Hey folks! I was just wondering when the steering starts to show signs of play in these old trucks. Is it a mileage thing, a time thing, or a combination of the 2? The reason I ask is because I have absolutely no play in the stock steering setup of my newly acquired '60. The seller said the 35.9k miles on it are all original. I may be a little more inclined to believe him now, unless there's a possibility I overlooked something.

 

Really depend on how it was driven and under what conditions.

I/e a 100K mile highway truck would probably have less play that a ranch truck with 10K miles on it.

 

Also depends on whether it was greased regularly. My experience in the West is that grit gets in the grease and grinds it to pieces, so it is more of a function of time than mileage. Regular re-greasing pushes out the grit.

 

Sounds like the PO took care of it

 

Sounds to me like someone has adjusted all the gear lash out of the steering box in an effort to tighten it up to sell, and maybe gone too far.. hard to tell from here. LOL

 

The worm and sector boxes are highly maintainance dependent, I'd recommend cleaning out the old, likely caked up lube out of it and put in fresh lube. The best way to tell if it's been tightened excessively to hide a worn out box is the disconnect the drag link and rotate the steering wheel from lock to lock. An over adjusted one will feel tight, notchy or grinding in the straight ahead area. It's likely your's is in good shape at that low milege if the truck has set for some time, but do re-lube it to keep it that way.

 

Thanks for the input fellas. I just got my shop manual today...feels like christmas!

 

Just wait till you start "wrenching" on it, It will feel more like "Tax Day the Christmas!
Reamer

 

I just re-read my post on this subject, something I probably should have done b4 hitting the "enter" button the first time. It looked like I am accusing someone of something shady,which I did not intend. I apologize.
Jim

 

Not needed. I used to sell new and used cars, so I've seen some shady stuff! I wouldn't be surprised if some POs do stuff like that. I'm just hoping that's not the case here. I don't think it is.