Loose steering

[38plymouth]

Now that I'm retired I've been driving my car a lot. Pretty much almost every day now that the cooler weather is here. One thing that has always bothered me about the car is the steering is loose and on certain roads the thing is a handful. I got under it the other day and checked everything I could and I really don't find anything loose except with the front jacked up if I move the wheels back and forth there is maybe a quarter inch of play that I traced back to the steering box. Everything else looks good. Also with the car on the ground you can turn the steering wheel back and forth probably 4 or 5 inches before the tires move. I really want to fix this but I'm not exactly sure what the fix is. I have tried adjusting the screw on the side in the past and don't think that did a whole lot but I'm willing to try that again if that might be the issue. Or could it be I need to remove shims on the front of the box? Or would you think it's just a worn out steering box? This is a very original car with 47,000 miles. It's driving me crazy and now that I got it running really good I would love to get it steering really good.

Edited November 24 by 38plymouth

[Loren]

Do a search of the topics, there are a number of posts on steering gear adjustments or send me a PM and I will walk you through it.

Most of the time the slop is in the tapered roller bearings, which can be adjusted if they are not too bad. Because the seal is on the bottom the lube runs out over time and things wear.

It's real job to remove the steering gear but you can replace the bearings in the car if needed, but even that is not fun.

[38plymouth]

Can you tell me how do I know if it's the bearings though? Everything feels tight in the steering box from what I can tell except there is the play in the wheel I'm having trouble adjusting that screw with the nut on it because the nut and screw are really tight and there is much room to get a screwdriver in there. I'm tempted to back that screw out completely so I can get the nut freed up from it so I can do a better job of adjusting it. I'm just not sure if I can pull that screw completely out without messing anything up. My manual doesn't really show a ton of information on that.

[Sniper]

If I recall correctly the nut is just there to lock down the screw so the adjustment doesn't move. You have to loosen the nut before you can adjust the screw.

[38plymouth]

I understand that the nut is practically Frozen on the screw and there's really no room to get a screwdriver in there. Even a shorty screwdriver and it's just so hard to adjust I kind of want to back it completely out and clean it up so the nut and screw adjust easier but I'm not sure if I can pull that screw out without goofing anything up.

[Sniper]

 

 

 

 

[Merle Coggins]

This is a video that I reference regarding adjusting the steering box. Although he is working on a Packard, the steering box is very similar, and so that adjustment procedure is the same. I also recommend having someone turn the steering wheel back and forth, with the wheels on the ground, while you look for any loose joints. Even a small amount of play in the tie rod ends, drag link ends, or king pins, will be multiplied in steering wheel free play. Make sure all of these joints are tight first, then go after the steering gear adjustment as shown here. If you get it too tight you'll experience a tight spot in the steering, so be careful to only adjust to zero clearance. 

 

[38plymouth]

2 hours ago, Merle Coggins said:

This is a video that I reference regarding adjusting the steering box. Although he is working on a Packard, the steering box is very similar, and so that adjustment procedure is the same. I also recommend having someone turn the steering wheel back and forth, with the wheels on the ground, while you look for any loose joints. Even a small amount of play in the tie rod ends, drag link ends, or king pins, will be multiplied in steering wheel free play. Make sure all of these joints are tight first, then go after the steering gear adjustment as shown here. If you get it too tight you'll experience a tight spot in the steering, so be careful to only adjust to zero clearance. 

 

I've seen those other videos but the first time I've seen this one. This makes more sense to me. Unfortunately on my 38t the adjusting screw is on the side and it's hard to get to. I did just check the fluid level and of course it was very low on gear oil so I filled it up and I don't know if it's just in my head but I swear it feels tighter right now. I'm going to go out and take it for a drive. I may try to use this method though and adjust it when I have a little more time to get dirty.