From: Joe Shannon (fordpart@bellsouth.net)
Date: Sun Apr 14 2002 - 18:56:44 PDT
This is more common among the older 5 tons with the steering box mounted above
the frame. More than likely you will find a tie rod end about to turn loose.
Check the first one off the steering gearbox first and go from there, the
rebuildable end could be unscrewing in the drag link.
I have had 5 tons do this to the point that I was hurt being thrown around the
cab, the door came open and the windshield cracked.
Bill & Bonnie Prestin wrote:
> Hi everyone, I have a question about 2 1/2 ton M35 series trucks.
> I have an older M35 (1952 Studebaker) I have a problem with the
> steering. When driving the truck along at speed (35mph+) if I hit a good
> sized bump in the road the front end will start to shimmy back and forth
> quite violently! It keeps this up until I slow down to about 20mph. Then it
> goes away. I can then speed back up and drive along just fine as long as I
> don't hit another bump.
> A little history on the truck. I bought it in Marquette, Mi. and drove
> it south to my house (several hundred miles) and never noticed this problem.
> I had the tie rod off during the rebuild of the truck but did not adjust or
> change the ends as they felt tight. I only replaced the rubber boots on the
> tie rod. I also had the entire front suspension apart to work on the
> springs. axle, etc. I have also installed a NOS steering gearbox during the
> rebuild.
> Could alignment cause this problem? Can a truck shop perform this on a
> deuce? Could the backlash adjustment in the steering gearbox be the problem.
> How do you adjust that? Could the amount I tightened the drag link ends
> cause this? How tight should they be?
> I also put one of those air powered power steering kits on the truck.
> This aggravated the problem. I was hoping it would help but it got worse.
> Also what type of oil goes in that steering gearbox?
> I was hoping to take the truck to some shows this summer but I have to solve
> this problem first. The shimmy is bad enough I could lose the truck if it
> happened on a curve, or a hill.
>
> Thanks, I hope there is a real M35 Guru out there. If not maybe someone can
> tell me who to call?
>
> Thanks,
> Bill Prestin
>
> P.S. If you want to see a picture of the truck (It is rather unusual) look
> at the home page of www.studebakerdriversclub.com
>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Tue May 21 2002 - 23:25:07 PDT