M35A2 Steering Slop

[WoodyUSMC]

I just bought my first deuce this week. Love it! The steering has a lot of play or slop in it. Can you steer me in the right direction on this

 

[rustystud]

I just bought my first deuce this week. Love it! The steering has a lot of play or slop in it. Can you steer me in the right direction on this

OK I'll try and "steer" you in the right direction. First off have you checked the "tie-rod" ends ? Have someone sit in the drivers seat and turn the steering wheel fast left and right. Don't make them long turns but short fast turns. Just bam,bam,bam, Left,right,left,right . You should be able to see any movement in the joint ends this way. They should turn with "no" movement in the joint whatsoever. If there is movement in one then replace the joint.
If there is no movement in the "tie-rods" then move on to the "drag link" . Do the same thing with the steering wheel checking for any movement in the joints. Now if there is movement here you can "adjust" the drag link ends. The TM will have this procedure for you. If after all that you still have slop in the steering then we need to look at the steering knuckles.
The "king Pins" can be loose or worn out. If you have to go into the knuckles then prepare to do some major work and spend a few dollars. To check the king pins, jack up the front axle until there is about two inches under the tires. Then use some jackstands to support it. Now take a long bar (at least 4ft or longer) and putting it under the tire pull up on the bar. There should be almost no movement of the tire up and down at all. There will be about .020" movement. That is from the front bearing. Technically your allowed up to 1/8" up and down movement before the vehicle is deadlined but this will cause some slop in the steering. Now if all these items are good and your still experiencing bad steering then we need to go into the steering gear itself. On the side of the gear there is a slotted 1/2" bolt with a jam nut on it. This adjusts the "sector shaft" engagement into the "cam gear" . You should have the drag link disconnected from the steering box, then after loosening the jam nut tighten the slotted bolt until it contacts the shaft. Tighten it down tight then loosen it. Then tighten it again until it just touches the shaft. Now back off 1/4 turn and tighten the jam nut tight (3/4" box wrench) . If after this your still experiencing sloppy steering your steering gear needs to be completely rebuilt.

 

[cattlerepairman]

Can't argue with a logical and detailed walk-through. That's really helpful.

 

[WoodyUSMC]

ok i feel a bit dumb but i forgot to mention this rig has 395s on it. I have been reading quite a bit on here about spring perch modifications and what not. i did a quick shake down last night and didn't see anything wrong.

 

[rustystud]

ok i feel a bit dumb but i forgot to mention this rig has 395s on it. I have been reading quite a bit on here about spring perch modifications and what not. i did a quick shake down last night and didn't see anything wrong.

OK, that does make a "huge" difference ! I hope you have the answer to your question now. "Gringletaub" has an excellent explanation for the perch modification. Along with his most excellent graphics ! Love Gringletaub's graphics ! Just wish he would put them into one section where they could all be downloaded.

 

[WoodyUSMC]

I can't find his thread. I've seen ones talking about it is all

 

[frank8003]

I can't find his thread. I've seen ones talking about it is all

28 seconds in search function with "spring perch" .........................
https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?97810-Deuce-Still-wandering-across-the-lane
the whole thing but post 11 has link to gringletaub