I'm assembling the steering box on the truck today. I have 3/4" of wheel play in the center of the turning arc, and 3.5" of wheel play at each end of the travel. (with wheels off ground)

Here is what I have replaced or done so far:

1) New steering box gasket/shim kit. The worm and sector gears were in real good shape and still had original lube in it. I followed the manual instruction to properly pre-load and shim the box.
2) New tie rod and new tie rod ends
3) New draglink guts
4) New king pins
5) New spring bushings
6) New wheel bearings
7) New pitman arm
The steering arm ball is round and in good shape.

So is there any hope of reducing the wheel play any more than what I describe above? Still seems like too much, especially at the travel arc ends.
By watching the pitman arm move, the play seems to be in the box itself.
Any advice is welcomed.
Tom

 

Usually the play in the box is at the sector roller needle bearing and the sector shaft bushings. If everything is adjusted right and you still have play at the center, that is likely the cause
3/4" at center is pretty typical.....the slack at full lock is no big deal. You will never turn that sharp except at very low speeds.
Aside from rebuilding the box, it sounds like you've done every thing else.

 

I drove these trucks on the farm when I was a kid and remember they didn't steer much better when they were near new, like about 5 or 10 years old. My f47 is 68.

 

I replaced parts like you did, but my steering still had a lot of play. I thought wandering all over the road was just all part of the "charm" of driving an old truck--You know, there's the annoying bumps and rattles, the double clutching with all its associated little noises, the distinct transmission whine as you get up to speed, the bouncy seats, and of course sloppy steering. It's an old truck after all and not a car. After the trip to Truckstop last September, and some very tense moments on the interstate, I decided maybe I should have my steering checked out (again). Wrecking my truck and getting myself killed wouldn't be all that "charming", I was thinking. I found an old school shop, and they found a defective spring in the drag link. Fixing that spring, adjusting the steering box, and adding caster shims has made a world of difference. I can go down the road 65-70 mph now with pulse, blood pressure, and the truck all well controlled. Good luck!

Jim

 

I did what you did with the addition of a new bearings, sector shaft and gear, plus checking the castor, and toe in, oh and new wheel bearings & races which probably had nothing to do wit it. But I am quite happy with my steering now . No bump steer, no wandering. I do have a little more than 3/4" at center but , That could probably be tightened up a little if I installed the new worm gear I have on the shelf and re shimmed, but why, I'm happy with it the way it is now. Don't give up, at this point it has to be something simple.

 

Thanks Jimmy, Jim, Earl and Scott. Much appreciated feedback.
Part of me wanted to hear that all slop can be taken out but the realistic side said 'that is about as good as it gets'.
Today I noticed that my tie rod ends were a bit loose. I only had them tightened by hand so that I could approximate the toe-in when everything was put together.
So I bet that when those are properly set and tightened, I will reduce the play a tiny bit more.

Jim (USCG Panel) what spring is there that was defective in your box?

Now I'll work on finishing the disc brake set-up.....and return to the steering later as I progress along.
Thanks again,
Tom

 

Spring inside the steering box? Would love to see a pic....
After I rebuilt my steering box I still had some wander......found my wheel bearings were not as tight as they should be. Correcting that made a difference.

 

Hey Tom and Scott, I've done some thinking about that "spring" that was such a game changer for me. Upon further review, I'm thinking now that it wasn't in the steering box, but rather in the drag link. Its purpose I believe was to keep tension on the little ***** inside the link. Sorry about the mistake. I looked at a diagram of the steering box and didn't see any springs. This led me to dig out my old bill--and there it was--used drag link spring, $10. I'll correct my post.

Jim

 

As rack and pinion steering became more commonplace people forgot (or never knew from lack of experience) how 'sloppy' old steering was. Some of it is by design (worm and roller, recirculating ball, etc.) and some by necessity (that 'slop' allowed a certain amount of disconnection from the jarring of poor surfaces.) 3/4" is extremely good for these old trucks that were never engineered for speeds over fifty miles per hour. I've heard many people remark about how much drivers in old movies 'exaggerated' steering cars in old movies. That wasn't an exaggeration, they were moving the steering wheel from muscle memory. Look at how thin the steering arms (the part the tie rod ends bolt to) are in comparison to more modern vehicles. They were designed that way to absorb road shock by flexing. Even the truck frames were designed to allow bending and flexing to accommodate the loads that poor roads and field work would induce. Once lighter weight, tighter built unibody construction became the norm, rack and pinion became acceptable and allowed the more precise steering we have today.

 

If the box was rebuilt correctly, there would be no play at mid position. It's most likely that the worm gear is worn. You can't tell by looking at it, unless it's really toast.
Chuck

 

 

Take it off and put it back on correctly.

 

 

Mine was off about an 1/3 of a turn. What I did was with the front wheels off the garage floor, I counted the steering wheel turns from max left to max right. Then turned the wheel back to exactly half the turns counted. Then used a piece of chalk to mark the steering wheel to the steering column. I carefully lowered truck, then double checked to make sure the steering wheel still matched the reference mark. I then pulled the steering wheel and re-positioned it so it went back on straight. That got me close, but then I noticed something. While driving through a nice level parking lot, the steering wheel was right on. But when I was driving down the road (due to the crowning of the pavement I suppose) it seemed off a little bit again. I could of left it that way, but I decided to pull the steering wheel and rotate it a little toward the left couple of more degrees, and since then it has seem to be right on. There is probably a more accurate way. But it worked out good for me with the stock straight axle.