Steering box....again.

[jgreg53]

has anyone here tried adding a shim in the box on the other side of the box where the steering rod enters in order to take up slack? I was think about a round shim between the upper cone and the stop for the inside of the housing.

[Loren]

I haven’t had a Plymouth box apart but have done a 1952-54 Ford F 100 Gemmer box. I modified it to fit a model A then totally rebuilt it with all new gears & bearings.

When the bearings are new the bottom bearing ring extends beyond the housing a little, that’s how you preload them. You select a number of gaskets (thick and thin) till there is no slop in the bearings and just the slightest drag. To check an existing box you tug on the steering wheel to see if there’s any slop. Next you can drop in the sector and adjust it up and down with the adjustment on top. If you dial it too tight they bind so just less than binding.

My steering box is leaking from the lower sector seal, so my procedure will be to pull the pitman arm then take sector out the top with the cover. The seal can be changed and the steering shaft bearing preload checked.

drop in the sector and give it a feel and adjust as needed.

[Dan Hiebert]

jgreg53, what you are describing is how you are supposed to take up the free play in the steering shaft.  Similar if not same procedure Loren describes.  Shims are available out there, but I made my own many years ago when they were kinda hard to find.  But, if I remember correctly, removing shims is what tightens up the steering shaft(?).

Edited December 17, 2021 by Dan Hiebert
typo

[jgreg53]

When I put mine together,  the bottom race is recessed into the case added a shim the same size as the bottom race to take up the gap. What I'm thinking of doing is to add a shim to the other end to take up the slack. Also the rollers races and bushings are all new 

 

Edited December 17, 2021 by jgreg53

[harmony]

21 hours ago, Loren said:

I haven’t had a Plymouth box apart but have done a 1952-54 Ford F 100 Gemmer box. I modified it to fit a model A then totally rebuilt it with all new gears & bearings.

When the bearings are new the bottom bearing ring extends beyond the housing a little, that’s how you preload them. You select a number of gaskets (thick and thin) till there is no slop in the bearings and just the slightest drag. To check an existing box you tug on the steering wheel to see if there’s any slop. Next you can drop in the sector and adjust it up and down with the adjustment on top. If you dial it too tight they bind so just less than binding.

My steering box is leaking from the lower sector seal, so my procedure will be to pull the pitman arm then take sector out the top with the cover. The seal can be changed and the steering shaft bearing preload checked.

drop in the sector and give it a feel and adjust as needed.

Are the adjustments on the sector shaft done with the steering box empty, or with fluid in it?

As for the end play, I would think that you would select the proper shim or shims to get the end play, with the steering box empty.  It would be a pain in the butt to keep changing shims if you had to drain it each time.

[Loren]

Okay on the sector you are adjusting the engagement of the gears. Too tight and they bind too loose and there’s slop which causes the car to wander.

on steering shaft you are adjusting the roller bearing preload. Again too tight and the steering effort is too high too loose and the car really wanders! Seems the bearings are more important than the sector. 
To get the best fit you do the bearings first with sector out. Then put the sector in and fit it. As I said while you have sector out you can change the seal.

[jgreg53]

Today I took the steering box out and added a shim behind the shorter race.it really helped but the car is still on jacks. Changing the lower u joint.