Steering box drop arm positioning

Webley1991 · Apr 29, 2015

I should hopefully be refitting the steering box this weekend.

Someone has marked a line across the end of the steering box output shaft using a chisel. This indicated the centre line. I take it that the drop arm should be lined up with this this line.

The manual isn't clear on this, it simply says "fit drop arm to steering box". Am I correct here?

Thanks for any replies.

honolulujoe · Apr 29, 2015

when I did my bulkhead I took the steering apart at the drop arm as that was easiest, iirc it would only fit back on properly when it was in the right position, might be different if you are building it up from scratch

Webley1991 · May 2, 2015

Thanks for the reply. As far as the manual shows it is supposed to point stright down at "centre" position.

Unfortunately it isn't clear on how you actually set centre position.

Blackburn · May 3, 2015

Turn steering wheel all the way to the left ,count turns whilst turning fully to the right ,then turn it back half the number of turns and it will be at the centre point.

Webley1991 · May 4, 2015

Thanks for the replies.

I managed to locate the centre point yesterday.

However, the problem I have now is that the drop arm to relay tube seems too short. I have set it to the approx 24 1/2 inches as the manual describes.

I did try moving the drop arm one spline further towards the front, but it seems that this would push the top steering relay arm into the front panel.

The manual also says to slacken the clamps and rotate the tube to screw the ball joint threads in or out. Unfortunately this doesn't work in practise, as the tube runs too close to to the chassis rail to be able to freely rotate with the clamps in place. It seems like once both ball joint tapers are locked into the arms, there is no may to adjust the overall length.

Blackburn · May 4, 2015

Slacken the clamps and slide them off the tube toward each trackrod end.
Then rotate the tube to adjust its length.

Webley1991 · May 9, 2015

I had a look at this again today.

I did manage to get it so the rod could be rotated with the clamps in place.

In the end I got it set with the box to relay rod at 24 3/4", which is pretty close to the 24 1/2" given in the manual.

The manual says that drop arm securing nut must be tightended to 80 ft lbs torque. What is the best way of doing this without putting too much strain on the box?

Land Raver · May 9, 2015

I wouldn't have thought 80 ft lb would trouble the box too much. Just trying to turn the wheels when stationary must apply huge forces frequently.

Webley1991 · May 11, 2015

Thanks for the replies.

It is chocked up on wood at the moment so the hubs could swivel freely while I set everything up. I will simply put the wheels back down onto the ground and tighten everything.

Steering box drop arm positioning

Webley1991

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honolulujoe

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Webley1991

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Blackburn

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Webley1991

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Blackburn

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Webley1991

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Land Raver

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Webley1991

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