1926 Star "M"

I am trying to adjust my steering. At 30 MPH it is hard to keep the car between the lines.
Not much fun and a little scary. I have played with the two adjustments on the worm gears in the steering gearbox and think
I have them adjusted as well as I can.
The tie rod has adjustable sockets at each end. Inside the threaded socket is a heavy spring with an adjustable nut?
that compresses the spring.
When I grab the front wheel at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions and pull back and forth I have a lot of play. Even with the springs totally compressed
I still have more play that I think should be there.
How much play is acceptable?
Any suggestions or comments on how to solve this problem would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Where Are You From? Kamloops BC Canada

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1926 Star Delivery Van

Howdy Ken,

If you haven't already done so, try checking for slack/free play in another way...Let the vehicle down to shop floor, have someone move steering wheel Right and Left...See how much movement it takes before pitman arm just starts to move (slack in steering gears) then move steering wheel with a little more torque and watch pitman arm for up and down movement (Worn pitman shaft and or bushing)..Also watch steering box for movement (loose mounting) Also watch for slack in tye rod and drag link ball joints...As I recall those ball joints have a heavy limit pin that goes through the spring, so you would tighten adjusting nut until tight then back off a coupla cotter pin holes.....The front end alignment specs are in the Tecnical Page....If your car won't stay in the lane I would pay special attention to the caster...You can get Caster wedges at NAPA, and I believe it would be a 4" wedge and of coarse are in various degrees and are installed between spring and axle....(My H-40 Flint was all over the road, with a little trial and error I started with 4 deg. and ended up with 6 deg.) ....If you are having a "shimmy" problem concider installing a steering stabilizer cylinder...Their is one type shown in Tecnical page under Modern Improvements.....Good luck.

Where Are You From? Leavenworth, WA / Yuma, AZ

Do You own a car built by Durant? Several

You should also check to see that the steering box is not moving in the frame.
The steering box is held in a U shaped casting by a single bolt and over the years this mounting can be come worn which would allow the box to move in the frame.
This can be fixed by shimming between the casting and the box.

Will

Where Are You From? Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1932 Frontenac made by Dominion Motors, Leaside

Hi Everyone.
I am running 100% stock steering on many 29 Durant cars at freeway speeds all over Southern California night & day constantly and course must have pretty good control of our steering,and actually the toe-in is the most important to eliminate wander, usually we go 1/8th to 1/4 of inch toe-in just turning the tie rod of course one way or other adjusts toe-in , and if king pins and bushing are all worn out which most are that also can cause wander, etc etc etc.Also lowing tire pressure helps. And Bill is also right about shims between our leaf springs and front axle. Steering box adjustment cannot be taken up to much as it is always worm in the center position then would bind on turning & always ck the truing of all your wheels.
Bunch of work but hey there old old fun and rare historic good looking cars, me proud.
Lance Haynes
San Diego, CA :relaxed:

Where Are You From? San Diego CA

Do You own a car built by Durant? Several

I believe if the steering doesn't shake then the problem is in the caster,first question is did you have the front axle out and dismanteled if so chk and make sure the axle is not in backwards,i dont know about Durant but the devaux has the manuf name on the front of the axle,i would try shimming the axle between the springs and axle or take it somewhere where they do old cars or trucks alignments with the axle,the caster is often overlooked and that can make it wonder, dave

Where Are You From? so calif

Do You own a car built by Durant? devaux

Does anyone know where I can find the
Springs and cups for in the tie rod end
I need both springs and one cup

Where Are You From? Lutz Florida

Do You own a car built by Durant? 27 Star 4 Coach

Those parts are the same as used in Chevys up thru the 50's.

Where Are You From? Texarkana, TX

Do You own a car built by Durant? Several