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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Steering box removal

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Steering box removal -- page: 1 2     BUCKAWHO 02-27-2016 @ 5:58 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 96 Joined: Feb 2016 Hi...Just joined this forum. I have a '51 Ford Club Coupe with the V8 engine, and the steering box seems to have excessive play and no adjustment left. I'd like to remove it, and have it rebuilt. Can someone walk me through the process, as the shop manual seems very short on details. I believe the steering shaft is integral with the worm gear in the box, and can't be separated from the box before removal from the car, which makes this task very difficult at best. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. BT flathead4rd 02-28-2016 @ 7:08 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 169 Joined: Oct 2009 Just curious. Have you tried both adjustments on the box, or just the one with the slotted screw and lock nut? As far as removal, I have never done this but it is my understanding that it has to be removed from the bottom with the front of the car raised quite high so the steering shaft and box can be removed from the column all in one piece. This also involves removing the steering wheel and dropping down (disconnecting)the column from the dashboard. Don't forget to disconnect the horn wire where it exits the box. I think it has a bullet connector on it. trjford8 02-28-2016 @ 7:37 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4202 Joined: Oct 2009 Before removing the box, check the bolts that mount the box to the frame. A broken bolt can cause the box to move on the frame and mimic a problem that you think is inside the box. The bolts that pass through the frame have a habit of rusting an can break. There have been articles in the V-8 Times addressing this very subject. TomO 02-28-2016 @ 7:50 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7243 Joined: Oct 2009 Along with Tom's advice on the box moving, check the tie rod and drag link ends. An easy way to find out the source of play is to jack up one front wheel and try moving it from left to right while observing where the movement is. You should not be able to move the wheel at all, when you try to move it. Tom BUCKAWHO 02-28-2016 @ 11:18 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 96 Joined: Feb 2016 Hello again, and thanks for all of your input. As far as I know, there is no second adjustment on the steering box, and the three bolts are quite good and not rusted off. Steering linkage is also nice and tight, but the fact remains that there is more than two inches of steering wheel play before any movement occurs at the wheels. All of which leads me to believe that the box needs to be removed and rebuilt. But the service manual stops with removing the three bolts, and doesn't address exactly how, and in what direction the shaft and box should be taken out. Should the column be taken off the shaft to allow more room to maneuver the box and shaft together? Should the box and shaft go OVER the front cross member toward the radiator till the shaft clears the hole in the floor? If I try to take the box and shaft under the cross member, then the shaft get tied up in the underside of the dash equipment and won't come thru the hole in the floor. That's why I'd like to hear from someone who has actually done this task, and can offer some "how-to" help. It's hard for me to believe that no one has ever actually done this job. But the shop manual was probably written before this sort of job became necessary on a completely assembled auto. It would be a snap without the motor installed, too. Maybe I'll be the first "back yard mechanic" to ever attempt this job? BT flathead4rd 02-29-2016 @ 8:08 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 169 Joined: Oct 2009 Buckawho. Yes there are two adjustment areas on the steering box. If you look at the front of the box you will see four bolts. First loosen the lock nut on the slotted screw and back it off two turns. Now look at the front of the box and you will see four bolts. Loosen three of them about one turn and just loosen the fourth one just enough so you can rotate the plate clockwise. You might have to tap it with a small hammer. It doesn't take much movement. About an 1/8" should be plenty. This is the area that will take the play out of your steering box. Each time you move it check the play in the steering until your satisfied. Re-tighten the four bolts and then turn the slotted screw back down just until it touches. Tighten the lock nut down. Done. If you don't have four bolts on your box then you don't have a 51 box. BUCKAWHO 02-29-2016 @ 10:03 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 96 Joined: Feb 2016 Thanks flathead4rd. I just looked at mine, and it appears to me that you want me to rotate the sector shaft housing after loosening those four bolts. I assume that the four housing bolt holes are oblong to some degree to allow movement for adjusting. I'll give it a try. My weather here in northern Indiana is chilly, and my barn has no heat, so I may wait a while for warmer weather to try this. Whatever, I'll keep this forum posted as to the results. It sure would be a relief if I didn't have to remove the box from the car. I have a twin-post hydraulic lift, so the task shouldn't be all that difficult. BT flathead4rd 03-01-2016 @ 6:59 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 169 Joined: Oct 2009 Wow. Lucky you to have a lift. I did mine laying on my back on the cold concrete floor here in Michigan. So I know what you mean about waiting until it's warmer. At 76 this old body don't move like it used to but, I'm just glad it still can. BUCKAWHO 03-01-2016 @ 12:54 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 96 Joined: Feb 2016 Hi flathead4rd again....Sounds like we have a lot in common. I'm also 76, and live here in Huntington, In. I had a '50 two-door sedan when I was a kid in the late fifties. About all I did to that was put dual exhausts on it, and gas in the tank. So my '51 is sort of a new experience. I hung out with a bunch of guys back then, and about six or seven of us had these "shoebox" Fords, although we didn't call them that back then. Several of us had two-doors, a couple had convertibles, and there were two that had coupes. No four doors or Victorias that I can remember. So when I saw this coupe on Hemmings, and went to see it, I just "had to have it" if you know what I mean. Anyway, I hope we get to meet sometime. I'm hoping for a couple of nice days, so I can try the adjustment on the steering box. I'll keep the forum posted. BT BUCKAWHO 03-08-2016 @ 8:36 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 96 Joined: Feb 2016 Hello to flathead4rd and the rest of the posters. I just got finished doing the adjustment that flathead4rd had suggested, and it works fine. The excessive slop is gone. I've checked the gear oil in the box, and it's OK. Now I've got to straighten the steering wheel, and see why the turn signals don't cancel....jobs for another day. Thanks to all that helped, and saved me a pile of work. BUCKAWHO

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