VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 '37 steering gear adjustment

I rebuilt my steering gear about two years ago. Replaced the bearings, pitman shaft and bushings. Following the procedures in the shop manual I made adjustments on the bench before installing in the car. I then checked the adjustments after installation. After putting about a 1500 miles on the car the steering has gradually gotten very stiff so I thought I would try another adjustment. The first adjustment is the worm shaft end play. Reading the shop manual indicates that this is the adjustment for stiffness. I placed a spring scale on the steering wheel to measure the tension and got a reading of about 5 pounds before any movement of the steering wheel. Correct reading should be 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds. I have loosened the adjuster substantially without any change in the reading. The gear is full of lube. I am leery of continuing to loosen the adjuster since I am not seeing any changes. I haven't attempted the other two adjustments yet because I believe this first adjustment should take care of the stiffness. I need some advice on this problem.

Thanks, Bob Kelly

I would loosen the other two adjustments slightly to see what happens.
What did you use for a lubricant? If chassis grease it will not flow into the "tight" places and a thiiner lubricant may be necessary. Top it of with gear oil.

I used the 600W lube sold by The Filling Station. They say it is equal to 160W. Will work on the other two adjustments tomorrow.

I readjusted the roller shaft end play and it seemed to take care of the problem. Thanks for the help Gene.