Rob,

Have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth while you are looking at the end of the center steering arm that the two tie rods attach to. It should move side to side, but not up and down. Also look at the other end of the center steering arm (it is L-shaped) where it connects to the drag link. This should not move up and down as it moves front to rear. The weight of the car should be on the wheels when doing this.

A small amount of up and down motion gives a noticeable amount of play. I once had this situation with a '54 Hornet Special, and brought the steering arm and new pin to a machine shop. I don't remember whether he used a press, heat, or both to get the pin out of the rod and install the new one.

Per

I concur with Per . . . hey, that rhymes!

You can also grab the arm on the center steering assembly and try to push it up and down. It should not have any movement there, if it does, then you are correct, you need a new bushing. (Check your tie rod ends, too!)

When I re-built mine, I used just a press, a bench-mounted small press with a hand-lever. As a matter of fact, I used the new bushing to press the old one out. Make sure if there is a grease hole and groove (should be), it needs to line up with the grease fitting on the center portion of your center arm assembly.

If you have a lift and a press, I can't imagine it taking more than a half-hour.

Per and Russell,

Thank you for the advice!

I checked it on the lift, but not on the ground with weight on it. Will try that today.

Rob