Steering tightness

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I have a 1932 Model 54 Club Brougham that was restored back in the late 70’s. The steering box was gone through in about 1990 by Sheldon Ball to address “roughness” when turning. Corrosion was found and taken care of. I do not know what else was done at that time. The car is driven infrequently. That last time I had it out the steering had become very tight. Smooth, but very tight (no self-centering at all). Can anyone give me some insight where I might look for a cause?

Thanks. Neil Fischer

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Jack up the car on the front axle to unload the kingpins.

Is the steering still tight? If so, first make sure that all lubrication fittings are either greased or oiled, depending on their nature.

Still tight? If so, disconnect the long link bar from the steering knuckle to separate the steering box from the front end.

Still tight? Check the steering box to make sure that there is oil in it.

Otherwise, the tightness is either in the steering box or the steering column.

I speculate that with inactivity things have gotten gummed up and just need working and fresh lubrication to loosen it all back up.

Bill

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Thank you for the suggestions. While on a lift we backed off the steering box preload until there was noticeable play in the steering wheel. The wheel effort did not change. The throttle and lighting levers do not seem to be affected.

I’m assuming it’s a lubrication issue. Does someone have an exploded view of the column?

Neil

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Could be a bad bushing in the slip on steering column cover, often damaged by chrome shops. Simple to figure out, pull the pitman arm while the wheels are jacked. If the front wheels move left and right by hand with almost little or no effort, then your problem is in the box. The 32 Ross boxes have very few problems, and if kept lubricated, almost no adjustments are ever required. Corrosion was found and taken care of……. well it’s almost impossible to fix these boxes if water enters them. The are no over the counter bearings in the box. I have some NOS 32 box bearings and other parts, and may have a spare good worm. They are more difficult to set up than most people realize, as you need to get correct lash at both the center as well as full left and right turn. I had one apart 3 months ago, but did not take any photos. ALSO parts DO NOT interchange from one box to another, as they were machined and assembled as a unit. That goes for all Ross and Gemmer boxes used by Pierce. I may also have a good used box in the barn if you end up needing it. My bet is the bad bushing in the cover or poor workmanship from the previous repair. Good luck, Ed

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By backing off on the preload…… It’s very difficult to get these boxes set up correctly in the car, it’s now time to pull it out and set it up on a bench. The only adjustment that is safe to do in the car is the pitman arm shaft endplay adjustment. The oil in the box will prevent you from getting it set up correctly, It would be best to tear it all the way down and adjust it dry. Ed

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Above photo is a 30 Gemmer worm. Not a Ross, but they look the same. Notice the Timken special bearing with the race part of the worm. If the box has water in it, the race will be rusty and impossible to repair. Ed

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