VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 '31 - Tight Steering after rebuild

This one may fall under the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" idiom, but here goes. My '31 Coach steering when I got the car was very easy, with car on jack stands the steering sheel could be turned lock to lock effortlessly. In fact a small push and it would go lock to lock on its own. However, the various ball type joints needed refurbishment and regreasing, the sector shaft bushing had way too much play, steering box was filled with heavy grease, and the horn bushing needed replacement.

So all thet work meant puling everything out, replacing sector gear outer bushing, refilling box with 600W(no leaks!)refitting all the draG LINK/connecting rod and tie rod balls/seats etc. Car also has new king pins and generally, from connecting arm out, steering seems very light.

After installing the new horn bushing yesterday (which admittedly is a tight fit), the steering seems stiffer than it should be. I also checked for backlash, a seperate issue and pitman arm has about 1/8" backlash. I've tried today backing off the steering shaft bearing retainer clamp about a full turn (to ease pressure on thrust bearing), but that did not seem to make any difference.

My question is just how freely should the steering be when everything is to spec. I had box apart to assist in cleaning out all the old grease, at which time I also backed out the shaft bearing clamp a few turns. (I did not remove worm gear or shaft from box). Is it possible that loosening the shaft bearing clamp may dislodge or realign something to cause stiffness? This afternoon I plan to resnug the shaft bearing clamp to point it does not cause further stiffness (as described in manual re worm gear end play) and then to remove backlash in pitman arm. (I have system set up so steering wheel is in proper position in straight ahead.)

Any advice to offer a novice?

There are several possible causes. If it all seemed loose enough before the mast jacket bushing was installed it might be too tight. It should be a snug fit with no noticeable movement (up, down) but not too tight.

If the steering box was adjusted (sometime in the past) and then the bushings and/or bearings replaced then the box needs to be readjusted. There is a process to do so in the Repair Manual. That includes the adjustment of the collar as well as the two halves of the box. Any of the parts not meshing correctly can cause stiffness.

I readjusted the worm gear to eliminate end play and adjusted the sector gear to eliminate backlash. As for the stiffness, I suspect the new horn bushing. I had to use a hardwood board and a hammer to drive the completed assembly onto the shaft. I had prior sanded the shaft lightly with emery cloth and oiled thinly. If bush is too tight, (which it probably is) not sure of any remedy other than wear over time, won't affect anything else except make steering a bit stiffer than normal for a few hundred miles! I think I'll leave it that way for now, pulling the whole assembly apart would be a bit of work now and I'm not sure just what could be done to improve the situation.

The nylon bushing can be easily reamed. Requires taking mast jacket back out to run the reamer through it. If long enough reamer the bushing can be left in the jacket.

No reamer here, will think about pulling everything come next winter. Trying to get car ready for our annual Halifax Antique Car Club show on the 18th, took it last year when half assembled, was a big hit, not many get to see these old girls half dressed!

So all thet work meant puling everything out, replacing sector gear outer bushing, refilling box with 600W(no leaks!)refitting all the draG LINK/connecting rod and tie rod balls/seats etc. Car also has new king pins and generally, from connecting arm out, steering seems very light.

Have you checked the tightness of the kingpins. Disconnect both tie rods and see how much drag when moving the front wheels from left to right.

Hi, as I said, when I disconnect drag ling at pitman arm, steering from there out (including king pins) seems very light, so KP's are not a problem. The stiffness is in the steering wheel even when the drag link is dropped from pitman. I should have mic'ed the shaft and the horn bushing before installing, but didn't. I guess bushing is a couple thousand tight, instead of being a couple thousand slack. Oh well, we learn as we go!