Steering
One of my new-found Stude friends is installing a new power steering hose on his '64 Avanti. The old hose showed signs of rubbing or hitting something that caused it to fail. What can he do to avoid a repeat? Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
answer:
To check for rubbing, jack the car
up and put jackstands under the lower control arms at the shock mount. Let the car rest
fully on the stands so there is no unsprung weight. put on the hose, and turn the steering
lock to lock while watching the control valve movement. If there is any rubbing, the steel
part of the hose can be "adjusted"(bent) so as to
provide adequate clearance. I believe the Avanti's may also have had thes pring/sleeve
(small diameter spring inside a piece of rubber hose) that attatched to one of the bolts
at the top of the steering box where the shaft comes out. This holds the hoses that come
from(and return to) the power steering pump away from the exaust manifold. also make sure
to reuse the hose clamps that hold the hose tight to the bottom of the frame rail. I've
include a scan of the parts book with notes to clarify this description (a picture is
worth a thousand words!)
I've also found from the Avanti group that many of the reproduction pressure hoses
may be too close to the exhaust manifold. Here's a pix of the Studebaker hose and how it's
routed to barely clear the manifold.
Does anyone know anything about the type 'S' steering gear that was used
in some '51-'54 Studebaker passenger cars? It appears to be a superior design to the worm
and sector style gear boxes that were used in most of the cars. Was
this box used in any other automobile makes? Does anyone have a car that is equipped with
one ? (see page 252 of the '51-'54 chassis parts catalog to see a diagram of this box).
Was curious to know if switching over to this style
would improve the steering on my '51 Commander.
answer:
The S stands for Saginaw ,the GM. division. The steering box in
the more expensive cars such as your commander was made by" Ross " an
independent company , Ross Steering Gear Co in
Lafayette Indiana. Now a division of T.R.W. Inc.The cheaper Champions came with Saginaw
boxes.The advantage of
the Ross boxes were that they had variable ratio steering. With other words the amount of
steering wheel travel in the center position was a lot more than on the end or extreme
ends of its travel. That speeded the steering up for easier parking but in the center
position it did not over correct. The Saginaw box had ball bearings and lasted a lot
longer, did
not leak so it retained it lubrcant and in short was a much better design.You can change
the Ross box in the commanders to a Saginaw but you have to change the pitman arm
also.This goes for the 1951 up cars.Look in the parts book for your particular model and
compare the components between the Commander and Champion.There have been Champions with
Ross boxes and Commanders with Saginaw boxes , depending on who was on strike.The chassis
and suspensions are basicly the same design between 1951 and 1966. Only spring loading was
changed and stabelizers etc.The problems with the Ross boxes was that the bushings
suporting the sector shaft would wear and lubricant would be lost and the contact tips on
the sector shaft would develop flat spots and this in turn would make the box have a lot
of slop.To rebuilt your Ross box you have to replace the bushings and oil seal and replace
the sector shaft or rebuilt it by turning the contact tips 90 degrees. Most of the time
the round shaft is so worn that you should realy replace it.Most parts for steering boxes
are in stock.
I think a may need to make a steering gear box adj on my 63 Avanti. I
checked my service manual and I am still unclear on how to adj the outside adj screw. If
anyone has a suggestion it would be helpful.
Answer:
1. Make sure that the steering wheel is centered with the tires
pointing straight ahead.
2. loosen the locking nut, then turn the screw (slotted), clockwise until it binds, then
back off about 1/3 of a turn...
3. Re-tighten the locking nut.
NOTE: Often, excessive play in the steering is caused by worn bushings in the center
bellcrank housing located in the heavy front crossmember. To check for wear,
1. Make sure that the steering wheel is centered with the tires pointed straight ahead.
2. Jack up the car and place jack stands under the lower control arms just inside the
tires.
3. Crawl under the car, (wear gloves as this is a messy task), and see if you can shake
the end of the BellCrank, (where the tie rods connect), and see if you get substantial
up/down motion. If so, you need a pin
and bushing kit to be installed.
