VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION What did you do with your vehicle today? '37 MD

Hello Everyone,

Starting last Nov. I have replaced the brake drums. Removed the torque tube/center section of the rear differential to take care of a leak. I have also decided to replace the rear lever action shocks with tube shocks, using a lower pick-up truck bracket and a mount that I had a guy in the machine shop at work bend up for me.

I had a squeak in the rear that I think was the leaf springs, so I added Delrin between the leafs like you would see on the Posie super slider springs. I did contact Eaton Spring where I had bought these and he suggested I check the ubolts for torque, if they should loosen even a tiny bit it will cause them to move and hence a squeak. He said I should check the torque as part of the rear lube maintenance schedule.

Removed the '38 clutch assembly and flywheel. I think it was Chev Gene that said the '37 bell housing had a different location for the pivot point for the clutch fork, than the '38. It does and the fork was contacting the release bearing off center, wearing out two release bearings. Decided if I was going to remove the trans again, I would put the original clutch back in.

Removed the tail light lenses and painted the inside a gloss white, hoping to improve the day time brake lights.

Removed the engine side cover to eliminate a pesky leak and discovered the valve cover had a bow to the center section and was not sealing the gasket. Fortunately I had a couple and found a good one.

The exhaust manifold needed to be replaced as the 2/3 exhaust port wouldn't seal. The replacement I sent out to Jet-Hot to be coated hoping to cut down on the under hood temp which was emanating thru the firewall.

Replaced the steering shaft horn/support bushing. I had to freeze it in order to press it in. Tougher to do than I thought it should be.

This leads up to this past weekend and into tonight. I bought a rebuild kit for the steering box, a straight forward, simple system, except I can't seem to get the adjustment they talk about.

There is only one guy in the area that could help but he has been ill for the past year with Lyme Disease that was missed diagnosed. So other than sending it out to Lares Corp., would anyone have a lead on someone in the Massachusetts area that could help ??

I guess that is enough for now, hope to see some of you on the road.

Hi Dave,

Thanks for all the updates about your work to keep your ”˜37 going. You do have to keep on top of these old cars if you plan to drive them much.

I am getting ready to get rear shock mounts fabricated. I already have the lower shock mount from a later AD truck.

I wish I could do more to help you with your steering gear adjustment. I seem to remember a thread about your work to rebuild that. The key is to adjust in the sequence defined in the shop manual and to have away to measure the turning resistance.

Hello Everyone,
I have struggled with the steering adjustment process for the last month. I did a little research and discovered what I thought to be a heavy duty replacement sector shaft turns out it was probably boxed with the wrong part or re boxed using a different box. Although the NOS box did describe it as a knee action part. Anyway, I now have the correct part and will try to get it right this time.
One of the problems with the section on rebuilding the steering box is it does not mention the relative position of the eccentric bolt to the eccentric nut as a starting point. It was something I didn't pay attention to when I originally took it apart, any insight to this would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Dave,

While I did not rebuild an MD box I think this guidance might help.

I put all the adjustments at their maximum clearance when I initially assembled the box. That way I knew that they would not interfere with the assembly or create problems when making the adjustments in the proper sequence.

I also suggest that you go through the adjustment sequence twice before installing the box back into the car. Run the box through about 10 full cycles stop-to-stop after the first adjustment sequence.

Be care when reaching the travel limits in the box. Based on what I see you could damage the tapered roller bearings on the sector if you hit the stops too hard.

Hi Rusty,

See this is where the manual seems to skip over the MD steering box. The only taper type bearings support the worm gear/steering shaft in the box and there is a preload measurement.
The '37 sector shaft is supported by bushings.
Up-date:
The replacement sector shaft I received had surface damage from being exposed to moisture and I could not use it. My sector shaft was in good shape except the wheel was worn so I swapped the wheels and assembled the steering box. I think I have the correct clearance. ( the following is out of the car, attached to a vise ) At straight up, with the pitman arm attached for leverage, there is no clearance but no bind. When I rotate the steering wheel, full left or right slowly, it appears to have a little back and forth movement at the pitman arm but seems to be consistent thru its travel.
I will follow your suggestion to turn it stop to stop 10 times and then check the clearance. I have cornhead grease applied to the mating surfaces, otherwise the box is empty.
I have one other question, the manual says to check the steering box to frame clearance. ieave the dash mount secured and back the mounting bolts at the frame off so there is no tension holding the steering box. Measure the gap with feeler gauges, If it should exceed .031, a shim kit is available to correct it.
Mine measured .080. Has anyone encountered this big of a gap ??

I was lucky that I did not have excessive steering box to frame clearance.

With as much clearance as you are measuring I would consider doing something to reduce it. If you do not there will be a bend in the column and shaft. That preload will increase steering effort and increase wear especially in the upper shaft bearing.

I wonder if you can make some type of adjustment at the steering column u-bolt support to address this problem. For example, would washers between the bottom edge of the dash and the top of the bracket reduce the clearance between the box and frame? Sort of a don’t raise the bridge, lower the water approach.

Let me look at the shop manual letter tonight before I comment on any more adjustment.

I would recommend something in the gear box that flows better than corn head grease. I was very disappointed when I opened up my box. There were just large cavities in the grease where the parts moved through their range. It never flowed to the areas where the sector and worm meshed.

Just mix your own concoction of cornhead grease and 85w-140. Use an empty mustard bottle to squeeze it into the box. You want it to flow like thick honey. You might need to add some a coupe of times after you start driving the car.

Hello Rusty,

I went out to the garage after dinner. The steering box is still set up in the vise, clamped to an angle iron. I was able to secure a 6 ft. scale to the bench. I attached a spare pitman arm to sector shaft and marked a center line on the steering link ball.

With the wheel at center, there is no free play or bind, worm gear moves smoothly. ( I have 1 1/2 pounds of tension on the worm gear bearings. ) I move the steering wheel a 1/4 turn and I have a 1/16 movement (,060). Turn the wheel to the stop and back it off slightly and I measure 1/8 of movement (.125)

Are those measurements acceptable or should I try to tighten them up ??

I did read your concerns about the voids and I will definitely make a mix.

Your worm gear preload seems to be ok. If you used new worm gear bearings I would consider tightening them to get 1 3/4 pounds. They will wear in quickly under load.

Remember that you want some end play and some back lash when you preload the worm shaft bearings. That way you know that the resistance is only due to the load on those bearings.

The roller shaft end play is as much a feel adjustment as anything. You will feel the adjusting screw bottom out on the shaft. You don’t want to put excess load on it but make sure the screw is snug against the end of the roller shaft. That will not change your scale reading. If it does you probably have tightened that adjustment too much.

The back lash is the key adjustment. It is be done with the steering gear centered. You loosen the 3 bolts that hold the sector hosing in place so the eccentric will move the whole housing with the roller shaft closer to the worm. This adjustment should increase your spring scale reading slightly.

I think you might need to tighten that a little more if you final reading is only 1 1/2 pounds.

The worm gear is designed so there is some clearance off-center. That makes it easier to steer the car but keeps things tight when going straight.

Hello Everyone,

I am moving this chat to the '37-'41 forum as a continuation of this forum as I think I will need a slightly larger audience for help.

Thank you Rusty for your insight and help.