Sounds like a complete steering checkup is due-wheel bearings, drag link. and tie rod adjustment. My manual says zero backlash which is probably not likely on something that old but 4-5 inches at the wheel would scare the crap out of me. I think 1/8-1/4 would be good . The manual says to check with the gear in the straight ahead position but due to wear if adjusted to zero the box most likely will bind when turning. The trick is to take out as much free play as possible without the box binding when turning. 

Hi Junky

Steve has given you good advice.

Check EVERYTHING.  🙂

Right from the king pins up.  (And wheel bearings as Steve said.)

And even make sure that the pitman arm  is tight on the shaft.  (I've seen that before.)

It's been a long time since my '29 has been on the road, but I remember taking the car up to 50 mph cruising down our crappy rural highway and not being scared at all. 

Great advice!  I will check everything first before tackling the steering box.

I've only taken the truck out three times, say one mile total and for road curves the large play makes me feel like I'm not sure if I'm going to make the turn.  But, it does.  It's important to reduce this over play.

Did anyone get the difference in play versus the wheels on or off the ground?  Did this make any sense to the possible issue?

Hello Junky,

With the weight of the vehicle pressing down on the tires to the ground, there is much fraction to overcome to steer those tires left or right when not moving. ( Power steering changes that but not applicable here.) So, all the components involved in the steering system that are loose and worn will move before you get any tire left or right movement. This shows up as steering wheel play. As you start moving the friction becomes less and left/right steering is easier. With the tires off the ground, the tire to ground friction is gone and so the steering components don't have to overcome resistance to steer the tires and don't display as much wear movement, thus less steering wheel play. If you have help, have someone hold onto a steering tire that's off the ground to resist left/right movement. You should get more steering wheel play than you would if no-one were holding the tire.  

The tie-rod ends have springs in them to reduce steering shock when the tires hit a hole or object. In addition any wear on the pitman shaft and bushings will let the shaft move up and down before the arm actually begins to move the steering arms. Finally any gaps between the pitman gear and the steering shaft gear will result in steering wheel movement that does not result in rotating the pitman shaft. The movement can be reduced but not eliminated. Some movement it engineered into the steering system. Far different than modern steering gear.

To go along with Harry and Chip, when my 38 was restored we looked at the steering and adjusted it to manual spec.. On the ground I still had 3-4" of side to side play and 0 play with the wheels in the air. There's enough play engineered into the system that you'll never get 0 play with the wheels on the ground unless you replace the stock system with modern.

My '31 had a lot of play when I got it. I adjusted all of the linkages, better but still excessive play. I read the manual about adjusting the steering box several times, but could never get it adjusted right. So I took the box out and opened it up. The PO used sticky bearing grease, so I had to clean all of that out. Once I did that, I played with the adjustments so that I understood what each did and the interplay between them. Filled the box with John Deere Corn Head grease (I think that's what it's called) and adjusted it for minimal play w/o binding at the limits. Now I have 1 - 1.5 in. steering wheel play. YMMV

Yes, John Deere Corn Head grease is a self-leveling grease that is good for steering boxes. Here's a good video about that grease: https://youtu.be/7zNhli-J0Gk

I squirted a lot of JDCH grease into my '28 steering box (using a plastic ear syringe from a Pharmacy), but then added a few squirts of Mobil 600W into the box to make sure it was a slurry in there.

Even with the oil mixed in, the slurry is thick enough to NOT leak out of the old shaft seals. 

😉  Dean

Sorry, I've been away from this posting.  As I read the replies, since the front end was off the ground, I checked the king pins and there is serious play of movement.  As you would see the Knuckle Joint move/rotate an 1/8 inch as you try to twist the tire in the vertical position (pushing the top of the tire in towards the engine and then pulling back).  Lots of movement which is the indication of replacement. The king pins and bushings will need replacement and then I will move on from there to see how much steering wheel play was reduced.  I'll keep you all posted.  Thanks for the advice. Very much appreciated.

I have disassembled 6 of these 1929 steering gears and found every one of them in terrible shape. 5 of them were off of 1 1/2 ton trucks. The biggest problem is the leakage of oil out of the steering gear around the pitman shaft. The second problem is people decided that if there is a grease fitting into the steering gear it must need grease which of coarse doesn’t adequately lubricate everything - it’s supposed to be oil. I machined and replaced all the bronze bushings, some shafts needed to be turned down slightly and others welded and turned to original size, replaced the ball thrust bearing, machined the housing where the pitman shaft exits the box for a modern grease seal, made many new gaskets out of rag paper (2 thousands thickness per layer) and adjusted the number of gaskets needed to get rid of the play in in the pitman shaft. With these changes there is almost no backlash in the steering gear and oil will not escape the steering gear. I also found the springs, balls and ball seats to be in need of repair in the drag links. Some springs were broken and some balls worn oblong. Thank goodness for the parts truck to resolve these problems. I am restoring a 1929 1 1/2 ton truck with an original Dunbar popcorn wagon body. Dunbarpopcorn.com

@bruce-anderson  Thanks Bruce,  Your information is a great "heads up" to what I need to look out for.  I have done some research on the repair process of my steering box, but your info is much better than what I have found so far.  Not to say I have done lots of research, I haven't.  I'm sure there's more out there too.

When I get into it, I will be documenting it for my records and I may also create a posting here on VCCA either as I'm going through the repair of if all went well, after I'm done with it.  Hopefully it's not a nightmare.

Thx, G

@junky, I have found that it is much easier to document a project as you are doing it, rather than after it's done. Especially a project that takes a long time.

If you wait until the end, it is harder to remember the details and it's a tremendous amount of work. Better to document one chapter at a time instead of trying to write the whole book in one sitting!

I usually write up a couple of posts in one sitting, using Notepad as my word processor. Then, copy and paste it into the posts.

That is what I did with my 1928 engine build in 2017. That project took most of that year. Here it is: Resurrecting a '28 4 banger

Cheers, Dean

@rustoholic Yeah,  I have been documenting my projects as I go through them.  At my age, you can't remember everything forever anymore.  I just have to get organized with say some binders, print out the phone pics, and my notes including future tips, and of course any receipts also for future usage.  I should review the old VCCA data, and the currant posting data center, and see if rebuilding the 29 steering box has already been done and done very well.  If it has, then my rebuild would be pointless to post.  Except for any fun stuff or headaches I encounter.

I checked out your Lurch engine rebuild.  First, I did review your Lurch Story and Video.  That story and video was fantastic.  Your engine story was also great and brings back memories when I tinkered with drive trains back in the 60's and 70's. It's amazing how engines from that long ago look so well.  Many engines we ripped apart in the 60's didn't look that good. And we called them "Boat Anchors"!

Your notes of the gasket pins threw me. Never heard of them.  And yeah, if one got into the oil pan....I had a used 70 GTO Judge in 72.  Then one day when I started it up, it sounded like there was a chain rolling around in my engine.  Shut it off immediately.  When we pulled the oil pan ( had to disconnect the motor mounts, jack up the engine, to pull the pan ) there was a spare set of push rods laying in the oil pan and one of them decided to go up into the crank.  Yeah it was common to place your push rods, rocker arms, etc in the old oil in the pan as you were tinkering with the top end.  I get it.  But someone forgot where they put theirs and went out and got a new set.  My luck.

Your pin story brought back my memories of my push rods. 

Thanks for the kind words, Junky. 😉

It's surprising what you find when you do a tear down!

Cheers, Dean