[elcaminodragster]

This is my sisters stang. Shes been complaining about the loose steering for sometime now and Idk what it is aside from a bad steering box. Ive replaced the slave cylinder, stiffer sway bar, coils, leafs and shocks.

The steering wheel can be "bounced" back and forth about 2" without affecting the direction shes going.

I think she would like the manual steering if I can get a box that has a fast ratio to make it easy to turn for her in parking lots.

What ratio manual box should I look for?

Or do you have any ideas on why its so loose?

[n_keiser_rat]

i have had on my firebird the rubber neopream before the gear box do that... dont know if its the same you might check that

[SSedan64]

You need to inspect all the parts, Tie Rods, Pitman & Idle Arm etc.. to see where the wear is before you assume it's all in the Steering Box.

[sqzbox]

Have you adjusted the worm gear on the steering box? The very fact that you can move the steering wheel back and forth 2" inches without moving the tires points straight to the box.
Try grabbing the steering shaft from the firewall to the steering box and rotate it back and forth while observing the pitman arm. If the pitman arm is not moving when you rotate the shaft, your worm gear is out of adj. or worn out. It's not uncommon for ford boxes to wear out especially after 42 years.
I would keep the power steering as she ain't going to like it compared to manual steering. It seems that you just can't get it across to the ladies to turn the wheel while rolling to make it easier instead of turning it while stationary and then they complain it's too hard.
I would try to keep the classic mustang as close to original to retain the value of the car.

[Chevrolet4x4s]

Same sister & Mustang that didn't want headers ? I'd keep the power box.
Shane

[elcaminodragster]

Yes same sister lol. She likes the headers now and wants more power. . . go figure. The idea of the headers was better gas because she would complain about how crappy the mileage was. Now she wants to pull the engine clean it up and get some more ponies. Im so lost with her I dont even want to touch the car but steering needs to be fixed its bad. The manual box would give her full control and if IF I did do a manual box I would make sure its an easy turn.

Worm gear? Once the rain stops Ill take a look and see if the pitman arm moves.


Sorry I forgot to add I did change all the ball joints and linkage.

[eloc431962]

You can buy a whole kit for $200 dollars or more depending on what you buy. Heres one for alittle over $300. http://johnsmustang.com/Catalog/2115/ .There are other places that have good quality stuff cheaper then this just stock replacement parts. JMO

Cole

[sqzbox]

Got good prices on rebuilt and new steering boxes too.

[wildthing]

on top of the steering box is a large screw with a jam nut. loosen the jam nut and turn in the screw , makeing small adjustments , like one turn at a time.
i have a 68 cougar that was the sameway , i turned mine in 2 turns and its like new with no play............

[elcaminodragster]

Originally Posted by sqzbox

Have you adjusted the worm gear on the steering box? The very fact that you can move the steering wheel back and forth 2" inches without moving the tires points straight to the box.
Try grabbing the steering shaft from the firewall to the steering box and rotate it back and forth while observing the pitman arm. If the pitman arm is not moving when you rotate the shaft, your worm gear is out of adj. or worn out.

I did that and the shaft spins a good amount and the pitman arm moves very very little with a even smaller delay in response. Would that just be an adjustment? Im going to check all the steering linkage ball joints bushings etc. to make sure its all still good.


Do I have to worry about adjusting the screw on top of the box to much? Do I turn the screw clockwise or counterclockwise to tighten it?

[sqzbox]

Wildthing got it right. When you loosen the nut though, be sure to keep a screwdriver on the shaft to keep it from backing out while you turn the nut about 3 times. That should give you enough room to screw the shaft righty- tighty untill you feel resistance then tighten the locking nut.
You may have to adj. it two or three times to get it as good as it's going to get. You'll know if you over tightend it as the steering will be a little heavy anf the steering wheel won't want to return to center without assistance from you.

[eloc431962]

The worm and sector (gear box), It has ball bearings in it. Too much adjustment will damage them. On the adjuster nut, try 1/4 turn. Don't forget to tighten the securing nut. Drive the car and see if there is any change. If not, go another 1/4 turn and try again. Make sure you have proper fluid in the gear box first.JMO Is it power steering?


Cole

[elcaminodragster]

Originally Posted by eloc431962

The worm and sector (gear box), It has ball bearings in it. Too much adjustment will damage them. On the adjuster nut, try 1/4 turn. Don't forget to tighten the securing nut. Drive the car and see if there is any change. If not, go another 1/4 turn and try again. Make sure you have proper fluid in the gear box first.JMO Is it power steering?


Cole

Yes its power steering. kind of tossing around the idea of manual but will most likely keep the power. She wont grasp the concept of turn while moving as mentioned before lol

[elcaminodragster]

So shes wanting to buy the box now. What do I look for? Im not a ford guy. I tried looking and it says short shaft long shaft 1" input 1 1/8" input. how can I find out what she has so shes buys the right part?


Just replacing the box straight across I dont want to do anything special to it.

[sqzbox]

I'm not a ford guy so I can't tell you what box to buy. I can tell you that your going to think you screwed it all up untill you finally get all the air out of the system. It'll whine like a little girl but just keep driving it around the block and keep checking the fluid level till it quits.