'56 Buick steering box....

My '56 Special doesn't steer right. It takes two hands to keep it on the road because it seems to be fighting itself, if that makes any sense. I've tried adjusting the steering box a few times with limited success. I know how to loosen the nut, turn the screw, and retighten the nut but what exactly am I adjusting? What does the inside of a steering box look like? Is there a diagram of one somewhere that I can look at or maybe a disassembled one? Is there some way I can start from scratch to adjust it right? Any advice will be appreciated....

 

I think your problem might be worn tie rod ends.
You need to get a shop manual. About $25-$50 for a bound original paper. Or a CD. I have both

 

I know what I've read.
I'm not a mechanic by any stretch.
There's a lot of good folks on here that know more than me

 

I have an original factory shop manual for the '56 Buick. There is no free play. It's just the opposite of free play. It feels like it's binding on itself or whatever that's called. It takes two hands to steer it down the road because it constantly wants to go anywhere except straight down the road. It's hard to explain but it feels like it's a steering box problem....

 

I would try loosen the box back up. When the steering gear is TOO tight it will cause this problem. When the box is centered going down the road the pinion gear has a raised area to keep the car going straight. When the box is too tight it wants to overcenter itself & you have to constantly steer the car.

 

It's raining here today so I'll try loosening it up tomorrow or Tuesday because I obviously need to drive it after the adjustment. Do you think two full turns would work or maybe 3-4 turns? If I loosen it up too much could something come loose inside the steering box? I'd rather have a little free play than have it binding like it is now....

 

How much do you think you tightened it??? I wouldn't go more than two turns unless you think you tightened it up that much. Usually when I adjust a steering box I only go 1/4 turn at a time.

 

I think it was too tight in the first place. I loosened it two turns today and took it for a drive and it felt a little better so I loosened it one more turn. That caused a little too much free play so I tightened it half a turn and it seems OK now. It's not perfect but it's better than it was when I bought it three weeks ago today. Thanks for the help....

 

Ah sounds like you've narrowed it down !! Great !!

Does your car have bias ply or radial tires on it?

If you're accustomed to driving radial tires , bias ply tires will track ruts and wander compared to radial tires.

 

It has radials.... :TU:

 

Check the play in the drag link joints. They can be adjusted after removing the cotter pins. One is on the pit-man arm end. The other is on the idler arm end.

 

What do the drag link joints look like? Are there any pics of them or instructions in the shop manual?

 

Should be & also how to adjust.

 

I looked in the manual and it's WAY too complicated for me to try to figure out. I've made that mistake before of trying to do a job beyond my abilities and regretted it so I guess I'll just drive it as is and hope for the best. Besides, I have to take it in on Monday to get the roof painted so it needs to be drivable....

 

Remove the long cotter pins in each end & tighten 1/2 turn. After 58 yrs. we know they will be worn at least a little bit. What I usually do is to tighten them as far as they will go then back them off 1-1 1/2 turns. Count how many turns it takes to fully tighten them so you have a base line.

 

I'll put it up on the ramps tomorrow between football games and look for cotter pins and see if I can figure it out. Thanks for the help and have a nice Thanksgiving tomorrow....