Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

FORUM RULES: Users agree to these Rules when using Forum.

The site administrator reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of the user agreement without prior notice to the user. It is the responsibility of the user to regularly review the terms of this agreement.

The user agrees to the following terms:

All information that you provide to us for your membership is correct.
You will not use your membership to spam, harrass, or exploit other members in any way.
Vulgar, Abusive, Racist and Sexist Language will not be tolerated.
Commercial-type sales postings will not be allowed.
No mass posting or flooding of the boards is allowed.
No Advertising of parts or cars; no Ebay or business/commercial ads (please use the "Classified" for ads Wanted or For Sale).
VIEWING MULTIPLE TOPICS ON SCREEN: You can choose to see more than 10 Topics at a time ... Log In and choose "Preferences" from the top bar on the Forum page. Scroll down and Change the "Default Topics Returned" parameter to 25 or 50, and save the changes. Since this setting is stored in your browser 'cookies' (if enabled), it seems to use that stored value even if you are not logged in. So, if you use a PC that you haven't logged into the forum from, the setting still seem to remain at the default.
EXTERNAL PHOTO LINKS ON FORUM: You can still use external photo links in your posts on the new forum. They follow the rules of any link in that they have to have the URL link qualified down to the full image file name (example: .jpg). The links will open in a new browser window, the same as an uploaded image attached to a post. Since an image attachment to any post does not display inline with the post, the results are the same. You can use multiple external links within a post. This link is from photos on a site from Don Clink's 'Deuce@75' albums:

http://donclink.com/deuce_75_1/images/dscn2950.jpg

Using links from photo sites such as Photobucket can help in "size" issue with uploaded attachment files. For best viewing in web browsers, photos should be around the 800x600 pixel range, and probably not more than 1024x768. Most cameras today store HUGE jpg image files, as the default settings are in the 7, 8, 10, and 12Mb image sizes. The image files that are then attached are very large, and the browser can't display the full image size without using the scroll bars. Use the re-sizing functions of your photo editing software to reduce the image to 800x600, which reduces the file sixe and the image load time in the browser. Don uses Google's free Picassa3 software, which is an excellent photo management product. All of the photo albums of the Deuce, Grand National, and Auburn that are links on the NORG site were built using Picassa's web creation functions. And it's free? (THANKS to Don Clink for the info!)
HOW DO I SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS ALONG WITH MY USERNAME? You can LogIn on the Forum, and select PREFERENCES. On this page Members can add optional information such as their City,State, Country; Occupation; Hobbies: list a Homepage; list AOL Instant Messanger Handle; Signature; "Make Email Address viewable to others;" and even change the number of Default Topics shown on a page. WHEN others click on your profile, they will see this information.

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / steering play

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion

<< previous || next >>

Posted By

Discussion Topic: steering play

tomlud

07-26-2014 @ 6:58 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 23
Joined: Jan 2011

I have a 51 custom deluxe tudor that has some play in the steering wheel. The tie rod ends and king pins and suspension all appear to be good. I regard the steering play as normal for a car this old but a friend of mine has suggested removing the gear box bolt nearest the fender and drilling a hole in to install a grease zerk and then pump mystic grease into the gear box as a way to tighten up the steering. Does this idea have any merit? Any downside to this? Have already tried to adjust the steering box but not much help. Any thoughts much appreciated. Thanks. Tom

TomO

07-29-2014 @ 7:41 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 7253
Joined: Oct 2009

I am not a fan of using chassis grease in the steering box. The gears are designed to use a gear oil and improper lubrication will accelerate any wear.

Very seldom will adjusting the steering box without replacing worn parts fix a steering play problem. IMHO it should only be adjusted after a rebuild.

I like to check for wear by raising one front wheel on a jack stand and leaving the other one with the weight of the car to hold it stationary. Hold the steering wheel in the straight ahead position and then grab the raised wheel by the front and back and try to turn it left to right. There should be less than 1/16" movement. If there is more, check to see if it is in the tie rods, drag link or steering box and repair or replace any worn parts.

Tom

supereal

07-29-2014 @ 4:56 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 6819
Joined: Oct 2009

In addition to Tom's suggestions, pay particular attention to the idler arm in the linkage opposite the steering box. These had a habit of becoming loose, allowing the tie rod to create slack.

trjford8

07-29-2014 @ 5:36 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 4215
Joined: Oct 2009

Check all the bolts that hold the steering box to the frame. The 49-51 cars had an issue of broken steering box bolts. Those bolts that pass through the frame get rusty and the integrity of the bolt is compromised by the rust. There was a previous article in the V-8 Times regarding these bolts. If you have a broken bolt it will act like play in the steering box. I know two guys who have had this problem. All other advice that has been given is good.

40 Coupe

07-30-2014 @ 4:20 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 1676
Joined: Oct 2009

Grease will not tighten up the steering. I agree with All the above answers, to your question.

<< previous || next >>

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

Merchandise Questions

Membership Questions