Recently i Rebuilt my Steering Box. I got it on the car and i Still had slack in the steering. I determined this to be my Column, NOT the box, but while i still had not come to that conclusion, I was trying to adjust out all the slack with the Allen Screw on the box. I noticed that i don't have as much adjustment as i had on the old box. Is this normal? I mean, i have like 2 1/2 Turns worth. The Old box had ALOT more adjustment room. I have no Leaks. Should i remove the box and tear it down again? Did i do something Wrong?

 

How did you set the IMPORTANT adjustment? (the huge nut thing around the steering column shaft)

 

I counted the Threads. When i Tore it down, I made note of the Number of Threads that were exposed (4) and duplicated that when i reinstalled.

 

I do have a full range of Motion though.

 

OK... so now it's adjusted to be exactly as wore out as it was before.

That would explain the play.

 

Actually, i have determined that all the Slack always was the Steering Column, While the steering wheel doesn't jiggle, it has turning slack. It's a Tilt Column. That's another project. I'll have to remove the column and tighten it up. The only concern i really have is the amount of adjustment i have in the steering box. It seems to be less than the original. My Steering works fine as far as Freedom of motion, but there isn't that much adjustment available in the box. There are about 2 1/2 Turns available over all of adjustment. How much available adjustment SHOULD i have?

 

Not sure about all this "adjustment available" talk, since that's not how they work.

Try disconnecting the Pitman arm; backing the Allen thing off a turn or 2; loosening the big sheet-metal jam nut around the column shaft; and tightening the big bearing thing with the 2 spanner holes in it until the torque required to turn the wheel begins to suddenly skyrocket. You'll find that it has almost no effect, and then suddenly the torque will begin to shoot upwards as the Belleville washer in there gets fully compressed and it starts to preload the spool valve. Something probably in the 6-8 in-lbs kind of range should be about right. Once you get that, lock it back down with the sheet metal nut. Then tighten the Allen back using the same discipline; nothing, nothing, nothing, suddenly HUGE resistance. I'd suggest looking for maybe 9-10 in-lbs total from that. That should take ALL the slack out of the gearbox.

You still could have sloppy bearings in the column, and/or a wasted rag joint; but that will at least get the gearbox into shape. One thing at a time, helps avoid getting into tail-chasing and self-destructive "maybe it's this, maybe it's that" mindless parts swapping.

 

Well, as far as the Rag Joint, That is Brand New. I have replaced the ENTIRE front suspention and the Intermediate Shaft/Rag Joint with New Replacement parts. Nothing from the Junkyard. The Saginaw Box operates without effort and doesn't make any funny noises. If you tell me that a Newly Rebuilt Box typically has around 2 1/2 turns of adjustment on the allen head adjuster, I would leave the whole thing as it is. My question is; How much adjustment should I have available to me on a newly rebuilt Steering Box?

 

There is no such thing as "adjustment available". That's not how they work.

The bolt-like piece with the Allen on it is about an inch long. It'll back out until the ball-&-socket thing where it hooks to the Pitman shaft hits the inside of the cover, and it'll screw in until it falls out of the cover (if the worm shaft isn't in there or if the cover is off). Since it's about an inch long and the threads are about a 16 to 20 pitch or so, there's about 16 or 20 turns, more or less, from falling out to bottomed out (or maybe I should say "topped" out?).

I suppose it's also possible to mis-assemble it somehow, but I can't imagine how you could do that and it still go back together. Maybe leave a ball or 2 out or something, I don't know. I do recall having to go buy a whole junk gear once just to get a couple of extra ***** because I dropped them when I was rebuilding one and they escaped; that irritated me.

If the gearbox has play, it either isn't adjusted right, or is too worn out to be "rebuilt". Only one I've ever seen like that was one that got water in it and then sat somewhere for a long time, and the surface of the Pitman shaft got all pitted from rust where the bearing runs on it and it had side play from that which NO AMOUNT of adjustment could ever have got rid of. But if you don't have something like that going on, then your problem is adjustment. If you didn't adjust the worm shaft preload in some similar manner to what I described (and is also detailed in the factory service manual), then that has end play, and NO AMOUNT of adjustment of the Pitman shaft will EVER get rid of it, because the worm shaft will have to move from end to end of the box as you turn the wheel until it takes up that play, before it can begin to "screw" the Pitman shaft via the recirc ***** and make it turn.

 

I guess i'll just have to double check the pre-load. *Sigh* i'm tired of messing with this damn box. I'm temped to just BUY a Rebuilt Box and install it. It took me three tries before i was confident enough to actually install this box. One time i got so frustrated that when the power piston wouldn't go in, i forced it in and, Naturally, i ruined the Seal. That mistake cost me $12.99. anyhow, hopefully i won't have to actually REMOVE the box, but if i do have to, i'll chalk that up to experience. Thanks for the Help Sofakingdom.

 

Ouch...

You can do that adjustment with it in the car, but it's alot easier out, of course.

Disconnect the Pitman arm and back that screw all the way off. Back off the big sheet metal jam nut with a long dull chisel or pry bar or something and a hammer, then use a hammer and about a 1/8" punch GENTLY in the little spanner holes in the main piece. Back that off a half-turn or so, until it's obviously loose. Then tighten it up until the torque required to turn the steering wheel suddenly starts to go up RAPIDLY, then back off to where it's loose again, then tighten it until it takes about 6 in-lbs to turn the wheel, then tighten the jam nut. That'll seem tight, and it will be, but it will loosen up over the first few hundred miles of driving.

Remember from when you put it back together, that there's a Belleville washer behind that adjuster thing, that is also one of the races for the thrust Torrington. As you first start to tighten it, there's still play in that, and therefore basically zero torque to turn the column; then once that slack is taken up, the Belleville itself starts to get compressed, and the torque required to turn the column starts to increase; then once the Belleville is fully compressed, the torque starts to just SHOOT up. The goal is to catch the spot where the Belleville is just compressed flat, right as there begins to be preload on that shaft.

Then of course adjust the Allen thing to push the Pitman shaft downwards against its spring, to where its "teeth" are just up against the "teeth" on the piston thing. That one is alot easier to get right, and to experiment with to get the feel you want after a test drive.