R jim: When you say it jambs, do you mean it has a hard spot in it or is it jamming on full lock? Hard or flat spots are not uncommon with 55-56 & even 57 boxes, especially after 50 years of use. It usually means that the Sector or Worm is damaged & the bearings could also be worn. The difficulty I found is that few suppliers have "all the parts" to rebuild them. Also as I understand it, 55 & some early 56 boxes have a 2 tooth setup & later ones are three tooth. 1958 & later boxes are an improved design, but I don't think they will bolt in your car. Someone else here may have other information to offer.

Paul

Retrojim,



If the play is straight a head position and you adjust it away it gets too tight when you fully turn steering. Those box gears wear more on the middle than from sides. I think only fix for that is to get new gears, I once ordered for a friends 56 that worm gear only and it helped a lot.




Tero from Nurmijarvi, Finland

56 Country Sedan, 61 F-100, 61 F-600, 55 F-620, 52 Mercury

http://www.dlc.fi/~teros

http://www.y-block.info

http://www.hollowheads.net

http://www.fordnationals.net

GO TO A RACK AND PINION SET UP AND INSTALL A SPORT RACK, SHOULD BE QUICK ENOUGHT TOM

  JUST A MIDNIGHT CRUISE DOWN THUNDER ROAD!!! TOM DRUMMOND MIDWEST DIRECTOR 57 FORD INTERNATIONAL

What car have same size Mustang II front axle than '59 Sedan?


Hyvinkää, FI

Here is answer to our steering problems: http://www.wurthitdesigns.com/

Only difficulty is how to prove to Finnish inspection that this rack and pinion system is strong enough to our cars ('57-'64).

-jyrki from Finland-

www.hollowheads.net

MR.FORD A COMPLETE RACK AND PINNION SET UP THAT WILL BOLT IN TO A 57-59 FORD IS SOLD BY S AND T FABRICATION IN ILL. THEY ALSO SELL A KIT FOR 1954-56 CARS. CONTACT AT 815-742-6365 ASK FOR SPARKY OR E-MAIL JMS5477@YAHOO.COM HOPE THIS HELPS

  JUST A MIDNIGHT CRUISE DOWN THUNDER ROAD!!! TOM DRUMMOND MIDWEST DIRECTOR 57 FORD INTERNATIONAL

I don't have the article in front of me, but as I recall someone wrote to YBM to say that their Wurthit kit had installation problems & also resulted in a larger turning radius. Maybe someone else on here can confirm this info or not. Jim, if you are pulling the engine out, then you could then pull the steering box & dismantle it and see if it might be repairable. You could try Concours Parts or Dennis Carpenter Reproductions, but like I said they don't appear to have all the parts that might be needed for a rebuild. Good luck..

Paul

Those things always gave me trouble. I kept trying to stop & look at the picture

Butch "In a world filled with stress it is better to give than to receive"

Don't know if this will help but I just bought a 09 Toyota power steering column. Should have it in a day or two. Its electric powered. There's an electric motor on the column. Looks like the motor will end up under the dash and then it can connect (one way or another) to the existing column, modified no doubt. So you leave your steering box and this motor somehow knows when to help and how much. The guy included the wiring harness plugs to help a little, but I'll definitely need to do some thinking. I can't believe all I need to do is add power. But who knows. If your interested, I'll update you.

As far as the steering that is locking up at the extreme ends, you may want to check that the spindle stops are properly adjusted. Also, as someone mentioned, the middle of the worm gear gets the most use and the chrome hard face wears off leaving a softer metal in contact with the steering gear. As you adjust for the wear in the middle, you tighten the extremes and they can lock up or not allow you to turn as tight a radius. Without the hardface it will wear quickly and can be dangerous. I have bought some NOS steering parts from Joblot in NY.

Hope this helps. Roy in New Hampshire

Life isn't about arriving at the end in a pristine, well preserved body; It's about sliding in sideways, all clapped out, yelling "What a ride!"

I forgot to mention, when you adjust your steering box, most people use the adjusting screw only, but at least on my 52 Ford F1, there are also shim gaskets that tighten or loosen the bearing end gap. Sometimes that can get sloppy and people turn the screw in too far to make up for it. If the bearings have too much end play your steering feels real loose and the car wanders a lot. Tightening the screw can dampen it but not eliminate it. It can make for a bad situation. Roy

Life isn't about arriving at the end in a pristine, well preserved body; It's about sliding in sideways, all clapped out, yelling "What a ride!"