~road test of the 65 250~

after much work, it now has plates insurance and 10 days to get an inspection.... Enough back dirt road testing, out on the paved roads we went today...

and it wanders all over the f-ing place. like trying to walk a drunk cow.

lots of play in the steeering wheel So I decided to tighten the adjuster on the steering gear box. Its been many years since I had to do this and it occured to me I forgot how. I dont wanna ruin it so here is what I did, it fixed the problem but I dunno if it was the right thing to do.

I loosened the adjuster lock nut, backed it off a turn or 2, grabbed the rag joint and twisted the wheel back and forth while gently screwing in the adjuster screw. I was feeling for it to hit something in there and i feel it has... goodie. Another half turn and the steering wheel has been cured of its slop and it steers better. It still has a tendancy to "wander " if you dont keep both hands on the wheel, but i may just not be used to this manual king pin setup after driving nissan go carts for so long.

Question; did I do the adjustment right, OR is there a set torque I should tighten it to after the screw meets metal?

or did I miss the mark entirely? whatever I did it was a 70% cure, I think the fat tires make the rest of the steering tough.

any correct instructions or tips to tune tweek and smooth up the steering I thank ya for ahead of time.

Its a lot of fun to drive.... even if it is like steering a cow. 1st abd 2nd gear are so low its hard to get going till 3rd and 4th.
funny thing I couldnt find 3rd for an hour I was convinced it was not even there or frozen or busted or something. it comes to be the shift patern is really really tight and SMALL. You can shift it easy with 2 fingers and not at all if you bully it.

now, if gasoline would just become afordable again.

is it possible or wise to put in a transmission thats.... not so low?
first gear does make a good parking brake....

a lot of truck to get used to....

So far I am happy with it

just need a windshield and a weld job on the back bumper.

and make sure I did the steeering adjustment right!

what say you?

 

Check your tie rod ends and king pins to see if they are worn.

Brian

 

Mouse: You did it right, with one exception: You may have overtightened it. I would back it off the 1/2 turn, and see if it is still OK. If it needs to be re-tightened, do it 1/4 turn at a time.
Tightening it up increases the rate of wear, unfortunately.
I woould seriously consider preparing for a PS swap before putting money into a new or rebuild manual box.
Oh, and Brian is right: Check your king pins and tie rod ends.
(Keep in mind if you change to disk brakes, you will need to replace your tie rods and possibly the king pins anyway.)
Just my thoughts.

 

2ndmouse,
Mine did the same thing when I first got it.The thing wallowed like a pig. Took it to the front end shop and the guy said "The front ends fine, You need tires!" I don't know what your running but radials made a HUGE difference. It no longer swaps lanes whenever IT wants to. Good luck with your drunken cow.
Tiremine

 

Agree with all of above, plus good ole' basic allignment might be issue to. But make sure everything else is corrected before allignment.

Manual steering box, remaned, from autozone or advance, $129 plus core. Was a nice unit, at least the one I got. PS no bad idea though, especially if you like fat tires.

 

my tires (came with the truck) are LT265/75R16 M&S. They are a bit chubby.
All my front end parts are tight and greased up...

I will readjust it and do the 1/4 turn at a test drive, I dont wanna bust it.

power steering is a future plan... I can deal with the manual steering for a while.

Will narrow(er) front tires curb the wander more or make it worse?

 

another Q;

do you grease or fill the box with oil or...?

 

Officially, oil. 90w -- but I have heard of a lot of boxes just draining the oil out. So guys squirt in some grease.

 

ummm... dumb question...

where do you squirt the grease in?

 

answering my own question for the benifit of whoever needs to know...

there is a filler plug on the top.. DUH.
2 mechanics told me fill it with gear oil one said pump it full of grease.
I used the oil.
then I found it leaks out the bottom.
majority loses on this one, I shoulda used grease.
no matter, its oil in there, i'm keeping an eye on it.

The steering still wa funny sticky oddball, so I raised bot front wheels (on a whim) and turned the wheel... STIFF!
Kingpins... memory jogging back to when I had an old VW bus.
dry kingpins are stiff, so I took off the endcaps to find hard, dry grease.
after some heat, penatrating oil, picking ut dry crap and working the wheel back and forth, and pumping unknown amounts of grease thru the pits and thru the sleeves, it began to turn effortlessly.
I took it for a spin.... mmmmmmm smoooth. even for manual steering. I like.

after a day of putting around I sqished more grease in the pits (and it swallowed more) I assume more was going where it couldnt before.
It now has a minor wander, but is all in all pretty nice now.

GREASE.... never can have enough grease.

 

I had a 72 that did the same thing. I tightened the box like you did. On mine, when I went too far in, it would not return to center after a turn. So I backed it off until it did return by it self like it's supposed to and called it good enough. Still had a little play but it was a lot better than I started with.

When I took it to the front end shop, he told me I needed shocks. Put a mid priced set from Autozone on it and it made a world of difference!

Bob

 

jcwhitney has a universal steering stabilizer for the 65 2x4 ftrucks for @50 bucks, I might add one of those too.

 

Do you have power steering? The steering "stabilizer" will add drag to your steering. I would not try it unless you have PS.

later....

 

no I dont have power.. the discription said it helps eliminate kick and wandering.

I dont want it any stiffer than it is now. So I guess it isnt a good idea.

good thing I mentioned it. I was thinking smoother not drag but I can see where it would.

 

I have a 64 f-100 1\2 ton .It has never steered well since i have owned it. I have replace the king pins and the rest of the front end which helped but the steering box has been a real thorn.It started with a cracked sector shaft beering which i found a used one. Now the bushing on the other side of the sector shaft wont pass inspection.So i tried to build one box out of two. BIG MISTAKE.I have so much play in the wheel its not funny. I dont want to put any more money and energy into the manual box. I was told that a power steering box up to a 1976 has the same bolt pattern.Is it posssible to get PS in this truck.I love the truck and have had it for a long time. I almost sold it the other day after pulling the box out of the truck two times in one day.I rebuilt this truck from scratch and I have to say that working on the steering box is my least favorite to say the least.I'm new to this forum.Look foward to any and all input.