The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Radial tires vs. conventional tires

Hello everybody,

I am new on Stovebolt and this is my first forum attempt.

I drive a 1945 AK3100 1/2 ton and the vehicle is in very nice mechanical and cosmetic conditions. I have yet two major problems:
1.The steering wheel is hard to turn (when parking and at very slow speed) and turns with "bumps". No smooth action. It feels like some balls in the worm gear are broken. There is also about 1/3 turn play. Do I need to replace the assembly?

2. When driving - even at moderate speeds (30 - 40 mph)- the truck follows every imperfection of the pavement. He is in charge, not me, which is not good. I drive on mountain roads and this behavior can be dangerous. Is it possibly a consequence of problem #1 or do I need to address the tires? Wheel convergence has been checked and fixed, but no improvement. My tires are traditional 6.50R16 4 plies (about 12 years old), still good profile yet hard. I question if replacing them with "modern" radial whitewalls can help. Coker Tires offers that size (darn expensive).

I appreciate your help. Looking forward to your replies. Thanks!!!

Renzo from Italy

Rezon, going to radial tires on my truck was one of the best upgrades I've made. I replaced nearly new but old 16" bias ply tires with 215-85-16 radials and the "follow ridge" issue all but disappeared. Many of my local roads I suspect are similar to your roads (I rented a vehicle and drove many miles in Italy last fall).

On the steering sector, sure sounds like it has internal issues. First step would be to check and add the proper grease if necessary. There are many post on this site that are applicable.

One thread is here.

Recient thread that mentions a rebuild kit with part numbers.


Buona fortuna


RonR

Welcome to the garage Renzo!
Check out the tech tips and see if you can find the info you need there.
https://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/
I would start with the steering box, and tie rods. Radial tires do drive better than bias ply, but I suspect it's more in the steering box and tire rods.

Don

Funny when one guy gets your handle wrong everyone thereafter gets it wrong. Renzo, before spending a bunch of $ on tires make sure all the mechanical components are in tip top shape. Be sure to follow the service manual instructions for adjusting the steering box. If it won’t adjust then a rebuild is in order. Once everything is tight and within factory tolerances if it still wanders when driven, try the radials. Welcome to the Stovebolt madness.

Completely agree with addressing the mechanicals, especially the steering box, first. With 1/3 of a turn play I am surprised you can go down the road without white knuckles. I have Coker radials on my truck and have been very happy with them. They are wearing quite well- still look new. The only real advantage to them that I can tell is they closely mimic the profile of the original bias ply tires.

First thing I would do would be to remove the drag link from the pitman arm and see how the steering wheel feels when you turn it. Be careful not to turn it hard all the way left or right or you will damage the ball guides inside of the box.
If it is smooth turning, this would be a good time to go to the Truck Manual and follow the instructions for adjusting the steering box. (These adjustments need to be done with the drag link disconnected.)
Carl

After you’ve gone through the mechanicals (and if you put on radials), your truck will drive so smoothly. My AD 1 ton surprised me how nicely it drove after I finished it. Worth the effort of the steering rebuild and tires.

I have been driving my 54 since 1983 with radials. Depending on the look you want and maybe you should switch to different more modern rims and your use, you could use auto rated tires for a lot less money. As for the mechanical issues, I leave that to my learned members. BTW i switched to IFS early on in my ownership Welcome..

To everybody who took the time to answer my questions: Thank you very much!!!
I will follow the advice and work on the stering components first, than I will add the new tires. I will then report about my results.
Grazie a tutti - many thanks again to everybody.
Renzo