| PeterFord | -- 05-10-2011 @ 11:25 AM |
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I have a 51 F1 pickup. I noticed that the steering wheel spokes appeared to be off center by a full half turn. I recently re-aligned it so that the single spoke was at the bottom when the wheels were straight ahead. That was 6 months ago. I just pulled off the steering wheel and re-aligned it. I also checked the pitman arm for tightness. All was tight and firm. Can the pitman arm lose its grip on the shaft spline? Or can the steering wheel?
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| PeterFord | -- 05-10-2011 @ 2:08 PM |
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I found out what it was. Dennis Carpenter's tech guy told me that I probably hit a pot hole and threw it out of alignment, which makes the sleeve on the tie rod jump a thread. Exactly what happened. I was on an old farm road yesterday and bumped it a lot. Problem solved. Peter
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| Stroker | -- 05-10-2011 @ 3:27 PM |
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PeterFord: I believe you may have found the problem, as Pitman arms don't slip, and neither do splined steering wheels. I am a little concerned however that your tie rod "jumped a thread", as I have hit some serious stuff with our 51 F1 when it was just a few years old, and bent a front spring mainleaf without affecting the tie rod. If the tie rod "slipped" it might be time to evaluate the condition of the internal threads in the rod as well as the tie rod ends. If the clamps were loose, or have ever been loose, that can destroy the integrity of the threaded adjustable connection.
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| 51f1 | -- 05-12-2011 @ 8:01 AM |
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I doubt that anything "jumped a thread," unless there is serious deterioration of the threads. Maybe the steering wheel was just installed wrong. If the tie rod end "jumped a thread," your toe-in/toe-out is incorrect and should be adjusted. Richard
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| supereal | -- 05-12-2011 @ 10:47 AM |
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Because of the geometry of the steering system, any change in the linkage is amplified. This will cause the position of the steering wheel to be altered. The centering of the steering gear is important, as there is a "sweet spot" on the worm gear that allows the steering to return to straight ahead after a turn. I'd place the steering wheel in the center position, then examine the front wheels, tie rod, and drag link to see where they are if, in fact, the steering wheel was correct in the first place. "Jumping a thread" is a new one on me. I suspect something broke or bent, and needs to be found before the vehicle is driven in an unsafe condition.
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| 1932BB | -- 05-14-2011 @ 5:41 AM |
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I had occasion to see and handle a tie rod end that was completely pulled out of an adjusting sleeve. It was possible to insert and remove the tie rod end in the sleeve by jiggling it as the threads were rounded off to some degree in both parts. This was caused by hitting a 6x6 block of wood in excess of 70 MPH on a Michigan freeway. The driver saw the block but thought it was a paper bag. The car was a modern Dod** however. I am guessing that better materials and workmanship were employed by Ford in 1951. Interestingly, the car was driven hundreds of miles under all conditions until a pedestrian flagged down the car in a small town after seeing the wheel wobble when the car was rounding a corner. A fool's luck!
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| supereal | -- 05-14-2011 @ 2:35 PM |
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We just replaced all the tie rod ends and ball joints on our 2007 Mopar shop truck. It got to the point that it wandered badly. None of the joints had grease fittings, and just fell apart. The replacements all have fittings. I suppose Chrysler saved a few cents on each truck, but they are a time bomb just waiting to fail. It was not a cheap vehicle, either.
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