Steering box adjustment

[Nick Nichols]

I just bought a gorgeous 47 Dodge Business Coupe. It is in awesome shape. There is one issue though, the steering is quite firm and hard to turn from a stop. The previous owner rebuilt the entire front end: king pins, gear box, ball joins, etc. Can adjusting the gear box at the top help the problem? Also, does the Pittman arm need to come off before the adjustment? I’m not going to do anything until I can get a shop manual. Any info greatly appreciated. Nick

[ptwothree]

There are two adjustments.  One for bearing preload and one for free play. The measurements are taken at the steering wheel rim with the pittman arm disconnected.  The specs and procedure for doing this op are in the shop manual.  

 

[Nick Nichols]

Thank you for the reply. I have mostly have late 50s Mopar vehicles that have power steering so I may just have to get used to manual steering. Two of the previous owners of this vehicle didn’t notice any problem with the steering.  So do these cars from this era typically have  tight steering?  

 

For now, I’m just going to drive it and try to get used to it before I do any adjustments of any kind. It has Coker classic 600R x 16 tires. Would regular non radial bias ply tires improve steering?  Thank you.

Nick

[Nick Nichols]

The car had 600R x 16 tires on it.  Those are the ones that are radial but made to look like bias ply.   I switched those tires with another car that had regular 600 x 16 bias ply tires. Problem  solved!!   The Dodge steers effortlessly now!!  I was surprised how much of a difference the switch made.     

[Matt Wilson]

You could try jacking up the front end of the car, so it clears the ground, and see how much effort it takes to turn the steering wheel.  It shouldn't be terribly difficult to turn it when it's on the ground, although it will, if course, be more difficult at slow speeds or fully stopped.

Edited March 17, 2018 by Matt Wilson

[Rickricca]

I bought a 47 ford pickup last year. P.O. had replaced a bearing in the steering box. Steered extremely stiff.  Found out he forgot to put oil in it

[Plymouthy Adams]

ouch................was the box destroyed or did adding the lube correct the problem...(albeit some damage done not seen at this time)

[Rickricca]

4 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

ouch................was the box destroyed or did adding the lube correct the problem...(albeit some damage done not seen at this time)

I bought a 47 ford pickup last year. P.O. had replaced a bearing in the steering box. Steered extremely stiff.  Found out he forgot to put oil in it

 

 

nope, filled it with power punch, set up the clearance, no leaks, steers ok. Don’t think the P.O. drove it much