48 Lincoln steering box

[imported_v12lincoln]

Hi Guys. I just installed new king pins and tie rod ends in my Lincoln and now I have a problem with a worn steering box. it has been adjusted but still has some play and feels a little tight. anyone know where I can get the parts to rebuild it?

Thanks.

[peecher]

Jack, I wonder how your gear box was adjusted? The adjustment proceedure on these Gemmer steering gear boxes is a bit complicated. The slack and tightness could be attributed to any of the three adjustments required. These adjustments must be done in a specific order to effect good results.

[imported_v12lincoln]

I havent read anything on how to adjust it but he told me while the front wheels were off the ground he loosend the lock nut and tightend the adjusting screw till finger pressure then a 1/16 of a turn. to me it was real tight and felt twitchy so I backed it off about an 1/8 of a turn which now feels better but still a little to loose, about a 1/8 of a turn of the wheel loose. I can live with this but would like it a little tighter. any ideas?

Thanks

[peecher]

The adjustment on top of the steering box sets the end play( up and down) on the roller(pitman) shaft. People seem to think this is a "mesh" adjustment and mistakenly try to remove "play" by tightening it. The proper way to adjust this type of gear is to first remove any end play in the worm shaft. There are shims under the end plate at the forward end of the gear. The end plate is loosened and one shim at a time is removed to correct any looseness in the worm shaft. This adjustment is correct when there's no end play and the steering wheel moves freely with no tightness. You have already adjusted the end play in the roller ( pitman) shaft to get rid of the tightness. The last adjustment is the mesh clearance. To do this properly you almost have to take the gear box out of the car. Shims control the roller shaft to worm fit. These shims are on the lower part of the roller shaft above the thrust washer. You remove the roller shaft and one shim at a time. The correct adjustment is when there is not more than .006" movement at the end of the pitman shaft without heavy drag on the steering wheel. There is "trial and error" involved.

[imported_v12lincoln]

Thank you for the information. I think I will wait untill after the car show season is over to tear into the steering box, it is tollorable right now.

[Guest imported_V12Bill]

Jack, The adjustment for your steering box is explained in Motors and Chilton repair manuals of that era. I had a 55 F 100 that had the same adjustment procedure.

The first step is to take out the end play in the steering column shaft. If new bearings are called for , this is the time to replace them. As Peecher stated the end play or bearing pre load is adjusted by adding or subtracting shims found under the plate at the bottom of the steering shaft/worm gear. These shims are of varying thickness so it might be helpful to mic their thickness as you pull them out or add them back in. With the sector shaft removed, check the pre load on the steering shaft/ worm gear by measuring the amount of force needed to turn the steering wheel. I used a fish scale to pull the wheel with about 24 ounces of force.

Before you replace the sector shaft, replace the seal at the bottom of the housing. This is where the oil leaks out and leaves you with a dry steering box soon to be worn out. With the sector shaft replaced and the top cover in place, now you make the adjustment you were making before . This adjustment opens and closes the mesh between the worm and sector gears and also has to be measured with a scale.

The difficult part of this whole operation is that the steering box should be removed from the car to do it right. If the engine is out of the car there is no problem. If the engine is in the car, it has to come out through the bottom which means getting the car very high in the air.

For correct force measurments check your repair manual.

Bill

[imported_v12lincoln]

Thanks Bill. I must have over looked the steering box section in my old motors manual, will have to go back and look again. thanks for all your help.