I have a 1965 mustang coupe. My steering wheel has a lot of play in it. The adjustment screw on the top of the steering box is all the way out, does that mean I have some room to screw it in to tighten the play up a little? Or do you have to unscrew it to tighten up the play, in that case my steering box is probably shot. Thanks in advance, hopefully this post made sense
Before you fool with the gear lash adjuster, have a mechanic check all steering components for wear, and replace anything that is worn out. Then check the alignment and wheel bearings. If everything checks out, have him/her adjust the steering box for you. I once destroyed a steering box on an old Dodge by fooling with it, when I had no idea what I was doing.
-JD
________________________________________________________ | | | 1998 Laser Red GT RAMFM Member Since 1998 | | M-5400-A Suspension http:/207.13.104.8/users/jdadams || Subframe Connectors & Seat Bracing, Strut Tower Brace || 4-point K-frame Brace, Tremec T-45 & OEM 3.27:1 Gears ||________________________________________________________|
Are you sure it is the steering box? If your '65 is equipped with the power steering ram valve, often the valve needs an adjustment or a rebuild, which can manifest itself as play in the steering response.
I would be VERY careful to avoid making any adjustments to the steering box unless it is proven to be the cause of the problem. As others have said, it can ruin the steering box if done wrong.
Steve
Matt Crow wrote:
The screw is screwed IN to tighten the box but this job is chock full of "gotchas" so listen close.....
Crank the wheel all the way to one side, up agains the stop. Now, counting the turns, crank it all the way to the other stop... back up to exactly half way... at this point we want the steering box to be centered - if the wheel is centered too, that's a bonus but it is the steering box we are worried about here. The reason we need to do this is because worm and sector steering boxes are designed with a "high point" in the middle as a means of compensating for wear.
Loosen off the locknut (5/8ths inch, IIRC) and turn the screw in - this pushes the sector (pitman) shaft deeper into mesh with the ball nut... sometimes they go easy, sometimes they take a little effort but when the effort changes from how it started, you should be close (bear in mind that the absolute correct way to do this is much more detailed and time consuming). At this point check the steering wheel lash and remember that if there is any play in other steering components, you'll need to take that into account. Also remember that it is way easy to crack the plate that the screw goes through if you get rambunctious.
If everything is good, you should be able to tighten the lock nut (about 40 ft/lbs or so should be good) while holding the screw from turning at this point. The first time you drive it, be very careful... the high point in older steering boxes can wear drastically. When this happens, instead of one high point in the middle, you can wind up with play in the middle and two high points - one on each side of centre making the car a real biatch to drive.
Without knowing the history of the car but having seen what some previous owners are capable of, I would, at this time recommend making sure that the tie rods are adjusted so that the wheels a straight ahead and properly toed with the box centered. You may also need to remove the steering wheel and re-install it in the correct juxtaposition - I recall that these columns don't have a master spline.
While you're at it is a good time to check the lube level in the box. Factory fill was 80W90 gear oil but, if the shaft seals are drooling you can get away with light grease such as Lubriplate or chassis grease with an "Arctic" classification... here in Canada, Imperial Esso has Unirex EPArctic that has served well in some of these.
If you are in doubt about any of this, consult a professional.... brakes and steering are too important to guess at.
HTH
The nut on the end of the "ram" loosened off on my Galaxie, causing interesting steering reactions! I double nutted it to lock in place.
Be EXTREMELY careful not to over tighten the nut on the ram valve. If too tight this may result in the steering wheel not returning to center position (by itself) after a turn. This will get your attention in a big hurry if you are not expecting it. Of course if it is too loose, there is play. And to make things even more interesting, the spring that the nut compresses (on a rebuild) 'breaks in' slowly after assembly, so there is a trick or two to this procedure. I ended up taking my best stab at it and letting the spring break in for a week or so and then went back in and gave the nut a tweak. Problem is as I recall going back in means dumping the PS fluid.
Steve
Gordo wrote:
Thanks for the tip. I think it is OK, but with this info, I will check on it next time I'm underneath. I'll check in the service manual for proper procedure too, but as I recall, I just snugged it up and used the second nut as a lock, to prevent me from overtightening.
Gord
what would cause, or contribute to my old Gal wandering. Tires and all components are good. I re-sprung and re-bushed the rear springs to keep the rear from wandering around. I have heard about adjusting the valve, or something like that, on the steering ram. I haven't looked into it for a while now, but do recall some adjusting can be done.
Should a driveway hack try this, with the book handy, or is a guy better ahead buying a complete assembly from Donahue.
TIA Gord
You might be able to see if the ram control ball is too sloppy by having someone slowly work the steering wheel back and forth while closely observing the steering arm and connection to the ram valve ball (with wheels on the ground). On my old '65 GT it was obvious that the ball was moving around quite a bit before making good contact with the guts of the control valve. It also made 'squishing' sounds.
It has been quite a while since I worked on that car -- (sold it years ago I am ashamed to say) but I clearly remember that the adjustment that pre-loaded the ram valve ball required the mechanic (me) to partly disassemble the ram valve to get the the nut, and the nut was locked in place by an internal pin. All of this was inside the sleeve of the ram valve. If you 'double nutted' something, I am guessing we are talking about two different parts.
What part exactly did you 'double nut'?
Steve
Gordo wrote:
I was easily able to rebuild the ram valve myself. However, I did have to get some help from my good friend who has an impact wrench and a 'pickle fork' to remove the ball control stud (I know I am not using the right term here) from the steering box arm. That was a VERY tight fit and banging on it like a crazed monkey (which I was tempted to do at first) would only serve to damage the steering box. So other than releasing that part from the steering box everything else was a cake walk.
steve wrote:
What advice does your alignment/front end specialist offer?
-JD
________________________________________________________ | | | 1998 Laser Red GT RAMFM Member Since 1998 | | M-5400-A Suspension http:/207.13.104.8/users/jdadams || Subframe Connectors & Seat Bracing, Strut Tower Brace || 4-point K-frame Brace, Tremec T-45 & OEM 3.27:1 Gears ||________________________________________________________|
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