| zoopie36 | -- 01-30-2014 @ 8:08 AM |
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I own a 1936 Ford coupe and the steering is quite difficult. Would appreciate any helpful suggestions. Thanks, zoopie
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| 40fordor | -- 01-30-2014 @ 7:13 PM |
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Zoopie36, The first thing to check is the lubricant in the steering box. I purchased my 36 from a well known collector and he employed someone full time to service his cars and the steering box was dry! It still leaks but I monitor the level. I yield to the experts for other problems in steering. Don
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| CharlieStephens | -- 01-30-2014 @ 8:51 PM |
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Drive another '36 ford to be sure you know what they should feel like. Don't drive a '37 as they were improved (in fact some people put them into their '36's). Charlie Stephens
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| supereal | -- 01-30-2014 @ 8:59 PM |
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Lift the front end, place stands under the axle. Disconnect the drag link from the pitman arm, and see if the steering wheel is still hard to turn. That will isolate problem to either the front end parts or the steering box. If it turns out to be the front end, suspect the king pins. They may not have been greased, or were assembled incorrectly with the bearing on the wrong side of the spindles. I have seen that more than once. If it turns out to be the steering box, and adding lube doesn't change it, it is likely it will need to be disassembled and the bearings replaced. The location of the box to the left exhaust manifold can mean the lube was baked nearly solid.
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| supereal | -- 01-30-2014 @ 9:00 PM |
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Lift the front end, place stands under the axle. Disconnect the drag link from the pitman arm, and see if the steering wheel is still hard to turn. That will isolate problem to either the front end parts or the steering box. If it turns out to be the front end, suspect the king pins. They may not have been greased, or were assembled incorrectly with the bearing on the wrong side of the spindles. I have seen that more than once. If it turns out to be the steering box, and adding lube doesn't change it, it is likely it will need to be disassembled and the bearings replaced. The location of the box to the left exhaust manifold can mean the lube was baked nearly solid.
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| alanwoodieman | -- 01-31-2014 @ 8:21 AM |
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1936 is the only year that Ford tried needle bearings (think universal joint) in the steering box in place of the bushings, these bearings have a very bad habit of freezing up . As i said they only tried it one year. I have helped change these out for bushings, but you cannot use standard ford-they need to be a lot thicker. We got some from a McMaster-Carr catalog, don't know the numbers
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| woodiewagon46 | -- 01-31-2014 @ 8:53 AM |
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I had two ball joints, at different times freeze up. Listen to supereal and you will be ok.
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| keith oh | -- 02-02-2014 @ 8:17 AM |
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My hard steering 1935 was greatly improved by removing the old steering box oil and replaceing it with 100% STP. Some use John Deere Corn head grease but STP is more available and econmical.
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| alanwoodieman | -- 02-02-2014 @ 9:06 AM |
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lots of help to fix your problem-be sure to let us know what the problem and the cure were, txs
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| zoopie36 | -- 02-02-2014 @ 10:39 AM |
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Hi, I really appreciate all of the help from the Early Ford V/8 members. It will come in handy when I am able to work on my 1936 3 Window Coupe in the spring as we are experiencing a very harsh winter in Northern Wisconsin. These discussions are like catalogs as the bring hope of the spring season after one's car has been sitting idle all winter. Thanks again to everyone. I will definitely post what the problem was! Take care, zoopie This message was edited by zoopie36 on 2-2-14 @ 12:35 PM
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| wmsteed | -- 02-06-2014 @ 9:31 AM |
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I'll second the comments made by "woodwagon & keith oh". Super's info is spot on and the comment about STP/Motor Honey or JD Cornhead lube in lieu of 90w oil works great. Now the facts. If you are not dead set on keeping your car dead stock, and you want it to drive well in lieu of like a Mac truck, consider replacing your steering gear setup with a '37-40 gear box.. The '37-40 steering gear box will bolt into your '36 with very little modification. Actually the '37-39 works best if you want to retain your steering wheel mounted headlight switch. I replaced the steering gear box in my '36 Ford coupe in "55 with a '40 unit.. I used the '40 column because my car has a column mounted gear shift.. Have never regretted it. The improvement was like adding power steering.. Bill 36 5 win delx cpe
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| Flatbob | -- 02-06-2014 @ 1:24 PM |
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Have a '40 box in my '36, like power steering now.
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| zoopie36 | -- 02-08-2014 @ 12:47 PM |
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Thanks much for your tips. What kind of modifications will one have to do to install a 37 steering unit in a 36? Thanks , zoopie This message was edited by zoopie36 on 2-8-14 @ 2:17 PM
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| flatheadfan | -- 03-22-2014 @ 12:48 AM |
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When converting a '35-'36 steering gear to a '37-'40 assembly mounting the gear is the hard part. Once this is done everything is pretty much routine. You have two options in mounting the gear. The first is to drill a new mounting hole in the replacement gear box approximately 3/4" below the upper mounting hole in the gear casting. This will allow the replacement gear to be bolted directly to the existing '35-'36 mount. The '37-'40 box sits lower in the frame than the '35-'36 box does. When you re-drill the replacing box with a lower hole you effectively raise the box which causes the manifold interference. However, I have seen some applications that were done this way but required changing the exhaust manifold to gain gear box clearance. This approach can be made to work but (in my opinion) looks somewhat "crude." The second option is to remove the four rivets that hold the original plate to the frame and replace it with a '37-'40 plate. This allows the replacing gear box to be bolted directly to the frame. A small weld on the top and bottom of the plate insures no future loosening problems. Incidentally, Ford used the bolt-in plate (rather than riveted), in their 1941 models. By using the '37-'40 mount you will drop the gear end slightly but it is not really noticeable. However, it does change the angle the gear assembly enters the car. This will necessitate re-cutting your floorboard slightly to accommodate this change. After re-cutting the board you will have a somewhat larger gap between the column tube and the floorboard. This can be cleaned-up by simply visiting your local hardware store and get a 1.5" pipe plate such as those commonly used around plumping fixtures such as toilets. Where do potential problems lurk? As with any mechanical undertaking the unforeseen can complicate things. The two most common problems are removing the rivets and welds. The rivets are tough items that must be removed totally. Even a partial sh*ll can hold back a plate's removal. To minimize the problem try to drill in the center of the rivet and use a die grinder to remove any residue. The second problem is a lot more difficult to deal with. On several frames (more likely with '36s than '35s), a hidden spot weld was added to the top flange of the steering plate when it was installed in the frame. Usually this weld is near the rear mounted rivet (near the driver). It can complicate the plate removal. There is no magic way to remove this weld other than trying chisels, some heat, sawing, grinding and even the use of a crowbar! It just requires a lot of tenacity and luck on your part. In one case I had to spend two days getting the frame plate off! Just remember, the plate will come off but it will take some effort. Hope this is of some help. Tom
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