Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

good point, Owen - as noted, I share your curiosity as to what those guys were thinking - at the risk of deviating from this particular thread....what better example than putting needle-bearings in the rocker arms ?

Btw, tires are new and inflated correctly, but they are radials.

Btw, tires are new and inflated correctly, but they are radials.

The needle bearings are there to reduce steering effort. They went though the entire front to that end. At that time the Saginaw recirculating ball steering box was a long way off. If steering is extremely heavy the springs may be sagging which results in the wheels lifting the car when they are turned. The manual has specific instructions on how to change the springs so I don't know why some other method needs to be invented.

The 120's, sixes and Super 8 in 1939 all used a center steering pin and bushing, earlier coil sprung cars used "bicycle bearings" and a pin but the pin was not a friction point.

There were no needle bearings used in the steering until 1940 or 1941 on the king pins.

There were needle bearings used in the suspension in the lower outer pin kit. The lack of friction is in the up and down motion of the car, not in the steering.

Sagging springs merely lower the stance of the car, just like an extra passenger or two. The slight lifting of the car when the steering is moved from of center to center is due to the caster adjustment of the front end. If you eliminate the caster by setting it to 0 degrees, steering will be easier but the car will wander dangerously.

Heavy steering is usually due to friction in the steering assemblies, under inflated tires or lack of spinach.

I assure you, Mr Kanter .........I eat's me spinach, I'm just saying if (as I was told) Miss Hedy Lamarr was the original owner of my car she must have had biceps of a Victor Mature. .........not attractive in my book!

One trick my grandpa taught me 20 years ago was to anticipate the desired steering wheel position while rolling so as to avoid trying to steer at a stop or very slow speed. For example, if doing a three point turn, start turning the wheel in the opposite direction while stopping at the apex of the turn.

From the Packard Manual:

Hard Turning

3. Sagging Springs

As well, the parts book apparently indicates a bearing for the 16-17th series and sleeve (bushing) for the 18-19th series. Of course that doesn't mean that a bushing isn't in there.

Could you please advise which service manual you are quoting from on sagging springs.

In the 38/39 Manual ride height (sagging springs) is mentioned as a cause of unsatisfactory ride quality or improper road handling. I do not see a reference to hard steering.

In the 51-54 Manual, in which the steering/suspension is identical in principal, there are 9 possible causes of hard steering listed, none of which has to do with ride height or sagging springs.

We sell lowered springs for modifying muscle cars and direct replacement for factory performance suspensions which often had a lower stance. We've installed many in our restoration shop and never experienced hard steering nor gotten any complaints from the 1000's of sets we've sold

Help requested???

For uncommonly hard steering when not in motion, if I had eliminated worn king pins and/or bearings, my next questions would be about the tire footprint, i.e. (1) what type of tire bias, belted or radial, (2) what size tire, and (3) what inflation pressure. But we have to keep in mind that what might be excessively heavy steering at stand-still to one person may not be to another.