FWIW....