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    steering wheel play

    I have a little play in my steering wheel can I adjust this out with the screw and nut on top of the steering box without disconnecting the pitman arm, I thought if I loosen the nut and turn the screw head until the play slack up that would be all to it?
  • Alexander
    Webmaster
    • Oct 30 2002
    • 3321

    #2
    RE: steering wheel play

    Please don't do that, because you will have a permanent flat spot in your steering because you will have likely crushed the recirculating tubes of the steering box.

    The shop manual gives a very good instruction on how to adjust the steering box. The 1958 and 1959 cars have two adjustments possible, the sector shaft that you refer to and steering shaft(a very large nut on the box facing the driver). You must disconnect the Pitman arm from the sector shaft arm and disconnect the arm from the control valve ball stud. Follow the shop manual instructions in the exact order and use an inch pound torque wrench. The result will please you. In 1960, like most modern cars after that, the steering shaft adjustment was eliminated. Another cost saving measure.

    In this procedure you want to pretend that you have recently broken your hand and stop turning the screwdriver when the hand starts to hurt, because it is easy to overdo the adjustment with consequently disastrous results. The potential disaster is that you will need to replace the steering box, because once you have a flat spot, there is no way of getting it out.

    Alexander
    1959 Hardtop
    1960 Golde Top
    Alexander
    1959 Hard Top
    1960 Golde Top
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    • dgs
      Super-Experienced
      • Feb 13 2003
      • 962

      #3
      RE: steering wheel play

      The other thing to check is your alignment, if you're running radials. The original alignment specs were for bias ply tires and need to be altered for radials. Toe in I think is spec'd at 1/16 - 1/8, for radials that should be 0 - 1/16.

      Bias ply tires are not as accurate so the car was aligned with soem toe in to compensate. With radials, toe in will actually counteract their acuracy, leaving a dead spot on center.

      That was one of the reasons that radials didn't catch on very quickly. Cars designed for bias play tires would have a dead spot in the steering when radials were instaleld without re-aligning the car.

      Check out this cool article on the subject at invention and technology magazine:

      History Lives Here at American Heritage Magazine. Browse 60 years of articles by leading historians, 14,000 historical artifacts, historic images, and 4,000 historic sites.

      DGS (aka salguod)
      1960 Convertible - Raven Black, Red leather
      www.salguod.net

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