Unfortunately i'm not willing to commit to independent suspension with items such as the Mustang II.

How much gain would I have by installing a Steering stabilizer kit on my 51. Anyone used that as an option and have you noticed any difference in steering control and the like?

 

Hi Joe,
I can't help you out but i was getting ready to post this same question. Hopefully someone will reply and answer for both of us.

 

Joe,

Are you experiencing any front suspension problems, like a shimmy or something like that? I can't say for sure if a steering stabilizer will help, but my guess is that it will. I have used steering stabilizers on a couple of old straight axle cars in the past and always found it helped, but never on a truck. My straight axle days are over...

 

Joe

I can't say I have ever put one on a 51, but I have installed them on numerous straight axle trucks with non-radial tires so I'll comment. First I'd caution you to make sure your steering is reasonably tight. A stabilizer is a patch and not a cure for a bad tie rod ends, severely shot steering box etc. If your S.A. steering is bad enough for you to start this thread, I suspect you have some repairs you could be making. Steering box and tie rod end looseness is obvious, but don't underestimate the effects of bad tires or leaf spring eye bushings.

That said, we use the heck out of them on our 4x4s with good result. They will lessen the effect of hitting ruts in the road, slight wear in the steering box etc. I used to put them on a lot of trucks with big bias ply tires and it made them far less scary to drive. Get a single cylinder universal kit. That handles up to a 33" tire. The increased steering firmness should be hardly noticable.

 

I havn't had the opportunity to test to see if steering and suspension is bad. I have the truck stripped down to the frame so I was just wondering while everything is apart, would it be good to add it on. When I first purchased it, tje truck had huge tires and with 10 inches wide tread. The steering was awful but I will be regressing to the required tires which I believe have 6 inch wide tread but I may bump it up to 8, dont know.

I need to inspect the tie rods and i'm rebuilding the steering box.
With that said, if all else is ok, must I assume I would not notice much of a difference in ride???

 

Joe

Stabilizer is very simple to add later. I'd concentrate on the tires and tightening up the steering and suspension. A bunch of the straight axle guys here have the recipe for good tire/rim combos. Start a new thread on the subject if they don't jump on this one. Some good radials of moderate size would make an amazing difference I bet once you tighten up the truck.

 

I'll be picking up my truck from the garage early next week, with a new steering stabilizer (also new kingpins and bushings for all the springs). I'm anxious to see how noticable the changes are, and will post the results here.

 

New kingpins and bushings do wonders for these old straight axles. If you replace kingpins, tie rod ends, rebuild the steering box, and use reasonably sized tires and wheels on the front you will notice a world of difference in ride and handling and probably won't need the steering stabilizer. Where you notice the most improvement with a steering stabilizer is when you run large tires and wheels on the front...

 

Well, I got the Tank back today. Drove it straight home, as I need to put more gas into it soon (maybe 8 miles). I would say........ it's slightly better. Maybe not as much play in the steering, but there still is some. I knew it wouldn't drive as good as a modern, new vehicle but I guess a part of me hoped...

I hope later this week to take it out again on some familiar roads to evaluate it. I did notice that it still pulls quite a bit if caught in a groove (not suprising). I should mention that I'm running 7.50X17 bias plys, too.

Oh, one interesting thing is that I swear the truck now sits about an inch higher than before. I guess the new bushings and spring pins make that much difference. When I visited the shop a few weeks ago the mechanic showed me one of the old pins, and there was a definite groove worn in it...

 

Now that I've driven the truck a few more times, I'll post a follow-up. Steering is definitely tighter than before, but still not as good as a modern vehicle. It still wants to follow ruts in the road, but rough roads are easier to handle. Again, keep in mind I had a lot of changes done at once that would affect the steering and handling.

 

Jeffh, Thanks a million for the follow-up posts. That sort of before-and-after results commentary is so important to these forums.

Some people have swapped in Toyota 4x4 steering boxes in place of their original, expensive-to-rebuild steering boxes. I wonder if that would help.

Also, I don't remember what type of bearings are on the front spindles of the truck, but I know that my 55 Chevy hardtop originally came with ball bearings. Swapping to taper roller bearings helps those old Chevies with steering accuracy.

And one last thought; there are springs in both ends of the drag link. These springs reduce the shock to the steering box and steering wheel when the wheels are jarred. Damage to these spring-loaded drag link ends can be a source of loose steering in a SA front-end.

Good luck and thanks for the updates.