Well, I went through everything top to bottom and its all tight and working correctly. I was able to adjust the steering box and got the play out of it. Took it for a test drive and the play is gone but the bump steer is far to bad to venture onto the highway. My pitman arm is at a little bit of an angle and i am of the understanding that this could contribute to the bump steer. Ive talked to several people and not sure where to go from here. I thought of trying a steering stabalizer like the ones that you see on four wheel drives. Im not sure so i thought id come to the experts. What do i try next?

 

I have a Toyota box in my 49 and it works great. I also had one in my 50, worked great as well. I drive mine everywhere. It wants to wander a little bit when I get up around 80 mph. A couple more degrees of shim under the front springs would cure it. I have 4 degrees now. You must have something wrong somewhere. Where did you get your pitman arm? When the wheels are straight ahead and the steering box is in the center of its travel, the pitman arm should be straight down. It should be the same length as the stock one. If it is, then the drag link angle should correct. Did you put in a heavy duty tie rod? The stock tie rod is not stout enough to handle the Power Steering. How about your spring shackle bushings? If they are worn, the whole axle moves around. I assume you put in new king pin bushings and rebuilt the drag link. How about the ball the drag link connects to, no flat spots?

 

If the Toy box is like the Ford Gemmer box, that adjustment doesn't take ALL the play out, it just adjusts the end play on the sector gear shaft. It can feel tight but still the gears inside can be sloppy as all get out. If you do a websearch on Google or Yahoo for Gemmer Box Rebuild, there are some real good articles on what's inside. Also, someone on here took apart their box about 6 omnths ago, and took good pics of their chewed-up gears.

 

I havnt tried any shiming yet, probably need to. The tie rod is new as well as all the other parts. My pitman arm is no stock because i put a drop axle on so i got it with the splined for the toyota box. I will look into the shimming tomorrow...

thanks all