Repair advice wanted; Tight steering box

[John Newell]

Hi John,

You don't say if it's tight all the way through the travel or just at the straight ahead position? Also that's it's not just heavy steering at slow speeds which isn't unusual. It's hard to envisage that the clearances have tightened up if they were previously well set, the likely explanation is that the lubricant has dried or leaked away. Try reapplying some thick oil or grease through the nipple on the top, there's other threads on here extolling the virtues of various products but anything will be better than dry gears.

If that doesn't have a noticeably positive effect then it's steering box out time (though, depending what's in the way, with a bit of ingenuity it can be done insitu). Again there's other threads on here about setting up a steering box. There's three adjustments and you need to do them in the correct order; firstly end clearance on the steering column (can you feel any up and down movement at the steering wheel?), then the end clearance on the drag arm (does it go in and out of the box?), finally the gear meshing slackening the three cover nuts and pulling the cover with the lateral nut. You should look for just the feel of a tight spot at the straight ahead position when the drag link arm should be vertical.

I hope you get a better feel to the steering; it is important!

Dave

Thanks for your reply Dave. It's very useful.
When up on axles stands the steering is very stiff in all positions and in both directions. Stiffness the same rate everywhere.
I had wondered about lubricant. Wondering if I can drive Penrite Groil in with a grease gun... Hmm.
Have searched on this new site with nothing coming up. Am I searching the wrong way somehow, or are these threads on the old forum?

The column end play; is that adjusted by threading the column in or out, on the big thread at the box?

And how is the end clearance adjusted?

Please forgive the newly questions, without a lot of research. I'm armpits deep in sand bending a new tuned-length exhaust manifold. Juggling lots of other engine rebuild tasks too.

Regards John

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Hi John,

You don't say if it's tight all the way through the travel or just at the straight ahead position? Also that's it's not just heavy steering at slow speeds which isn't unusual. It's hard to envisage that the clearances have tightened up if they were previously well set, the likely explanation is that the lubricant has dried or leaked away. Try reapplying some thick oil or grease through the nipple on the top, there's other threads on here extolling the virtues of various products but anything will be better than dry gears.

If that doesn't have a noticeably positive effect then it's steering box out time (though, depending what's in the way, with a bit of ingenuity it can be done insitu). Again there's other threads on here about setting up a steering box. There's three adjustments and you need to do them in the correct order; firstly end clearance on the steering column (can you feel any up and down movement at the steering wheel?), then the end clearance on the drag arm (does it go in and out of the box?), finally the gear meshing slackening the three cover nuts and pulling the cover with the lateral nut. You should look for just the feel of a tight spot at the straight ahead position when the drag link arm should be vertical.

I hope you get a better feel to the steering; it is important!

Dave

Thanks for your reply Dave. It's very useful.
When up on axles stands the steering is very stiff in all positions and in both directions. Stiffness the same rate everywhere.
I had wondered about lubricant. Wondering if I can drive Penrite Groil in with a grease gun... Hmm.
Have searched on this new site with nothing coming up. Am I searching the wrong way somehow, or are these threads on the old forum?

The column end play; is that adjusted by threading the column in or out, on the big thread at the box?

And how is the drag arm end clearance adjusted?

Please forgive the newly questions, without a lot of research. I'm armpits deep in sand bending a new tuned-length exhaust manifold. Juggling lots of other engine rebuild tasks too.

Regards John