MikeC5 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I decided to open up the steering gear box and make sure things looked copasetic. At first glance, things look pretty good, a little wear on center of the sector gear but rotating it 90 or 180 will take care of that. The bushing looks fine and the thrust bearing rolls smoothly. There was a lot of (smellly) black grease in there (circa 1947 or older) so at least it was lubricated. It only had 1-2 inches of play at the steering wheel so I didn't think it would be a disaster in there. I'll post some more pics once I get it all cleaned up. There isn't a whole lot of information available on these. Just one cross section in the MIM, no pics on the web.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1930 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Let us know how you end up spinning that sector gear assuming the top right picture is what you are naming the sector gear. I dont think I looked too far into figuring out how to spin my own other than getting disgusted and deciding it was not worth the effort at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 It would help if I posted a picture of the sector gear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Here it is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1930 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) Ah yes, the other I believe is your steering worm in case you did not know. I have not been able to figure out how to remove this. Edited February 28, 2012 by 1930 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gundog99 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 It would be a good opportunity to check the wear between the sector and the sector bush, it should be a very(hand) tight fit; sometime ago I had a sector shaft reground and a new sector bush made ,unfortunately the engineering firm did not seem to understand what was meant by a "very tight fit";even so there was a marked improvement in the steering but it could have even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Thanks I will check that GD. The eccentric bushing must have been very pricey.Jason, it was pretty easy to get the worm gear out, but it may be different on a 1930. You remove the pinch bolt which clamps the threads via the little slot (upper right corner of pic 1). The slot allows a bit of flexibility in the casting so clamping action can take place. The top of the steering box can then be unscrewed and the worm, shaft and upper thrust bearing come out it one assembly as in pic 2. They are fine threads so it takes many turns and if your lucky, oil/grease has wicked up into the threads so they aren't rusted tight. I'll take some better pics during assembly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1930 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 On DA I believe the worm gear will come off the shaft, this is what I meant. Maybe yours is machined as a unit? Maybe I am mistaken, its been a while since I looked at one. I saved a small pile of them by cutting off the shafts about 3 inches above the gear, Ill have to dig them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 The worm gear is a separate piece with a woodruff key. Since the thrust bearing feels smooth and I'm not going to replace it I didn't bother pulling the worm gear off the shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gundog99 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 The eccentric bushing was very pricey, but there was a lot of wear,it had to be done . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 I just measured and the bushing is just shy of 0.003 inches larger than the sprocket shaft. Not too shabby for a car that was used for approximately 22 years (last registered in 1947) and 40,000 miles (if the odometer is correct). It's good to go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Here are a couple more shots of the nearly finished box. You can see the upper and lower thrust bearings above and below the worm gear. The 2nd picture shows a good view of where the pinch bolt clamps the barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machinist_Bill Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 The worm gear has a thrust bearing on each end. How did you eliminate any end play? Do you tighten the nut until the end play is gone? Excuse my ignorance as I build rolling mills not steering boxes!Nice work Mike....Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Thanks Bill, yes the big nut on top (concentric with steering shaft) is tightened to remove end play but not so tight that thrust bearings bind. Then you lock it in place with pinch bolt. Also, the thrust bearings slide easily along the worm gear shaft and are purely thrust bearings. Radial loads are handled by bushings in the top and bottom of box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1930 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I know the book of information states to do all of this adjusting with the wheels off the floor but be carefull with this. Once the load is put back on the suspension and the column shifts ever so slighly it may cause a bind in the box with your adjustments. This is what I have experienced with the DA steering boxes anyway. Something to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machinist_Bill Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 That's what I thought Mike but wanted to be sure on how to set the pre-load on the thrust ends. Jason, how can letting the car down on it's suspension cause a bind in the steering box? Could it be body flex and the column support under the dash cause the bind? All joints from the pittman arm are pivoted ball joints so where would the bind come from?Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machinist_Bill Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 One more thing Mike, does it look like the radial load bushings could be replaced with needle roller bearings? If you kept some sizes (OD & ID & Length) maybe we can replace those. I have a bearing manual available to size it. I am asking all these questions BEFORE I do mine! And because the old cars have steering by arm-strong I am trying to make it easier........um "Safety Upgrade".Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1930 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 quote........Could it be body flex and the column support under the dash cause the bind?.........This is exactly my feeling, at least on the DA ( I would not be surprised with many of these old cars ) that the steering shaft ( inside of the tube that we cannot see ) is bent very easily because of time/use. Bent very easily ( soft steel ) and bent very slightly. when the car is let down all points of the suspension move slightly incuding your gearbox that is so tightly secured to the frame. It may put a bit of a pinch on the bearings within the gearbox, again I have never torn down an earlier Dodge gearbox so I only offer my own experiences with my own gearbox. I only suggest that it is something to be wary of, that is all. It was the case with my own car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) Apart from the sector gear being worn and require rotation, if the sector shaft and bushing is also worn and needs work, how is the bushing fitted and how can it be removed. GunDog had the sector shaft reground and a new bushing made at considerable expense; I may need to overhall the box sometime and may face the same problem. I am also trying to work out what look like castellations around the bushing perimeter are for. Ray Edited March 4, 2012 by R.White (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 The castellations are used for locking the eccentric in place. A pin engages whichever one lined up with a hole for this purpose (see first photo at start of thread, the boss and holes on left are for the pin and retaining bolt. Once the pin is removed the bushing is pushed out easily. I will certainly keep that in mind Jason if binding occurs. I did try it with wheels back on the floor and it seemed good although I haven't gone through full range of motion yet (too much $%@#& in the garage at the moment).Bill, I don't see any reason why needle thrust bearings could not be used as long as the ID is close (to keep it centered) and thickness is close. I didn't think to measure these things since I was re-using them but it looks like it may have to come apart again since I didn't (apparently) rotate the sector wheel a full 180 degrees as intended. With wheels straight ahead, the steering shaft coupler should have the pinch bolts at the bottom but they are at more like 90 degrees.... I'll measure them when I take it apart again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Thanks for that explanation, Mike. The penny has dropped ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Glad to hear it Ray! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 "does it look like the radial load bushings could be replaced with needle roller bearings? ". Sorry Bill, I was thinking thrust bearings... I don't see any fundamental reason why the worm shaft bushings could not be replaced with needle rollers. I'll get some measurements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now