Super A Loose Steering

I've searched and found several helpful postings on fixing the loose steering in my super a - (180 degrees from 9:00 to 3:00 position before anything even thinks about moving.)

But I ran into a problem nobody else mentioned, and figured I'd post it here in case it can save anybody else some head scratching. I'll also throw in some random pictures so you can know what to expect if taking the steering box apart.

First of all, MOST of the looseness was due to the square drive not fitting tightly on the arm. (the picture with the 1/4 gear - it's hard to see that the shaft is square where it attaches to the arm, but it is. As square as it is, it's very loose. Some shims, folded at the top so they can't drop through - a new bolt - crank it all down - nice and tight now.

However in addition to the free play in the wheel, I also had what felt like loose wheels when going over bumps. My wheel bearings turned out to be fine, and everything else was perfectly tight - tie rods, etc.

I found a cracked weld on the part that attaches the front axle to the cast steering box.

There is a 1" steel rod that runs through a tube which itself runs straight through the main axle shaft (perpendicular to it).. The tube is welded in place.

Not only did one of the welds break on mine, but the tube itself sheared off at the broken weld.

Because the 1" steel shaft that runs through the tube is solid, the whole thing remained together, and fairly solid and hard to find.

The broken weld turned out to have a HUGE impact on my steering. The whole axle could rock back and forth 10-15 degrees in either direction, regardless of how tight the steering was.

I've included a picture of it, after I welded it (the only picture in the group of the axle - should be obvious) If it were attached, this would be looking straight up from the gound at the axle.

The weld is very thick because the break was very jagged, not a nice straight cut.

Note - to get the solid rod out, the bolts on the clamps on either side must come all the way out since they interfere with the rod to keep it from sliding forward or back. Then it pounds out fairly easily.


I hope this info /pictures can help somebody else someday.

I have rebuilt several a little play here and a little play there and soon lots of play but with new bushings,bearings and seals they can be as good as new. Did yopu check the bearing on the steering shaft as they can have a lot of end play and need to be replaced. Great pics.

I'm actually still re-building. Needed new everything - bearings, bushings, seals, gasket.

It wasn't too horrible getting it all apart, but certainly enough work to justify doing it well enough so you only have to do it once.

As you say, a little slop here and a little there - it all adds up real quick. Not to mention any slop is amplified by the length of the steering arm coming out of the box.

Maybe I'm not looking right, but was there a grease fitting somewhere on the tube that the 1 inch pin goes through? Our A had similar problems with the tube breaking at the weld, & after fixing it, I believe our Grandpa might have added a fitting to the tube for lube. Might have been factory, though.

JR, thanks. I need to do mine. I"ve printed out several old threads on the subject, but pictures can be worth their weight in gold. I"ll save yours for reference. Appreciate your taking the trouble.

yes, there is a grease fitting on there. And there are bushings in the tube that have a spiral groove for grease.

You can see the fitting in the picture, it's on the longer half on the right side.

When rebuilding the pivot pin it is 1inch dia on each end but just a tad undersize between the ends dont remember the size but it is smaller i guess for the grease to have someplace to go a 1 inch shaft in a 1 inch bushing doesent have much room for grease. I did need to replace one of those shafts but it was a long time ago.