57 Buick Wheel Free Play Question

[buick man]

I have a question for anyone who is in the know regarding this for 1957 Buicks.

1) On Power steering equipped models, what is considered "acceptable" regarding just how much at rest static steering wheel left to right free play movement should be available on a car with a newly rebuilt steering box and completely rebuilt front end steering components?

Qualifier: The free left to right movement with the engine off, car on level and flat ground and before any engagement of the worm gear binding in the steering box or before any torsional stress is applied to steering components ie. the tie rods.

My wheel has about an 1-1/2" to 2-1/4" free play movement under above described conditions.

2) I take it that once the engine is started and the power steering pump is working, this free play is taken up by the pump. Then how much free play left to right steering wheel movement is available, left or right, before any movement is noticed in the steering components and or wheels?

My engine is not running currently and cannot check this second condition out.

Just getting my stuff together for rebuilding and could not find an answer to my 2 questions above in the spec sections of the shop manual. Any help would be appreciated.

Edited April 13, 2011 by buick man (see edit history)

[NTX5467]

I know that rebuilders have their own "final assembly" checks, but the reman unit I purchased from ___________ (a noted reputable remanufacturer, whose products were mentioned in several performance car magazines back then) several years ago (a full-size GM late-model gear) needed to be adjusted to be driveable. Same issue, too much free-play "on center". I played with it until I got it to where the free-play was mostly gone . . . with the engine running.

My experiences have been that there will be some free-play with the engine off, but you should also be able to (with the engine running) also be able to slowly and gently turn the steering wheel until you first see the tire just start to move. Minimizing this definition of "free-play" might be where you end up.

When you get the "on center" adjustment too tight, the wheel will not return freely and normally from a turn. In other words, the natural camber will not self-return the wheel due to too much internal resistance in the gear. Sometimes, you just have to play with these adjustments until they are mostly right.

The other place where "free-play" can come in is with the "adjuster plug adjustment" (at least that's what they call it on the later model GM gears), which is on the input side of the gear, where the stub shaft attaches to the steering column. Not sure how the earlier gears are configured, but I suspect there's an adjustment there too. One that might take a spanner nut wrench to do.

In some cases, these adjustments are done with an inch-pounds torque wrench. Sometimes attached to the steering wheel shaft and other times to the stub shaft (with the gear removed from the car). If this is what the service manual mentions, then a "free-play" spec might not exist as such.

For good measure, you might contact the rebuilder to see what their thoughts might be.

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

[buick man]

Thanks for that input.

I thought it would be interesting for a few folks to let me know what their perspective steering wheel free play is when the engine is not running and again what it is once the engine has started just to get a sense of real world normality.

I went thru the shop manual last fall when I was getting ready to rebuild my unit and just thought a comparison to others rebuilt or not would be nice. So if anyone can let me know what their free play stats are it would be appreciated.

[NTX5467]

In thinking about the issue of the engine running or not, I don't recall there being anything in the gear with "moves" when the gear is pressurized. At least anything which would affect the meshing of the input, output, and pittman shaft.

The "feel" of the steering wheel, regarding any free play, with be different, though, but I highly suspect the free play should be the same either way.

What you might consider would be to take the steering linkage free from the pittman arm of the steering linkage. You should be able to move it from side to side, due to the free play situation. Then carefully adjust things until any free play movement is minimized, as the steering wheel remains stationary. This would probably get the "worm gear" adjustment taken care of.

Then, you could check the input side of the gear for the stub shaft moving inward or outward as the steering wheel is turned side to side, in the free play area "on center". This would be what we called the "Adjuster Plug" adjustment . . . which I mentioned might require a spanner wrench of sorts to perform. Sometimes, the bottom part of the gear can be adjusted correctly, but the up and down movement of the steering column shaft can give the same feeling of free play. Think of this as "torque reaction" to the input shaft trying to turn the gear section it is trying to turn, BUT before it moves it.

Just some additional thoughts . . .

NTX5467