steering box and alignment

[TulsaSpider]

Greetings all,
I recently replaced my upper and lower ball joints. I took it in for an alignment as it was squirrelly after that. I took it to my shop of choice and they for some reason could not get the clamps on the wheel. I took it to a second shop and they couldn't get to it, so, I found a third shop (Hesselbein) and they were able to perform a "somewhat" alignment. They said my biggest issue seemed to be some vertical play in the gear box. I don't suppose this is normal or if there is an adjustment for this eh? I know there is an adjustment on the top of the box but I am fuzzy on what it's for. I do not think it leaks any oil as I filled it when my head was off and it just took a small amount. The guy seemed to know his stuff and he said it was out of alignment by an inch on one side and a bit less on the other. I haven't had it on the highway yet, but there does seem to be quite an improvement already in the way it's behaving.
Thanks for any info.
Clark

[So Cal Mark]

is it still out an inch on one side? Vertical looseness in the gear box shouldn't equate to looseness in the steering. Have you tried to adjust the preload on top of the box? That adjustment basically wedges the beveled gears together more tightly.

[TulsaSpider]

No they corrected the alignment. That's good to hear. He seemed to think that if there was movement it would affect it.
I have not adjusted the box, how do I adjust it / which way should I turn it?

[TulsaSpider]

I just got back from a 250 mile trip and it handled wonderfully, no problems whatsoever! Now who can tell me about that adjustment?

[kilrwail]

There's a good description of it in the Haynes, but you should disconnect both links and the steering column to do it correctly, according to them. They don't actually say which direction to turn the screw - I guess it's intuitive

[narfire]

Righty-tighty Lefty-loosy ?

[manoa matt]

No need to disconnect all the steering linkages. Just jack the front of the car up so the wheels can turn with no resistance. Getting to the box is the hardest part, and it can be done with the intake still in the car if you have the right tools, small hands and some patience. There may or may not be a small black plastic cap that covers the adjustment screw and lock nut. Remove that and use a 17mm stubby wrench, or a deep socket, universal joint and a bunch of extensions to loosen the lock nut. On European cars the screw is turned up, while on American cars the screw is turned down to achieve the proper gear mesh. Turn the adjustment screw so as its turned it comes up out of the box. The steering wheel should have 1 inch of play before resistance is felt and the wheels start to turn. Adjusting it too tight will give a bit more responsive steering but lead to accelerated wear of the gears.

While you're at it check and fill the box with oil. The fill hole is fitted wit the small square plug. 90 weight EP gear oil.

[SapulpaSpider]

Hi,
When I first drove my Spider, it was all over the road. When I looked under the car I noticed that the steering link was bent, just about where one would drop the transmission. Hmm... I set the toe-in using tape measures. See http://www.hillmanimages.com/912/adj_toein.html, or google "toe-in adjustment". I used two pieces of angle iron (screwed to 2X4s to get them up to the sidewall level) and two 12 foot tape measures. After loosening the lock collar bolts, the tie-rod adjustment should be loose enough to twist after someone else has adjusted them. If not, soak the threads with penetrating oil. I found that 1/16 to 1/8 inch at 18 inches (9 inches from center) made the car track normally. These measurements are conversions from the Fiat .079 to .118 specs. Unless you plan to race, this method is OK. You can watch tire tread wear to check the adjustment, if you drive it enough to wear the tires. I also found that the "play" was coming from loose screws holding the metal steering wheel to the column. Now if they just would fill in the pot holes, the ride would be smooth.