Wheel play
| My 66 corvette has play in the steering wheel is there a way to tighten the wheel from moving left to right before actually having the car turn? Would replacing a rebuilt gear box solve the problem? Thanks |
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Re: Wheel play
Morris------
There are several things that can cause excessive play in the steering. Among the most likely culprits are the steering coupler (i.e. "rag joint") and the steering box, itself.
If your steering box has been rebuilt, that does not mean that it was rebuilt properly. Sometimes, steering boxes are rebuilt using internal parts that are excessively worn. If this is the case, it will result in a steering box that will not perform satisfactorily.In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: Wheel play
Thank you joeComment
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Re: Wheel play
Hi joe
the gear box in the car is the original i have a rebuilt one to put on. With that said, i checked the steering by moving it back and forth the rag joint moved in harmony. You you say that was the problem or most likely? Thank you mauryComment
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Re: Wheel play
Morris-----
If you are going to replace the steering box with a rebuilt unit you have, I'd definitely replace the steering coupler (rag joint) at the same time. Sometimes it's hard to tell if there is play in the system caused by the coupler by just observing the coupler while the wheel is turned.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: Wheel play
FYI,
As Joe mentioned many of the "rebuilt" boxes on the market today are not what you expect them to be. I get them in all the time to correct and find that they really consist of a paint job and over greasing. I have files of pictures of poorly rebuilt boxes. With the box on center there should be no play in it. Looking at the input, moving it on center should result in move at the pitman arm. There should be no lost motion in the box.
Look at the lash bolt in the cover, if it has some threads showing above the nut then the gears may have adjustment left in them. If no threads are showing then the gears are all done. The common rebuilt boxes sold all over for $150-$200 do not have new gears in them. The supplier of new gears to a lot of the rebuilders was Tom Reina of Corvette Steering. Tom was a friend of mine but he passed away suddenly last January. I now have all the new gears and use them in my builds. Be very careful.
A fellow came up to me at Carlisle a couple of years ago with a somewhat new looking box. He said he heard of me and wanted me to rebuild the box. He told me it was the 4th box he got from a vendor after getting 3 bad "rebuilds". Since we were at Carlisle and he told me who the rebuilder was I directed him to his huge tent so they could take care of him in person. He came back an hour later with a new box still packaged in the cardboard box. He asked me again if I would fix it. I asked him "why, you have a new box?" He told me he knew it would be junk just like the first 4! I asked him if I could check it for him so we opened up the box and took out the fresh rebuilt steering box and put it next to one of mine. They looked the same but then he said to try and turn it. I put a rag joint on it and sure enough it was bad, felt like a box of rocks and was binding up. I told him to take it back but he said he wanted a box that was right and so I took it back and rebuild it. I found the worm nut was on upside down, which any rebuilder would know is wrong, so to check it I assembled the worm and 54 balls correctly to test the gears. They were bottomed out and no good. Since the rebuilder didn't want to buy new gears or they just didn't know what they were doing they tried to run the tapered teeth the wrong way. Once I installed and setup the new gears the box was perfect.
If you have a 0-30 in/lb dial torque wrench be sure to check your replacement box now before you install it.Comment
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