Frnknsteen
Well-Known Member
Finally got rid of the excess slop in my steering on the '67 Barracuda!!
When I bought the car, there was a ton of slop (excessive play) in the steering. We're talking dangerous slop! I replaced all the front steering components and still had tons of slop. Replaced the steering gear with a Firm Feel 20:1 gearbox and still had the slop.
The steering coupler didn't look like it had been separated, so I didn't look at it at the time. After replacing the steering gear and still having slop, I decided to pull it apart. Found that the previous owner MUST have had it apart at some point because the shoes in there were installed the wrong direction. I turned them the correct direction and reinstalled. It was better, but still had excess play in the wheel.
As a last resort,.... I just ordered a rebuild kit that had new shoes, spring, cross pin, seal, and cover. I pulled it back apart and checked for play between the old shoes and pin. There seemed to be some excess play (loose fit between pin and shoe). I tried the new shoes on the old pin and there was less, but still excessive play. Pin that came with the kit was a tight slip fit to the shoes (no wobble).
Ok,... Out comes the steering column and I drove out the old pin and pressed in the new pin that came with the kit. I filled the coupler body about half way with heavy grease and reinstalled the shoes into the coupler body, filled the rest of the body cavity with grease and put the new seal and cover in place and installed the spring keeper I had ordered.
Tada!! Slop is gone. There is still a little normal movement in the wheel, but it is back to being a "Normal" amount with no excessive play. Wanted to share so people having the same issue know that even if everything is assembled correctly, there could be enough wear on the pieces to cause excessive play in the wheel.
When I bought the car, there was a ton of slop (excessive play) in the steering. We're talking dangerous slop! I replaced all the front steering components and still had tons of slop. Replaced the steering gear with a Firm Feel 20:1 gearbox and still had the slop.
The steering coupler didn't look like it had been separated, so I didn't look at it at the time. After replacing the steering gear and still having slop, I decided to pull it apart. Found that the previous owner MUST have had it apart at some point because the shoes in there were installed the wrong direction. I turned them the correct direction and reinstalled. It was better, but still had excess play in the wheel.
As a last resort,.... I just ordered a rebuild kit that had new shoes, spring, cross pin, seal, and cover. I pulled it back apart and checked for play between the old shoes and pin. There seemed to be some excess play (loose fit between pin and shoe). I tried the new shoes on the old pin and there was less, but still excessive play. Pin that came with the kit was a tight slip fit to the shoes (no wobble).
Ok,... Out comes the steering column and I drove out the old pin and pressed in the new pin that came with the kit. I filled the coupler body about half way with heavy grease and reinstalled the shoes into the coupler body, filled the rest of the body cavity with grease and put the new seal and cover in place and installed the spring keeper I had ordered.
Tada!! Slop is gone. There is still a little normal movement in the wheel, but it is back to being a "Normal" amount with no excessive play. Wanted to share so people having the same issue know that even if everything is assembled correctly, there could be enough wear on the pieces to cause excessive play in the wheel.
