Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I noticed that the steering wheel on my 54 Clipper doesn't line up (not centered) when the car wheels are aligned. I didn't notice this before, just now as I have been driving it about 10+ miles each day. I don't know if it has moved(problem) or if it has been like that since I purchased the car 2 years ago.
Where and how on the front steering gear can I first, check for any loose connections and second how do I adjust the steering gear to get the steering wheel centered?

I'd almost bet money the steering wheel was removed sometime in the past and when reinstalled, the tires were not pointing absolutely straight ahead. If you don't see anything obviously loose then I would move the car backward far enough so you can pull it forward again to your working spot and know car and tires are going in a straight line. Then remove the steering wheel and reinstall on the splines so it is sitting properly.

Howard give good advice, as usual, and he is most likely correct. Here are a couple of other things to check.

When the steering wheel is centered, is the steering gear centered? Easy enough to check - just count the revolutions from full right to full left - then go back one-half way and see if the wheel is centered when the steering gear is centered. You want to be driving the car with the steering gear in the center when going straight.

Sometimes in adjusting the front wheel toe-in the steering wheel loses its centering and it must be re-centered by adjusting the tie rods. This can get a little tricky doing it yourself to end up with the right toe-in and have the steering wheel centered. A good front end alignment shop can do this.

I don't remember about Packard, but many times the steering post splines on which the wheel fits have a wide spline and a matching one on the wheel so the wheel can only go back one way.

I hope Howard's suggestion is the answer.

(o{}o)

When I got my '55 back after a long "take you time" service session the front end guy had checked the allignment and found that it was right on so didn't want to mess with it. I was so glad to get the car back I didn't push it but now I too would like the steering wheel and the steering gear to be "on the same page". The front end guy who was MUCH younger than the Packard seemed a little leary of it.

Still can't raise Spell Check

Quote:
Hasn't worked since a major site outage several months ago, and has been noted, previously, by others in these forums.

Thanks Brian, I was hoping that was it.

When I type the spelling errors self correct or a red line appears. I do not know if it is a feature of the website or Internet Explorer.

I've never been able to find spell check in the latest Internet Explorer (if it's there at all) that's one reason I use Firefox.

This is interesting information on steering wheel adjustment. On my '54/300 I don't have the exact problem of alignment, but rather a problem of "lost motion" as discussed in the service manual. Also, when hand-turning the steering wheel left & right in this "lost motion" zone there is a "bump" sound in the steering wheel. A sound as though a tooth might be broken in the steering box. On the road, the car steers okay, but changes from one side to the other of the "lost motion" zone. The service manual is very clear on what to do first for this problem, before going into the steering box. Any takers??