early A-body Power steering
Thought I was missing something, but then I said, "Wait a minute. Maybe It's not me!"
Now I can question my sanity and acuity for other reasons.
(1) Disconnect center link from steering gear arm.
(2) Start engine and run at idle speed.
(3) Turn steering wheel gently from one stop to the
other, counting number of turns. Then turn wheel back
exactly halfway, to center position.
(4) Loosen adjusting screw until backlash is evident in
steering gear arm. Feel backlash by holding end of
steering gear arm between thumb and forefinger with a light grip. Tighten adjusting screw until backlash just
disappears. Tighten to 3/8 to 1/2 turn from this position and tighten lock nut to 50 foot-pounds to maintain this setting.
Just like it says in the FSM.
... Where the FSM is describing bench reassembly, rather than adjustment on the car, so one must reimagine the operation, as you have above.
1964 Dodge Technical Service Manual, page 19-35 (p 491 of the pdf), Operation 10, part 9:
(9) With hydraulic power to the unit and with the gear shaft on center, readjust the gear shaft backlash. This will require loosening the adjusting screw until backlash is evident. Then retighten the adjusting screw until backlash just disappears. Continue to tighten for 3/8 to 1/2 turn from this position and tighten the lock nut to 50 foot-pounds to maintain this setting.
Whining but practical question:
Must one really disconnect the Pitman are from the centerlink, as one should be able to feel whether there is any backlash regardless of whether it's connected?
In fact, with the extra drag of the linkage (with wheels off the ground), might it not be easier to feel when the Pitman arm begins to take up?
Thanks for materializing to clarify this, Dan!
– Eric
