New-York tribune., 1920-11-07
Il Isn't Steering
Gear. but Steerer
That Goes Wron.
This Part of the Car. So
Often attacked for Acci-
dents. AbsolNcd OF Blame
bv Expert OH Automobiles

No
A,.n honest bat the man who gave
.,m the information avas not. 1t was
~. s,ccYor ttat went wrong. and. like
uost folks. he tried to pass the buck
~ 70 the steering gear. which could
rot talk hacA
Steering gcsr= do not go wrong
:. the sense meant in the average use
The steering gear is one of the most
oepcnaable p-rts Of the ear. l. viii
"a right 90 times cut Of 100. unless the
river prevents. or course, neglect
md wear will make it work inefficient
II but even this is not enough to cause
,ceidents without the human element.
No part OF the car has had more at
.ention from the automobile engineers
than the steering gear. In the early
automobiles il was very simple. There
was handle bar attached TO an up
light shaf, on the lower end Of which
Was a crank. and there was q rod from
.hc end Q; ,rc crank 10 the steering
,nue.lc Automobiles ran slowly in
hose da,s, and this worked after o
isshlon. although ON rough roads j.
took an athlete TO keep the car straight.
because every rut or bump sent d
shock 70 the handlebar
The first step Of Importance was the
introduction Of a beveled gear wheel
and quadrant which absorbed a large
part Of this shock, but was not re-
tned enough for the Increasing speed
l. l. :
the shocks to be impaired to the steer
inn grip with both hands, except or
very smooth pavements. Even then it
was unsafe to take much risk
With the present worm and gear
worm and sector. or worm and nut or
block rrangements, practically all the
road shock is eliminated. In fact, ii
is perfectly possible on smooth
siraightawav road to let the car run
itself if the speed is not high. Again,
the front wheels are slightly toed in,
giving pressure on either side which
tends to keep the wheels going straight
the principle being exactly like that
@: boat where the water pressure is
equal on each side Of the prov.
1t Is Jrreversible
Although it IS easy for the worm
to turn the gear the gear cannot turn
the worm Il may impart more or less
Of the shocks incident to running, If
there IS too much play through wear
or bad adjustment. But II is not sub
iec. to troubles which would make it
deliberately steer the car into danger.
With reasonable care the only breaks
likely to occur are those met In the
accident and not before.
The steering gear usually consists of
a hand-whcel mounted upon shaft
running within tube. This IS con-
neoted to the dash ana 20 the frame Of
the car. On the lower end Of the shaft
IS worm gear with retaining and ad-
justing nuts. the latter sometimes be-
ing on top and sometimes underneath.
Whether It be'a gear or a sector or
the nut, the action is subs tantlally the
same
Turning the worm moves the gear or
rat and thereby an arm. This arm or
ever is attached to q rod known as
the drag link by ball and socket bear
ing The other end of the drag link
is attached by q similar bearing to an
arm pIojeoting from the steering
knuckle Moving the hand wheel
moves the gear, the lever moves the
drag ink and the drag link moves the
steerng knuckIe. 1t is a simple as i
sounds The front wheels are con
nected By tie-rod attached to each
steering Anuckle making them work
IN unison.
As before stated, about the only
trouble TO which the steering gear is
subject is wear and looseness due to
poor adjustment Thus the steering
wheel may possibly become loose where
is fastened to the shaft a. the top.
This usually means simply tightening
Up the retaining nut, but It may mean
that the keyway has worn or there Is
some other wear which must be taken
up. The adjusting nut for the steer
iNg column may need to be tlghtened
slightly. 1t should be rene mbered in
making the adjustments that these
7arts need to move freely. but without
undue play.
Adjusting for Wear
With the gear and sector arrange
ment in time there Will be wear, which
comes all n one spot. Usually the gear
Is set on an eccentric shaft and by
ioosening the set screw it may be
moved around to take up play If 1t
'S very bad il may be necessary TO
.cosen the shaft from the lever and
turn it arou. i quarter or half turn,
It another place But if these parts
are kept properly fabricated the wear
viii be minimized.
The ball and socket bearings on
eacn end Of tae drag link also need
lc be lubricasad IS directed in the
Nstructon book. and to b. Kept clean.
Il there seems to be TOO much play
IN the steering gear that is, if you
rave to turn thc hand wheel a con
sderable distance before it takes hold
esgin at the front wheels to check up
NC slack or lost motion. Jack up the
mont wheels and, moving them by
hand, see if there is undue play in the
Aruc.le pins. l. so, IL may mean that
bushing must be put in TO stop the
wheels from wabbling Then inspect
the bearing wherc the drag link is
s'tached to he knuckle Moving it Ly
nand will usually determine whether
there is an excess play. Some OF these
tearngs have IN adjustment for tax
h.g up lost motion.
Do not make the mistake of adjust
'ag too tight II there is no adjust
aent 1t is usually cheaper to buy new
usH and socket bearing. The similar
bearing al the rear end of the drag
nix should also be inspected. II the
lost motion is not discovered by this
Nme examine the gear or sector to
'afn the steering wheel slightly, and
ooserve whether the gear starts TO
%o'A at once and adjust until there is
'Most 10 play between the worm and
isar teeth. When making adjustments