Steering box

[denniswagnerusa]

I'm in the middle of an engine swap project and have run into some problems with the steering box. After removal of the original engine I wanted to get rid of everything in the engine compartment to paint it. When I came to the steering column I knew that the spline at the lower end was problematic from posts on this site so I decided to take out the 4 bolts on the steering box facing the steering column and hoped to remove the column and the internals in one piece. That did not work. The screw inside would not release so I put the bolts back in and loosened the column at the spline in the U joint and removed the steering column that way. Later when I tried to steer the rolling frame around a plug was pushed out of the bottom front of the box and all the oil leaked out. Now I cannot move the front wheels either way to steer the rolling frame. Tomorrow I will get inside the box again to see if maybe I disengaged something. Do you recommend replacing the gaskets if I'm looking inside. Should I take this opportunity to do more, like a rebuild. Have you seen the cost of parts for a steering box rebuilt?

[Lee2000]

I, for one, HAVE seen the scary cost of steering parts...but my car is so late I don't think I could buy any parts even if I wanted to. Sounds like the forward/lower worm bearing was displaced when the oil plug was pushed out. You'll have to do some probing/groping to figure out what's hanging up your steering. The column-facing cover on my box only has 3 bolts, but the top cover(where the adjusting screw is) has 4 bolts. On my late box, I had to take the "4 bolt" cover off to clean/inspect/adjust the nut pre-load. The "3 bolt" cover came off so I could tighten up the worm gear pre-load by removing a shim or 2. And since I also had the lower oil plug pop out, I had to reposition the lower worm bearing back into it's proper location before replacing and sealing the lower oil plug.

I ended up making a gasket for the "4 bolt" cover (though an O-ring could also work), while buying a new seal from a local bearing house for the "3 bolt" cover. Incidently, I did all the work on my steering gear with the box still bolted in the car and the Pitman arm still attached 'cos that baby aint NEVER comin' off!

[Nissanman]

Just as an aside, the Pitman arm and box shaft are tapered.
In my case, very little force by a puller was necessary to move it and then it simply fell off

[Linda]

What does that mean, " adjust the nut preload"? Don't you just adjust at the top of the box?
I need gaskets for mine , it leaks

Linda

[dbrick]

What does that mean, " adjust the nut preload"? Don't you just adjust at the top of the box?
I need gaskets for mine , it leaks

Linda

Preload is usually the specific tension applied to a bearing, It can be defined by the torque on the nut or the pressure exerted by tightening "X" number of turns or the stretch imposed on a fastener by torque. Can also be the resistance to turning in inch pounds.
Steering boxes are easy to screw up, a little too tight on the adjustments, and it can bind or wear out really fast, especially the early boxes. Also, the adjustments are spec'd for new unworn parts and changing one thing affects others. Re-gasketing, in theory, shouldn't change anything if reassembled with the same shims. Have a good reference book handy.

[sports imports]

early boxes have a drain plug. We drain early ones and fill them with a liquid grease that does not leak out even with the drain plug out.(we tried it to make sure). We fill later ones with liquid grease also. For some late boxes, we have drilled and tapped a hole to create a drain hole. We then fill the with this liquid grease. I do carry some of the seals and gaskets for both boxes. I have bearings for the later boxes. I still have some top threaded plastic plugs for the early boxes.

Ross
sports imports

[dbrick]

Ross, do you have a brand name or a spec on the grease?

[sports imports]

Its a chevron product. Comes in 20 litre pails only. I will find out the name once back in the shop. I am still on my first pail after 10 years....

Ross
sports imports

[Lee2000]

What does that mean, " adjust the nut preload"? Don't you just adjust at the top of the box?
I need gaskets for mine , it leaks

I shoulda been more precise...the backlash is what's adjusted with the slotted screw in the top cover. The thickness of the top cover gasket is not critical because the adjustment screw's job is to set the backlash between the ball nut's teeth and the steering gear's teeth. But, the worm gear end float or pre-load is dependent upon the shim pack between the cover and the steering gear main body.

[Lee2000]

Ross, do you have a brand name or a spec on the grease?

Ford also used this type of semi-liquid grease on their manual steering box built in the 60's. Just be aware that you have to set the worn gear with a slight amount of end float when changing from oil to any type of grease because the more viscous grease needs a little "room" to get in there to lube the bearings. Generally, pre-loaded bearings require oil, like differential bearings, while end float designs can use grease, like axle/wheel bearings.

[denniswagnerusa]

Spent much of today working on my steering box. I figured since I was going to have to remove the box to powdercoat the frame I would take it out of the car to fix the non moving problem. First I tried to remove the tapered sector shaft from the steering arm with a gear puller. That did not work despite using penetrating catalyst and later a blow torch. I am going to need to get it off sometime so I will continue to work on that. Not being able to remove the box for now, I removed the three bolt rear cover plate and removed the steering worm assembly. I found the front bearing laying loose in the bottom of the box. Something about the worm assembly and the bearing was causing the jam up because the wheels turned easily now without those parts. Luckily the bearing and the assembly were undamaged so I tried to put them back where they belong but could not get the block in the worm assembly to engage the teeth of the sector shaft correctly. Any advice on that would be helpful. I figured that I could get a better look at what was happening inside if I removed the 4 bolt top cover. Well, the bolts came out OK and I could get the cover to raise about a 1/4 inch, destroying the gasket along the way, but I could not get it to come off. I noticed that the top cover is attached to the sector shaft in some way such that the steering arm underneath was limiting the upward movement of the top cover. Is the top cover supposed to be attached to the sector shaft? Am I supposed to take off the steering arm to remove the top cover? HELP!

I'm readying my frame to have modifications done by my mechanic so that I can install a SR20DET engine. My immediate problem was that the front wheels were locked so the rolling frame could not be easily manuevered. That problem is gone now so I can proceed to that step. I'm going to cover the open steering box until I get the frame back from the mechanic and then tackle the worm assembly problem. Things will be so much easier if I can separate the sector shaft from the steering arm. I will soak it again in penetrating catalyst and maybe hit it with a blow torch when I have time.

[Lee2000]

I can relate to the Pitman arm removal problem as I tried lots a ways but that baby is REALLY on there...never did get it off. To remove the top cover, you'll have to loosen the lock nut, then screw down on the adjustment screw all the way til it comes out the bottom of the cover. The bottom of the screw slides into a slot in the steering shaft so that's why the screw has to be completely disengaged from the cover. Once the cover is off, you should be able to monkey around in there to your heart's content, though I didn't have to completely remove the worm gear from my box to get the bottom bearing back in position..

[George H]

There is a specific tool just for removing pitman arms. I have only seen them from professional tool makers like Snap-on. I'm sure you could find a cheap version that would only see occasional use.

[denniswagnerusa]

Did it work like a gear puller?

[notoptoy]

They look like very beefy gear pullers, but no moveable teeth. They can handle some serious torque to get the Pittman off.