Steering wheel too tight

[Russell Reay]

1930 two tooth steering box. Disassembled, thoroughly cleaned, new housing and end plate, correct lube, and adjusted per red book. With axle on jack stands, it steers smoothly, but snug--no play anywhere. When steering wheel is installed it is a little sloppy with the nut snugged down. Installed a flat washer (0.068") and the sw is too tight. I ground the surface of the quadrants and the base of the sw (a little). That improved matters, but not adequately. I don't think it is a good idea to keep grinding those surfaces in search of the perfect fit. What seems like a good solution is a thin conical shim like what is used on rear axles, but I haven't seen any such thing advertised, or mentioned on this forum. Thoughts please.

[rotorwrench]

I agree on grinding pieces to fit things. There should be no need to do that. I'd be curious to know if this is an early 1930 (prior to February 1930) unit or later. The early type is shorter by near an inch. You mentioned replacing parts but was the tube mentioned the steering shaft?. Some dimention may be off and the steering gear housing could also be involved.

Another question is about worm bearings. The OEM bearings and worm all have to be changed for the upgrade to the new style bearings per the Ford Service Bulletin on this subject. We're any of these parts changed or intermixed?

[Russell Reay]

The frame number keys to June, 1930. It was almost a year ago that I re-did the steering box, so my only recollection of new parts is from the invoices of that time. I know I did not replace the shaft, worm, or sector. Principal new part was the sector shaft housing. I only need to gain a few thousandths to make the fit. I think if the shaft end play adjusting bolt were loosened a little , it might give me what I need.

[Flathead]

Is the steering column tube seated all the way down onto the steering box?

[Russell Reay]

Originally Posted by Flathead

Is the steering column tube seated all the way down onto the steering box?

A couple thumps with a wood block and 6# hammer gained a few thousandths, but not enough. A bit more grinding on the quadrant and elimination of the washer got it. At this point the key is tight in the shaft and the sw, the nut is as tight as it should be, but there is still a little play. If it weren't for the key a couple wraps of Teflon tape would be sufficient.

[Keith True]

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Are you putting the washer under the nut,or under the steering wheel? When you say,still a little play,do you mean play between the tapered shaft and the wheel?

[nkaminar]

The conical shim that is used on the rear axle is nothing more that a rolled up sheet of shim stock. You can make the same thing for your steering shaft with some shim stock. A good grade of steel is best as it won't shred easily. You can make a form with a sheet of paper and then cut the shim stock with a pair of sharp scissors. Use two if necessary.

[Russell Reay]

Originally Posted by Keith True

Are you putting the washer under the nut,or under the steering wheel? When you say,still a little play,do you mean play between the tapered shaft and the wheel?

I put the washer under the nut, not the wheel. If the washer was under the wheel it would be tightened to the upper column bushing. Yes the play is between the tapered shaft and the wheel. Regarding shim stock, that is a good idea. Where would I buy shim stock? Does it come in sheets like sandpaper?

[Grumps]

I recently had problems removing the steering wheel on my car so that I could rebuild the steering box and thought I would never get the wheel off the shaft, but it finally came off and the rebuild was completed. When I got to where I placed the key in the steering shaft prior to putting the steering wheel on I noticed that the key was not seating in the shaft as far as I thought it should and the SW wouldn't go on the shaft correctly and was loose. I used my bench grinder and removed a little bit of off one end, and everything tightened down like it should. I don't know if that will help you, but it may be worth a try.

[Russell Reay]

Grumps-- my key seems to fit just right. It doesn't project far enough above the shaft that I want to trim it. Maybe I'll try a new key just to see.

[bearbait]

you should be able to get shim stock from MSC industrial reasonably priced and in a day or two.

[Big hammer]

Don’t try to over tighten the steering wheel nut, the nut is only to keep the wheel on the shaft. With a large socket place it over the shaft end and tap the wheel hub down. I’am thinking your problem is with the gear box adjustment’s, the upper bearing race adjustment. You’ll need to follow all of the step in order 1,2,3,4

[Ed in Maine]

You might try the shim stock that is steel and sold for the Model T. It would be big enough to cut for a shim for the steering wheel. Its normal purpose is to get the rear brake drum to fit tight to the axel. Ed

[rotorwrench]

The reason I brought up the bearings in my post #2 was that the bearing change happened sometime in June of 1930 followed by a worm change in August of 1930, The original bearings were on a 25 degree angle and it had nine cylindrical shaped rollers in the bearing. The upper and lower races correspond to the 25 degree angle as do the worm gear races. The replacement bearings after the change were 13-roller tapered bearings of Timken design with a 15 degree angle. The small lower bearing cup and the large adjustable upper bearing race were 15 degree types to fit the new bearings. The new worm also has the 15 degree race surfaces on both upper and lower ends.

If the OP's steering gear happened to have the early bearing set and any part of it was replaced at overhaul then there would be a discrepancy of the angles there in the replacement parts. The old stype bearings were obsoleted back in 1930 and haven't been reproduced since. When replacing any part of the set, the whole set has to be replaced to match the parts for proper function.

If the OP or whomever performed the overhaul didn't replace any of these parts or the unit has the late style parts currently installed then disregard this post. I was just looking for a reason why the fit discrepancy came in to being.

[Russell Reay]

I think we can declare victory. One wrap of good painters' tape and the wheel is perfectly tight. With the axle on stands, the steering is very smooth.