Technical Getting the front end squared away...

Had a old-time alignment guy years ago tell me that you want a slight drift to the right... 'That's what you want kid; would you rather drift off onto the shoulder or into oncoming traffic?'. And on flat roads it will track straight.

 

I can't see pics either

 

Decreasing pitman arm length would give you more leverage. That would require more turning of the steering wheel to achieve the same linear travel of the drag link. Obviously the opposite would also be true- longer pitman arm requires less turning of the wheel to move drag link a given distance. More turning= lighter steering, less turning= heavier steering.
Don't go too crazy increasing tire pressures. Adding pressure increases the crown in the tread, which decreases the contact patch. That means less rubber on the road, which makes it easier to steer but gives less grip for cornering and braking.
BTW, '31 Chev body on '32 Ford frame?

 

yes...31 Chevy...32 Ford frame...
Thanx for the help with the pix

Curious about the steering box......??? Anybody...???

 

OK, Mustang box, no doubt there. Of those years there was power assist or non power. Both used the same gear box so info of "can be a bear to steer" has no merit. With and without box use the same worm and sector gear. There are two things you can adjust. Worm gear bearing load and sector end play. It's common for them both to wear in the dead center point and no adjustment will correct that. So, worm gear end play is done with end cap and jamb nut at the U-Joint end of box. As they wear the Worm gear can walk up and down before moving the sector shaft. Adjustment just eliminates end play from the worn bearings, it's common ware and adjustment. Sector adjustment is done with adjuster bolt and nut center of end cap. And your right, over tighten them will make things feel notchy.
The Wizzard

 

So are you saying that adjusting the jam nut/screw in the picture will not help the play I fell...???
Also...what year do you think the gear might be...in case some day I need to replace it...???
Thanx again Wiz...

 

adjusting the jam nut/screw in the picture will help if the box is not worn out...Wheels Strait ahead and off the ground you adjust for no play, slight drag..Turn right or left about one turn of steering wheel and some play or easier steering effort should result and at full lock there should be some play...if the drag increases then the box is worn and should be rebuilt/replaced..

 

Yea, working fine now.

 

Do you know if the true center of the box gears is centered when the wheels are straight ahead?

There is a built-in high spot on the worm, so a box will have zero play at center. If they did not determine where true center was, and just put the pitman arm on, you will be trying to adjust to the wrong spot. And if it is off a bit, you will never get zero play at the "wrong center".

Unhook the drag link, count total turns, then go halfway back. Do it a couple times to make sure you counted right.

Now with drag link still off, turn the sector slotted screw in a bit till hopefully you feel it stop with light turning on the screwdriver. Now see if you can find the true center high spot by trying to find a spot where you feel a tiny drag while turning the input shaft. The high spot might not be exactly halfway from lock to lock.

Now turn the input shaft 1/4 turn from center, then reset the screw to barely feel drag as you turn the input shaft back past the true center. If you can verify that there still is a high spot there, you should be able to get zero play

 

As I remember back in my youth: I had to use a small triangle file , to file the key ways on the steering sector shaft so I could put the pitman arm at the proper location, straight down. When gear was in the middle.

I think there is three of them.

 

What I'm saying is the jamb nut and screw are only part of the adjustment and done last. As stated above being in Center of total turns is very important. Personally I adjust the Worm gear end play first. I do that with a dial indicator on the end of the shaft. I lock the pitman shaft so it can't turn then turn the worm gear. If the bearings are loose the shaft will walk up and down on the sector. Adjust the worm gear to just Zero end play with No load on bearings. Now you can adjust the sector gear with the jamb nut and screw. I like just a bit of free play myself, keeps from having a death grip on the wheel. Let the tires find there own place in the Ruts while you lean back and relax.
I have a friend that is big into early Mustangs. I'll send him a photo of your box and see if I can get a better year span for you. I'm thinking 67-72 but could be off a bit.
The Wizzard

 

Thanx again guys...Let me try this and I will get back...

 

On one of the 3 top cap bolts is a small I.D. tag. I can see it in one of your photos. It'll help if you decide to buy a rebuild kit. Your box is one of two generation units. 64-67 or 68-70. The early has a 1" sector shaft. As the cars got heavier they went to a 1-1/8" sector shaft.
The Wizzard

 

Centered the steering wheel today and the thing is rock solid...
As far as I'm concerned this case is closed LOL
The car rides and drives fantastic
Thanx to all...I couldn't have done it without you

 

GREAT !!!!! Back to regular programing,
hope I helped in someway.

 

Thankyou for giving feedback.

