manual steering seems tougher than it should be.

[BiffTirkle]

ok, so i havent driven a manual steering car/truck in years, but i dont remember it being this tough, REAL tough. a friend suggested my kingpins might need replacing or new bushings.

the rag joint is from a used truck my friend installed years ago. so i think that might need replacing too.


any other suggestions?

[jkimbrel65]

Grease everything!! jack up the truck when greasing the kinpins.Takes the weight off and lets the grease in. While the wheel is off the ground check for play in the kinpins.

Mike

[bobenhotep]

grease the crap out of it. The steering box is full of grease also. fill it full of moly grease and rotate it back and forth. If you have big tires on the front it will be hard to steer.

[Astrowing]

Also, these trucks were designed for the standard size tires. If you are using low profile wide tires, they will be much more difficult. Also rolling a little while steering does wonders.

[BiffTirkle]

What size tires were stock?

[bobenhotep]

The stock tire size is on the truck somewhere, I think on the door. It will be a bias ply size. I run 215/75/r15 tires on my truck.

[64 f100]

The rag joint has been changed so that means one went bad at some point. Whenever a rag joint goes bad, I allways suspect front cab moutn problems which are quite common. If, the cab is moving around and poutting pressure on the rag joint it is also putting pressure on the steering gear in the column and gearbox. In addition it will cause problems with clutch and shift linkage. First check to see if you have a loose cab on the mounts, caused by cab mount fatigue form either rust issues or rubber mounts becoming loose from years of being beaten around. Of course grease everything and raise the front axles when greasing, but I can't stress enough how often the cab mounts are bad.

Rich

[BiffTirkle]

Well I lost steering this morning. Fortunately it seemed to be right at the rag joint. I was in a rush and couldn't spend. much time on it. It looked like the bolts just came loose.

The tires are 235s

Ill check the cab mounts when I get the truck home. Where would I find the cab mounts?

[bobenhotep]

under the front of the cab, where it attaches to the frame.

[BiffTirkle]

well, my rag joint is toast. ive bolted it back on and hopefully i can make it the mile or so back home. the bearings from the steering column are toast. and my right side cab mount is missing all together. and there's a good bit of rust there as well.

any suggestions for repairing the part of the cab thats rusted?

[Rusty 63]

In your transmission thread you mention it's a 65. 65&66 are different than the 61-64.

Look in the Projects & Builds section - it's one of the most often covered subjects

[BiffTirkle]

thanks rusty 63, i'll search in that section for a solution. here's what i found when i looked at my cab mounts.
sure looks like i got a bit more than i bargained for. but fortunately i have a few very good friends who are magicians with metal, chopping and fixing old cars. so i have a great support here with me, and with the support i have on here, im sure i'll get it back to spec.

[banjopicker66]

Ouch.
You really have some major issues there with those cab supports, they need to be replaced, there is nothing to hold the front of the cab down to the frame.
Beyond that, though, that much deterioration also tells me that your truck has major rust issues elsewhere that need attention.
I would give the body a thorough exam and evaluation before putting any money into it.
Critical areas include the core support (radiator support), floor pans, doors, and lower door sills to name a few. Although replacement panels and parts are available, the labor to repair these areas is not insignificant, especially if you have to pay someone to do it.
I would also suggest you not dismiss the possibility of buying a Southern or Western truck for parts and have it shipped home to you. The total cost of a rust free parts might be significantly less than trying to rebuild one that is rotted out. That is what I did, by the way.
Check my build thread, in the builds section here: viewtopic.php?f=32&t=24091
You can also see the cab mounts out in the open in my pictures, as well.
Best of luck to you, and we are all glad to help talk you through this!

[64 f100]

Here is a rundown on cost of some of these items. Carpenters cab mounts are roughly 200$ for a full set. Cab mounting kit 100$. Good used cab roughly 500 to 1,000 depending. Believe Banjo, he's right on about the cost of repairing, even when you have freinds. Your lucky you could drive that truck at all from what I see. The cab had to be wallowing around like a hog in heat. You will be amazed at the difference in how the truck drives once these issues are fixed. You will most likely need floor pans also, and most likely cab corners. Banjo is correct about rust issues, be sure to check your tadiater support .

Rich

[BiffTirkle]

thanks for the advice guys!


im not going to go bonkers on restoring the truck. i dont really feel like having a spare parts truck would be what i need (sure would be nice) but im not going to spend a whole lot of money on it. labor is one thing, with the support i have i'll accomplish a slow restoration.

a friend suggested i make cab mounts, because he can! haha! i have to remind him that im not as awesome with fabrication as he is!

i checked the radiator supports and theyre fine. there is some rust in the floor of the truck but not a ton. overall the truck is in decent condition.

there are two structural supports that need to be replaced, the cab mounts and the center cab brace. those and the holes in the floor will be repaired by me and a couple of friends in the next couple of weeks or so.

thank you all for the great advice and support. its nice to have people offering up very useful advice and tips. so thank you a ton!

[banjopicker66]

Sounds like you have a good plan not to spend too much - but be careful! You might become a Slickaholic like most of us here!
Seriously.
Enjoy your truck, that's what they are all about. Mine will be a daily driver and a working truck when it is finally restored, but it will (eventually) have all the nice upgrades to it.
But I have had my Sweet Southern Comfort for over 30 years.

Here is why I mentioned the core support - not the supports for the radiator by the way. Look down under the battery and along the support underneath the radiator and between the 2 frame rails. This area is highly prone to rot because it has no drain holes in there.

And what has that to do with the cab mounts?
You have to jack the cab up to replace the mounts.
This action will bend the fenders so it is best to remove them first.
Spray several cans of PB Blaster or your favorite rusty bolt penetrant.
There are so many many rusted nuts holding the fenders to the core support that you will want to remove the entire front clip - which includes the core support. (It really is easier this way.)
If it is as rotten as I think it might be (and I really really hope I am wrong!), the cab mount job will rapidly escalate far beyond than just the cab mounts you anticipated.

Again, please accept my comments as a sincere desire to keep you out of the traps. In my case, the core support just gave way, and dropped the radiator into the fan. Not a hard job, but none of the fasteners on my truck were rusted tight, so it was easier to fix.

Again, best of luck to you, and keep us posted.

Oh, and I almost forgot.
Welcome to Slick 60s!

[BiffTirkle]

thanks! i did see the rust under the radiator. i might go ahead and redo that as well.

everyone here has been nice and helpful, i had got any snobby attitudes or comments. so i like this place, its a nice community. thanks again!

[64 f100]

Sometimes, it's hard to be snobby with your feet hanging out the bottom of your truck.

Rich

[douglloyd]

If you don't care if the truck stays stock, and you want to save some money, you can make perfectly good mounts. Or get them fabbed up.

My '66 half ton longbed had rusty mounts, and I don't weld very well. I made these templates out of cardboard and had a local shop copy them out of 1/4" plate scrap steel. I had to cut some of the lower section away to clear the frame where the pedestal rises to meet the frame.

I have photos somewhere of the finished project. Not stock, but my cab doesn't budge now.

Doug

Kingston, TN

[douglloyd]

Here is what it looks like today.

Doug
Kingston, TN