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By stlroken - 11 Years Ago
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The steering on my "56 Ford Victoria is a little "sloppy" it seems like I'm constantly "steering" not a lot just 5 to 6 inches on the steering wheel, really bad in the wind. All steering parts under the front are good. I'm wondering if on the top of the steering gear there is a large "locking" nut with a smaller slotted screw in the middle. If I loosen the large nut and turn the slotted screw will this tighten it up???? Any help would really be appreciated. Thank You
Jim
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By lyonroad - 11 Years Ago
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There are many components that can contribute to poor steering. I tried to sort this out on my own on a '56 pickup and ended up with a steering box failure. As an example page 268 of the '55 shop manual lists 44 potential causes of steering problems. Paul Arcande of this forum just had the steering on his '57 Fairlane adjusted by a professional with good results. Perhaps he will give you some advice.
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By charliemccraney - 11 Years Ago
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On my truck, there is some slop in the gearbox but it tracks nice and straight and is easy to handle on the highway. If that is what you are experiencing, then that nut and bolt may alleviate it but there is a procedure to follow to make that adjustment. Check your shop manual.
If that is not what you are experiencing, then I think it is some other problem, like alignment or worn components..
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By Dobie - 11 Years Ago
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The proper procedure for adjusting the box involves disconnecting the linkage at the drag link and preferably removing the Pitman arm to eliminate all external friction points. Then the amount of pull is measured at the wheel by attaching a fish scale to a spoke where it meets the wheel and pulling on the scale. If the measured pull is less than minimum spec then adjusting the box may help. Loosen the locknut and with the wheel centered tighten the screw in small increments until drag is felt when turning the wheel. Measure the pull again and readjust as needed. Don't over do it; you can do some real damage by overtightening.
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By tomfiii - 11 Years Ago
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Worm bearing preload must be done first.
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By PF Arcand - 11 Years Ago
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Unfortunatly Mark ( Lyonroad) is over estimating my qualifications to give any specific adjustment advice..As has been suggested, you should be looking in a 55 or 56 Ford manual for guidlines. The adjustment you asked about is explained there. If your car has not had an alignment in recent years or since front suspension/steering work was done, it's likely a good idea. Try to find a shop that is competant & willing to tackle older cars. (mine has manual steering) In my case, even though all 4 ball joints & all " A" arm bushings were recently replaced, my 57 car's steering was awful! Most people trying my car out, likely would have driven around the block & parked it! A couple of local car enthusiasts recommended a shop & I went there. Fortunately, all the suspension & steering parts were in decent shape. They spent 1-1/2 hours on it, and made several adjustments. There was a problem getting proper caster/camber adjustments with their "new tech" equipment, (not designed to fit old cars properly) but in spite of that, the improvements were well worth it. The car drives much better, and the price was very reasonable. In this case the shop adjusted the price some, because I'm sheduled to return for further work using another machine (it was tied up the day I was there) to adjust the camber & castor. The money spent so far was well worth it!...
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By lyonroad - 11 Years Ago
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Paul don't underestimate your qualifications. The advice I thought you might give is the advice you just offered.
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