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steering box overhaul
Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 2:52 pm
by ppeters914
Searched the TechWiki and forums first.....mentions of folks doing it, but no details.
My steering and idler boxes appear in great shape; little to no play..... wooHOO! I'd like to replace seals and gaskets (surprised no one has posted a list of items...maybe it's obvious), which means pulling the arms off the shafts.
Any tips before disassembly, i.e. things to note or punch mark, etc.?
Thanks.
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 10:50 pm
by Nissanman
Yes, a good idea to punch orientation marks in the relevant shafts and arms.
From memory, the splined shafts on my '65 SP310 were tapered and required very little effort from a pitman arm remover to dissemble.
Undoing those big mutha nuts might be a challenge if the boxes are no longer mounted to the chassis.
Mine were shot and I had an Auto Trans Workshop recondition the shafts and hone the bushes to suit.
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 8:52 am
by Mainer311
-A big bench vise comes in handy when removing the lower nuts.
-You don't really need to mark anything, but it can't hurt. The pitman splines have a larger spline every 90 degrees IIRC, meaning you can only put the arms on in 4 orientations
-The lower seal on the idler side is meant to be compressed at all times. You'll know what I mean once you see the seal. Since the idler side rides on a threaded shaft, the shaft will "ride" up and down ever so slightly as it rotates. You'll have to index the pitman arm on the idler shaft to get the proper compression on the seal. It's not hard to figure out.
-The worm has o-rings on both end plates, plus a small seal that the input shaft goes through. It's all very easy. Steering box lower seal is just a seal and not like the idler side. It doesn't need to be compressed. The top cover gasket is paper and one can be easily cut out of gasket material.
-When removing the steering shaft from the worm box, be careful that the roller ball does not fall out of the housing. If it does, the needle bearings could fall out, and it's a pain putting them back in.
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:14 pm
by ppeters914
Mainer311 wrote:A big bench vise comes in handy when removing the lower nuts.
Yup......that, and a 3/4-inch drive socket set!
Mainer311 wrote:The lower seal on the idler side is meant to be compressed at all times. You'll know what I mean once you see the seal. Since the idler side rides on a threaded shaft, the shaft will "ride" up and down ever so slightly as it rotates. You'll have to index the pitman arm on the idler shaft to get the proper compression on the seal. It's not hard to figure out.
Hmmmm, I didn't notice this at first, but my more knowledgeable friend did. Mine looks like there's two rubber washers (only see one listed in the parts manuals) that are a little "loose" at the end of one rotation, and snug when rotated fully the other way. We decided not to pull the arm to replace those, but now you have me rethinking that.
The space between the arm and the end of the idler housing may change, but there should be a seal in the bottom to keep the grease in, correct? Wonder if the two washers I'm seeing were added by a PO at some time.
Mainer311 wrote:The worm has o-rings on both end plates, plus a small seal that the input shaft goes through. It's all very easy. Steering box lower seal is just a seal and not like the idler side. It doesn't need to be compressed. The top cover gasket is paper and one can be easily cut out of gasket material.
So I discovered. The seals are still in the Nissan stock system, and cheap. I'll go to hydraulics store to match up the o-rings, and cut my own top gasket.
Mainer311 wrote:When removing the steering shaft from the worm box, be careful that the roller ball does not fall out of the housing. If it does, the needle bearings could fall out, and it's a pain putting them back in.
Getting the arm off the steering box required heat and a press. In the process, we learned about the peg needle bearings......spent 30 minutes with magnets before finding them all.
Interesting that Rallye says there's 38 (matches my count), Scheeler's Roadster Book says 40, and the Nissan manuals don't mention them at all. Regardless, can't wait to reinstall those.
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 6:45 pm
by mraitch
Yet another example of an answer to a question I never knew I needed to ask.
That's what makes this forum so fantastic.
Now, I know, if I ever get to that point, that there is a thread that I may look back at.
Thanks.
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:25 pm
by Mainer311
The space between the arm and the end of the idler housing may change, but there should be a seal in the bottom to keep the grease in, correct? Wonder if the two washers I'm seeing were added by a PO at some time.
Could have to take up space, but, if you thread the idler shaft in a little bit, you don't really need the washers. The top of the pitman arm should contact seal.
I had 38 needle bearings as well. 19 on top, spacer, and 19 on the bottom.
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:42 am
by S Allen
Will add this to the wiki. Thanks to all.
S
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 9:47 am
by msampsel
S Allen wrote:Will add this to the wiki. Thanks to all.
S
Suggest adding a paragraph or sentence about using wheel bearing grease and a wooden dowel to
hold the needle bearings in place, in the unlikely event they drop out inadvertently.
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 10:05 am
by Linda
Would be nice to see a few pics or a video if someone is doing a rebuild.
Linda
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 1:14 pm
by peter
I'm busy to rebuild my steering box with new bearings and new oil seals. It's an early type.
The oils seals I found replacements for in the tech wiki, but are there for the NSK BT18-2 bearings also replacements?
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Fri May 17, 2019 7:08 pm
by ppeters914
ppeters914 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:14 pm
... and cut my own top gasket.
Geez....has it really been two years?
Finally back to this. I have 1/64-inch gasket material. Think that's thick enough?
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Sun May 19, 2019 1:34 am
by Lorna c
ppeters914 wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 7:08 pm
ppeters914 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:14 pm
... and cut my own top gasket.
Geez....has it really been two years?
Haha that's why I don't stop .
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 9:39 pm
by ppeters914
Today I learned that you can put the worm shaft in backwards. Yup, it's true. The bearings and cover bolt patterns are identical making it easy if one isn't paying attention.
worm shaft backwards.jpg
Notice the taped up shaft on the right? Should be on the left. Luckily, there's just barely enough slack to lift the peg out after removing the top cover. Really wasn't looking forward to pulling the steering arm off. Still have to wait another day for the paint that covers my repairs to dry before installing.
Anyway, triple-check before you button it up.
Hey, Steve, might want to add this to the TechWiki.
Cheers.
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 10:17 pm
by Nissanman
Makes a RHD version a piece of kayak doesn't it???
Re: steering box overhaul
Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 8:35 am
by S Allen
Guess I never added it the first time. I will glean the info and add it today. Thanks.
Steve