RE: Need a new steering box?

[62pluckedchicken@xxxxxxxxx]

Herb, this is great... I can follow shop manual directions pretty good.. 
but how to diagnose problems is a mystery to me.. this has helped more 
than you know :)

This should be a sticky somewhere.. I copies the whole thread for my own 
reference

this thread has saved me a ton of money.. I had a '76 Eldo at one time 
and if somthing broke I'd start replacing parts until the problem went a 
way... not a good use of money

I owe you all beers... when you see a powder blue Newport with a white 
top and Nebraka plates.. come and get me.. I owe you :)


Herb wrote:
> 
> 
> First you need a second person!  Having one person moving the wheel back 
> and
> forth, the second should look under car looking for movement.  First 
> make
> sure the pitman arm is moving back and forth and not up & down.  Next 
> look
> at the idler arm it should do the same back and forth only!  That up & 
> down
> play alone can give you a lot of slack in your steering & follow cracks 
> in
> the road.  Next check each tie rod end for play, you should have none!  
> Look
> at each ball joint no play.
>  
> Now using a scissor or floorjack jack up your right front about two or 
> three
> inches off the ground lifting from the lower control arm.  Using a long
> board or pipe lift up & down under the tire looking at the ball joints, 
> on a
> MoPar you will have a very small amount of play.  If you have a lot 
> replace
> the ball joints.  Next leaving it jacked up grab the front & back of the
> tire and wiggle it back & forth you should have no slack.  At this point 
> in
> time you probably wont need to but if all is OK so far, do the same
> procedure to the left side looking for the same symptoms.
>  
> If every thing is tight so far (Bet not) look at the gearbox steering
> coupler for slack again you should find none.  If everything is tight 
> but
> the manual steering gearbox, it can be adjusted by loosening the locknut 
> on
> the threaded rod with a screwdriver or an alanhead slot in it.  Having
> someone wiggle the wheel back & forth turn the screw clockwise till you 
> have
> very little slack.  This is a street adjustment and should be done when 
> all
> else fails.  The proper procedure entails using a torque wrench and
> following the procedure outlined in the appropriate manual for your year 
> car
>   Also this is for manual steering not power.  Before you adjust the 
>   gearbox
> repair the items that are loose such as bushings, tie rod ends, ball 
> joints,
> steering coupler and idlerarms. Your car is 40+ sumtin years old and a
> little slack here and a little more their all adds up and shows at the 
> wheel
> and it probably is not all in the steering box!
> 
> Next question rubber or polly, rubber = soft + cushiony  polly = stiff +
> responsive.  Every thing else you replace are slack reducers!  Hope this
> helps & not confuses!
> 
> I just went through my front end and replaced all the bushings, tie rod 
> ends
>  idler arm, ball joints and it drives like a new car none of the parts 
>  were
> bad but they were all loose & sloppy.  Worth the time and effort!
> 
> Herb
> St. Louis, MO.
>  
> -------Original Message-------
>  
> From: 62pluckedchicken@xxxxxxxxx
> Date: 2/14/2009 9:19:37 AM
> To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Need a new steering box?
>  
> There is a lot of play in my steering wheel, when parked the wheel can
> move a few inches each way without moving the tires.  Do I need a new
> steering box or just an ajustment?
>  
> BTW the aligment is off as well, if that makes a difference.
>  
>  
> ----
> Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person --
> directly to that person.  I.e., send parts/car transactions and 
> negotiations
> as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not 
> to
> the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy,
> reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to 
> Mopar
> topic.  Thanks!
>  
> '62 to '65 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
> http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html.
>  
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 


----
Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person.  I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic.  Thanks!

'62 to '65 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html.