I have a early 1950 Ford F-1 pickup with original front axle and steering and I was wondering if their is any way to adjust the steering to get rid of some free play??

 

Before you start messing with the box, it's best to have someone help you inspect the entire steering linkage run and see exactly what's moving and what's not when turning the wheel. You could have a little bit of wear in all of the links, which adds up to a bunch of play at the wheel, and the box is not the culprit. Or, you could have bushings worn out in the box, which will cause a lot of play, and adjustment will not cure. There is a procedure for setting up the gear mesh in the factory service manual, but that may or may not be helpful for your problem. You could cause more damage than help if not adjusted properly.

 

I should have mentioned that I just replaced both king pins , both tie rod ends and the tie rod with a heavy duty one. There doesn't seem to be any play in the drag link so I only assume it has to be the steering box.