I have a 1959 F100. The steering seams sloppy. How do I adjust the sector shaft to tighten it? Has anyone ever done this? Do I screw it in or out, and how much? & what kind of lubrication should be in the box

 

To adjust it you turn the screw in. I'd do some research on it first, if you adjust it wrong it will damage the box. It's been a while since I did mine and I'm not quite sure how to describe it but I jacked up the front end and turned the steering wheel while adjusting the box until it felt right.

You should be able to use gear oil in the box.

 

Colin is correct, it is better to be conservative and only remove "slop" in small amounts, as it is easy to over-tighten, which will accelerate wear on the box. I took out a small amount of the slop several years ago, under the advice of someone else, making sure not to overdo it, and have had no problems to date.

NOW, about the advice to put gear oil in the box. This is incorrect, it uses a gearbox grease, formerly a Ford or Fomoco product, but NumberDummy gave the correct replacement product i.d. in a post a few years ago. It is a Motorcraft product.

Here is one thread discussing this topic ( and others). Start at about post #11:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-shooting.html

I was bummed when the gear oil that I filled my box with immediately drained out, till the Dummy told me my foolish mistake. He has a nack for that, and I supply him with unlimited material.

I located the correct lubricant, refilled the box and it turns smoothe as butter. I believe it it a molybdenum chassis grease, perhaps Bill will see this and repost the product. You can also go to the 48-56 Forum and do a search.

Steve

 

Yes, what he said! It is not gear oil. Here's the thread mentioned above. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ml#post7320288

The shop manual for your truck outlines repair and adjustment very clearly. Well worth the invwestment if you don't have one. A wisely spent $45 bucks! http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-1959-F100-F250-F350-Pick-Up-Heavy-Duty-Truck-Shop-Manual-59-/230942150472?pt=Motors_Manuals_Literature&hash=item35c5398f48&vxp=mtr

 

I do have the manual and have read and reread section 8 regarding steering, but found that the adjustment part was a bit vag, so I was hopping to get a bit more info before I tightened it. When people say small amounts are we talking 1/4 turn or 1 turn. What is a small amount?

 

Put the front end in the air, on jackstands. Sit in the seat and turn the wheel side-to-side, noting the slop that is present before you feel the wheels actually begin to respond to your input.Loosen the nut, and take out about a half or full turn. Re-tighten nut and repeat turning the steering wheel turning process, noting improvement, if any. Repeat a time or two, going incrementally. Be patient, not trying for large improvements. Stop trying for further improvement after only 3-4 "bites", more than this and you risk the aforementioned over-tightening and subsequent damage to the steering box.

Make sure to fill it with enough of the proper grease to start, and top it off again when finished. The working back and forth of the steering wheel will get the grease distributed through the box - eventually. Good idea to re-check the level after a few days of constant driving.

Do not forget to tighten the lock nut.

Really, this procedure should be done after you have replaced all worn front end parts. If you have bad king pins, nothing will cover that fact.

 

good to know about the king pins. They are the last part to replace. I have them just not had them installed yet

 

If your box has a worm bearing preload adjustment ,you need to make that adjustment before you attempt to do sector shaft.

 

Well, in the '60 manual, it says to unhook the pitman arm and then turn the wheel two turns from the straight ahead posistion. Then take the horn switch off so you can access the steering nut. Using an inch-pound torque wrench with a socket on the nut, measure the torque required to keep the wheel moving at a constant rate for at least one full turn. The spec. for a '60 is 2 1/2- 6 3/4 inch pounds. Make your adjustments acordingly.

 

As Tomfii stated you need to adjust the worm bearing preload first, via the shim gaskets on the end plate. Another thing to check is the sector shaft bushings, these wear do to a crappy design of the box IMHO. If the bushings are worn trying to adjusting the sector is almost useless.

I still question the use of oil vs grease. My 57 passenger car shop manual calls for oil. These use the same worm&sector type box as the trucks. I have since replaced that box with a 58 that is a recirculating ball type which is far superior.