Guest billybird Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Last year I took the entire steering column out of my 56' and put in a new turn signal switch, canceller, all new collars etc, the whole 9 yards. however I failed to mark the position of the shaft when I took it all out and now while everything looks great, the steering wheel is not centered {about a 1/4 turn off} I'm thinking I can get it centered by the tie rods. Am I right? Any additional thoughts would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1957Birdman Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 You might be able to do it that way and I think you will find a procedure in the 1956 Ford and Thunderbird shop manual to do it. The problem is that if your car didn't need a front end alignment before the work it probably will afterward. My wheel was off center also, but by about an eighth of a turn. I talked to Rick at Prestige Thunderbird and he told me that in those situations they just pull the wheel and put it back on in the correct position. In the end that is what I decided to do and have had no problems with it since. Of course you could also pull the steering column again, change the position of the wheel and reinstall. You pick your poison on that one. Good luck and please let us know what you decide to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billybird Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 1957Birdman: Thanks for the prompt response. I do in fact have the manual you speak of and have read through the proceedure. The last thing I want to do is pull the column back out, as you know, that ain't no "pie job". What insterests me is just taking off the steering wheel and putting it back on right. BUT the steering wheel will only go on the splines one way, or at least thats the way I saw it. Am I missing something? Were all these columns the exact same all three years? I just didn't see how I could take the steering wheel off and orient it correctly due to the one way issue. As I said what am I missing here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1957Birdman Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Billy Bird, the steering wheel and column is the same for the 1956-57 T-Birds. The 1955 is different because it does not have the "Lifeguard Design" steering wheel.Anyway, I think you will find that if you pull the wheel you can change the position and put it back on. You will need to be careful when you use the wheel puller that you don't mess up the horn wire that is there in the middle of the steering column. Of course, if the steering column isn't original (highly unlikely) then all bets are off.Good luck with it and let me know what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest martylum Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Billy-I used to have 55-7 T Birds and Fords and I think you'll find the steering shaft at the steering wheel has only 1 position with a wider spline which matches up with the wider spline on the wheel. the thing you want to change is the pittman arm at the steering box output shaft. I installed steering boxes by centering the steering wheel after bolting on the box and Before sliding the pittman arm over the output shaft. Also be sure the front wheels are in the straight ahead position and then slide the pittman arm over the splined output shaft.. Things should line up.You'll need a special puller called a Pittman arm puller available at autoparts or tool vendors.Martin Lum1956 and 57 Birds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billybird Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 martylum: You are correct. What happened was I took the shaft out of the box and THEN the front wheels got moved and I forgot to straighten them before I put everything back together { careless/stupid }. The "one way deal" is what I mentioned in an earlier post. I already have a pitman arm puller, but someone told me the pitman arm and shaft has this same one way configuration that would prevent the pitman arm from simply being moved wherever you need it. So you are saying the pitman arm CAN be rotated to accomplish what I'm after; is this correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1957Birdman Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Well, I guess my car must be unique since I was able to pull the steering wheel and change its position. I know that this is what Rick Harbaugh does at Prestige Thunderbird in California. I would suggest that you call them and talk with him about your situaiton. He has seen it all when it comes to early T-Birds. His number at Prestige is (562) 944-6237. Having said all of this, if things were reinstalled in such a way that you won't be able to turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock fully from let to right than the solution is under the hood and the front end, not in the postion of the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DonnerVogel567 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 As previous threads have stated correctly, the steering wheel was designed to be installed only one way. The steering shaft and the steering wheel both have mating keyway shafts. With the keyway or slot straight-up, both front wheels should point straight ahead if the alignment is correct. With the steering wheel installed the bottom spoke should point straight down.When the car is driven and the steering wheel's bottom spoke is pointing leftor right about 30 degrees from the bottom, most likely an adjustment of the tie-rods will again center the steering wheel. The steering wheel must be centered BEFORE the tie-rods are adjusted. If the steering wheel is 90 degrees or more off, it's an indication the pitman arm was installed incorrectly. There's about three different ways to position the pitman arm. With the steering wheel centered, the pitman arm should point striaght ahead. When the pitman arm is in installed in the incorrect position, the arc of left and right turns may not be equal. The main reason the steering wheel must be installed as original is the steering box itself. When everything is centered, the steering gear is on it High point. If it is not on the High point, the car will be steering the driver and the driver must continually make corrections left or right when driving down a straight road. The other reason for installing the steering wheel correctly, is for proper cancellation of the turn signals by the turn signal cam, part # 13318. The opening of the cam should be on the left, between about 10 and 7 of a 12 hr clock. I hope I have steered you right (correct)Bob Hartig CTCI # 03691 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billybird Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 DonnerVogel567: Thanks for the technical advice. If I understand your post correctly; what you are really saying is I need to pull the shaft back out. Thats what I was trying to avoid, but if it's the only way then it's the only way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coley Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 DonnerVogel567 is right on.!!!I get so upset when someone gives the opinion of "just pull the wheel and put it back on straight".NEVER DO THIS!!As mentioned the steering box has a high point position that is used in straight ahead driving.By not centering the steering shaft, the box will have too much play.Get a shop manual for the car and do it correctly.By the same token, DO NOT adjust the pitman shaft screw to take out steering wheel play, as a first step.Do both of the box adjustments in the proper order to set it up correctly.Rant over........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DonnerVogel567 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 The steering column DOES NOT have to be pulled to GET THINGS STRAIGHT. Since the steering shaft can only be installed only one way on the gearbox shaft, all that needs to be done is to make sure the notch in the shaft, where the steering wheel attaches, is at the 12 O'clock position. If this notch, which looks like a key-way, is at 12 O'clock, the steering shaft will be in the correct position. Then, all adjustments, whether it be the tie-rods or to reposition the Pitman arm, should be made. When the steering wheel is centered, the Pitman arm should point staright ahead.Bob HartigMcLean, VA'55, '56, '57E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billybird Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Gotcha! I'm just glad the shaft doesn't have to come back out. So I'm back to my original post which was to do it with the tie rods. I have that proceedure in my shop manual. Thanks for all the input fellas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 31Woody Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Believe Bob Hardig's advice on steering wheel centering is correct.Plan on pulling and rebuilding mine this winter on my '57 TBird.BTW - Bob, if you are reading this was wondering if you were the one calling me at Dulles tower on occasion at 35,000'?If so, email me at 31woody@cox.netDave WWilliamsburg with a '57 Bird (and 2 Model "A"s) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Silverbird58 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 (edited) ! Edited December 17, 2016 by Silverbird58 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Silverbird58 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 drive car to empty lot /level ground . the outer most bulge of the front tires ,mark with chalk on the pavement both sides . push the car Strait forward . and make sure you correct the wheel to get even between marks . if you have to steer to the left the right will need moved the most , and it's inverse is true . mark the front tire bulge on the pavement again and make two verticle sticks 2x4's . the vertical wood will be above the chalk . turn wheel center , then look down both sides of car . with a toe in you will see none of the front tire looking forward if you do (move that tie rod both sides should be real close . .then measure with a tape to get total toe right . the more neg caster seems to work better on mine . camber is Flat with the ground. oh the vertical sticks are for the rear wheels since squarebirds have wider front foot stance . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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