 

OK...Maybe I spoke too soon...
Everything is still wonderful with the way the car rides and handles however standing there today kinda checking it out I noticed the springs and shackles etc out of alignment...
Here is a picture of the drivers side...

Here is the Pass side...


Now...keep in mind that the car seems to have about 8* caster built in as that is what the spring is at a relaxed state because the crossmember that it is bolted to is at that angle on the surface where the spring lays against it...
I hope that I explained that right

SO...in order to achieve 5*-7* caster (actually I am at 4* and it handles great) There is obviously some pushing and pulling of the axle going on from the four bars and I would say that that is what we see here...

To me this is not healthy because to me it says that although the spring is still stacked evenly in the center, both ends are pushed forward and to me it seems as thought that can not be a good thing to bend the spring in that way...
It would only make sense that this will fatigue the spring and there would be a danger of it breaking...

What are your thoughts on this...??? As always...thanx for any help and input given

 

hard to tell in pictures;

just looking at the driver side; it appears the axle is too far forward. If that was true, the four bars need to be shortened, but I don't know if all four of yours are adjustable.

It also can be a mismatch of the angle of the spring mounting surface, compared to caster, which is the angle of the axle. A tapered shim between crossmember and the top of the spring will correct that, if it really is way off.

Some people use adjustable perches to fix angle mismatch, but that leaves two more bolted joints that can fall apart, IMO

 

The bars ARE all adjustable...and I have about 3/8" at the ends to play with...
I am thinking maybe if I back them all off equally it would pull it back some..
It still will not change the fact that I am forcing about 4* out of it if I want to be at 4* and "home" is 8*...
Thinking about a shim as you mentioned...
Do people do that...???
If so, where does one find one of those...??? Or do you simply use shim stock...???

 

I made one on an old milling machine, but it could be made with a hand grinder and some time.

But, like I said, It is hard to tell exactly what is wrong in pictures. You can tell better in person, looking from different views. It might need a shim and move the axle, or maybe just one thing, and not the other.

 

When you click on the pix to enlarge them it is pretty easy to see...also look at the twist in the shackles...

 

yes I can see the twist, but I did not want to tell you to do something, based on just photos, and give bad info.


Ok, looking at driver side pic:
It mostly looks like an angled shim above the spring, would not only take the twist out, but it would also move the spring ends out more forward. If so, then the bars won't need adjusting.

But that sort of conflicts with what I think you say about what angle was built into the front spring mount/crossmember.

I think your description is that the spring mounting area was originally built for more caster than what your axle is at now. If that is true, then my advice is wrong. My vision sees the spring needing more angle, not less. It could be that I can't see the true angle of the axle itself...

I hope someone else here can give it a look, and give their opinions.

 

Have you got the little "U" bolts that hold the spring in alignment..? out from the crossmember, halfway to the shackles?

Also, I can see from the looks of the picture, one shock is extended quite a bit more than the other..?

When you have it aligned, have them check front and rear alignment.

It may be "DOG-TRACKING"

 

Hmmm, I kind of think I'd get it up off the ground and drop a marker from the center pin bolt in the front spring. Then drop a marker from identical points left and right side ends of rear axle. Now I'd measure to see how square my rear end is. Then drop a point off the ends of front axle and do a cross or X measurement from diagional corners and make sure that chassis is Squared up. Equal length of all four bars does not mean things are in the right place. Just looks to me like your jacking one corner of front axle forward to far. To do that something has to twist. You could actually have a bent main leaf.
The Wizzard

 

Just a thought here. Before you do all above mentioned work how about stepping back about 10 feet and taking a good side shot showing a good 4 bar profile to ground with the rest of the car in the shot. Preferably on a flat cement slab some where.
The Wizzard

 

IMO, with out posi-traction, getting on it hard, and pass. side "hooking up"
and without "holding all springs together." Would cause the front spring to end up in that shape.

I would definitely get a 4 wheel alignment from a seasoned technician.

 

No...I do not have those U bolts....
The shock appears that way when the car is not parked on a level surface...
If one corner is high, it is forcing the opposite corner down...
When the car is on a level surface the shocks are equal...

 

Good advise however I want to tell you that the car handles and tracks perfect...
I could not be happier with that so I don't think it is out of square...

Correct me if I am wrong but it just seems to me that ALL FOUR bars might be extended to far...
Wouldn't shortening ALL FOUR bars EQUALLY bring it back...???
I have enough thread on the adjusters to bring all four back about 3/8"...

The shim also sounds like a good idea as it drives great at 4* caster and the crossmember had 8* built in it... NO...???

 

I can and will do this...