VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 steering problem

Yesterday evening I backed my 29 out of the garage to take it for a short ride and when I was in the road and went to straighten out the wheels by steering wheel somewhat "locked in place". Fortunately I was able to get the car back into the garage but that's it. I disconnected my drag link and the result revealed that it is something in the gear box. Steering wheel still will not turn. I loosened the clamp both on the bottom of the gear box and on the mast. Mast will move up and down but the steering shaft will not move.

Big question is, what is the likely problem once I get the shaft out of the box and then what is the proper grease to be using in the gear box?

Doesn't look like I will be showing the car this weekend. (Too hot in Arizona anyway)

Apparently one of the balls from the upper or lower bearing (or other piece of metal) is loose and jammed in the gears. You will have to disassemble the steering gear to find the jam.

The upper and lower bearings are a special type of open bearing. I know many years ago when I needed a set for my 1930 these special bearings were really hard to find...even way back then.

Thanks Chipper. Guess I have some work to do.

Hello langer,
From reading previous posts concerning what lube to use for steering boxes, I believe oil is recommended over grease. It has been mentioned that grease will not migrate to (lower)? bearing and as a result the bearing runs dry. It may be the same 600 wt. oil as used for the transmission. Others may know for sure.

That's correct, 600W oil is used in steering box. I see steering box's for sale on eBay regularly, you may want to look for a decent used one.

The 600w oil being the original factory fill, however many have substituted other lubricants as the 600w will tend to leak if the gear box is not in as new condition. You can do a search and find other post of various mixes of grease and oil and oil additives (such as STP) most having the intention of creating a heavier lubricant that will still flow yet not leak.

As a test I filled a 1930 Chevrolet steering box that was in excellent condition with STP. The bushings were tight and did not need replacing. The STP all leaked out within a week.

I mixed mine with chassis grease. The chassis grease is too heavy and does not flow, but when mixed with the STP it will.

That sounds like a reasonable solution. I also had a friend tell me that John Deere corn head grease works well because it firms up a bit when not active but liquifies when agitated or moved. He has several rebuilt trucks and has used the JD grease successfully..

Hello langer,
But langer, how do you know that the GREASE will get to all of the areas within the steering box to begin with? Then when everything is used and turned and moved, if it does liquify and moves toward gravity, then maybe the upper parts of the steering box lubrication gets neglected. Maybe the mix of oil and grease has merit.

That is a good point. I will accept that. I know that the gentleman that told me about it has used it successfully without any problems on four of his restored vehicles. One is a 1950 1 ton cabover grain truck and another is a 47 Diamond T. Not throwing it out as gospel but as an alternative