The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline wandering steering on 1957 3600

hi.

steering issue.

just got a 57 3600.

taking it for drives, I notice some 'wandering' (for lack of a better word) in the steering that does not seem quite right. it is noticeable going on long straightaways, and especially if there are bumps in the road. shocks are newer. tires are newer. it is not all the time, but much of the time. said another way, it is not 'constant', but happens enough that something is wrong.

I first thought it might just need an alignment, but now I am not so sure.

any suggestions on what it might be, and what I might check out, would be appreciated.

thanks in advance.

With the front wheels jacked up (supported by jack stands, please!) count the steering wheel turns lock-to-lock, then return the wheel to the halfway point. Have someone move the rim of the steering wheel about an inch or less side to side and watch the Pitman arm. You should be able to see a slight movement. If not, the sector gear preload needs adjusting. To do it right the Pitman needs to be disconnected from the drag link, and the adjustment screw on the opposite side of the steering gear from the Pitman needs to be tightened until there's a 10 inch/lb. increase in turning effort at the steering wheel nut as the gear passes over the center point. This provides a zero-clearance point as the vehicle tracks straight down the road. If the straight down the road position of the steering wheel does not coincide with the steering gear center point, the steering linkage is worn or bent. There is no drag link adjustment for centering the wheel on a Stovebolt straight axle system that I'm aware of.
Jerry

start with your expectations, these aren't precision modern rigs, are you familiar with driving 50 year old trucks?

you mean there's free play in the wheel? how much? wheel jumps in your hand when hitting bumps? tires follow the imperfections of the road?

first off, have someone work the steering back and forth across its free play while you watch for movement in the steering gear below, check for sloppy joints .... make sure everything is properly lubricated, and lube hasn't been neglected .... make sure tire pressure is as correct .... report back

Bill

I'd go with H.R.L's advice. We all know when steering doesn't feel right. The horizontal bars on the (Steering) wheel should be horizontal,when your tires are pointed straight ahead. If not,like Jerry said,the linkage is worn,bent,or needs adjusted. GOOD LUCK!!

I like HRL's torque wrench tip better than the fish scale method as prescribed in the Factory Manual. It is easier to watch the increase in effort as you go past the midpoint.
If your box has a lot of miles on it and the gear lube is questionable, I would suggest that you adjust the worm gear preload prior to adjusting the sector gear BACKLASH adjustment. (HRL called it sector gear PRELOAD, MacIntosh/Granny Smith, same difference.)
You can lose worm gear bearing preload with wear.
There are roller bearings on the worm gear which require load preset. It is adjusted by backing off the big lock nut and turning in the big adjuster cup at the front end of the box.
The Manual calls for 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of "fish scale" resistance taken at the outside of the steering wheel.
Once you set the worm gear bearing preload, go on to HRL's directions on the sector shaft adjustment.
Carl

Another thing to look at are the king pin/bushings. While the wheels are in the air, grab the tires top and bottom and see if you can rock them in or out at either top or bottom. If you can you may have worn king pins and bushings.

Also, while the wheels are off the ground, check the wheel bearings for play. By rocking the wheels top and bottom for king pins, you can also tell if the wheel bearings may need adjusting.

You can see if any of the steering linkage is loose while the wheels are in the air too. Have some one grab a tire by the front and back and move them back and forth to make the steering linkage move. Watch as they move the tires and see if there is any play in the tie rod ends and the drag link. You can also have someone move the steering wheel from right to left in small arcs to see if anything is loose.

The first of these trucks I had was a 1951 GMC and the prior owner told me it had bad steering. As I recall, here's what I did in order: Adjusted the steering box. It didn't have much play at all. Bought a new drag link. They cost about $9 from NAPA back then and the original one looked like it had been used without grease a good while. Rebuilt the tie rod ends and adjusted toe in/toe out. And finally I replaced the kingpins, bushings and bearings. They were about $7 each side from JC Whitney and I think the machine shop charged me $10 for the labor. This all helped but it still wandered around like a drunk (even in city traffic). Finally (out of ideas) I counted the front spring leaves and noticed 2 had been removed on each side. Got a couple of complete springs at a junk yard, and when replacing them discovered the caster shims were gone. Result? The truck when I bought it had about a zero caster angle. It steered nice and easy but there was no reason for those wheels to want to straighten themselves. And because of that, no matter how good everything else was...the thing was doomed to always wander if left in that condition. As I recall, the shop manual called for 1 degree positive but I found adding 1/2 to 1 extra degree will make your front wheels more self-centering and cause it to wander a lot less. There is a happy medium and it may not be 1 degree is my message. Note: If you have too much positive caster, it will drive straight as an arrow, but it will feel heavy while turning and take more effort to steer. You have to sort of play around with this to find what you think is best. Also, I suspect too much caster angle will wear your kingpin bushings more rapidly. Look also at the rear springs and check to be sure nobody along the way raised the rear end and/or lowered the front end. Also check to be sure the prior owner wasn't running tires on the front which are a smaller diameter than the rear ones. Any of this stuff can reduce your caster angle. Good luck!
Jon

I had the same problem with my 58. Could not find anything wrong to the eye upon inspection. Then I went to the shop manual and found that the wheel bearings should have 33 ft. lbs. of torque. The passenger side was off more than a half round before the wrench clicked. Problem solved , handles like a new truck, no more wander.

thanks to all for all of the advice.

I have a lot of to dos....

I will report back.

thanks again