Steering Problem

I am trying to diagnose a problem with my steering. It has the ross steering box. The wheel is really hard to turn in both directions, and when you turn the wheel it has almost 360 degrees of free play before it engages. I also noticed that when the I turn the wheel it moves in and out of the tube about an inch. I am assuming a bearing or bushing is missing or gone somewhere in the column or box, but I havent been able to find a good diagram of the assembly to see what could be causing it. Has anyone experienced this before?

 

In high school I had a Chevelle that did what you are explaining. One of the bolts on the steering linkage broke and I almost ran off the road on the highway. This was between the column and pitman arm.

 

The shaft & worm should not move up and down in the tube when you turn the wheel, it sounds like the top bearing retainer has worked loose or possibly just loose enough for the bearings to fall out of the race ( possibly on both ends ) . The bearings are not caged.

Look at the top of the Ross box and see if the top bearing retainer is loose ( it should have three bolts in it ) The tube fits over the retainer with a clamp around it.

It sounds like you may have to remove the box from the vehicle and disassemble it to solve this issue.

 

Thanks, I was afraid thats what it would be. I will pull the steering this week, if I can get the wheel off.

 

You may well have to pull the wheel before its all said and done but you can get the entire unit in one piece ( box, tube and wheel ) out of the vehicle on early models, Remove the brake pedal from the brake lever arm and then remove the floor access panels, Remove the tube clamp at the dash, Drop the drag link on the box end then remove the three bolts holding the box to the frame...................have a friend hold/manuver the brake lever arm around the box and steering gear arm as you work it around everything up through the floor board.

Once out you can clamp the box to the workbench ( or possibly the front bumper ) and remove the box side cover to get a look inside to see whats going on without removing the steering wheel.

I have had these apart to rebuild and adjust before so I will stick with you on this thread until your done ( along with other members that will have input ) I will post a link to some assembly and adustment stuff that I have previously posted.

 

Thanks! I will give that a try. I will also post pictures so it is easier to see what I have going on.

 

Ok, I finally got the steering box pulled. It was fairly easy to do. It turns out the problem was that the bearings had fallen out of their races. What I didnt expect was that the end of the steering box had come completely off and the bearings had long ago fallen out. Also, the worm gear had some large chips out of it and the sector shaft teeth were badly worn. On the good side though, at least the bushings were tight. I have a follow up question. Is there supposed to be a removable cap on the end of the box, and if so , how does it attach?

 

On the units I have worked on the "cap" you are speaking of has been a pressed in stamped part, similar to a freeze plug in concept except that they are rounded to the outside, This cap may or may not be part of the horn switch depending on year/model etc.

Some pics would help determine weather or not the sector shaft and worm & tube can be salvaged, I have seen some worms with chips out of the edges that were not detrimental to serviceability as they were not down into the groove on the worm far enough to adversely affect the bearing area of the sector shaft pins.

One possible cause of these chips is someone crowding ( read over adjusting ) the sector shaft to far into the worm witch creates allot of pressure and can "flake" or "gall" the worm in places.

Slightly worn sectors shaft pins and worms can be hand lapped to restore an even bearing surface but this may not be the best option depending on the conditions of your parts.

Both pins will bear on the worm when the wheel is in the straight ahead position, At about 1/8 to 1/4 turn either direction one pin leaves the worm and you turn on one pin, Thats why when properly adjusted there will be a slight drag felt on the steering wheel in the straight ahead position when disconnected from the drag link .....the pins are both engaging the worm and when properly adjusted there will be no slack in the dead ahead position, The worm is also machined a hair tighter in the dead ahead position as some slack is acceptable when turning.

This may also help, http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50606


The sector shaft pins can have some wear and still be adjustable and serviceable.

Depending on the amount of wear these parts may still be usable temporarily ( and safely ) until new parts can be worked into your budget.

The ends of the worm serve as the "inner" bearing race........What condition are they in, chipped / pitted / galled etc.
Also what condition are the two "outer" bearing races in.

Will wait for your picks.

 

Brian,

I appreciate the help, after your suggestion I may try to temporarily salvage the box until I can find a better setup. The worm gear is only chipped along the top edge, so I could reuse that. The pins on the sector shaft are worn, but should still be serviceable. The vehicle will only be driven at low speeds on the farm for a few years, until I finish working on it and can get it title, so Im not concerned with it being a little sloppy. Im not sure what to do about the end cap. What does it do? If I can fabricate something to work I will try that. It appears the p.o. welded a washer on the end and left it. I will post a picture later today to show what the end of the box looks like.

 

Were there any bearings left inside the box? If the shaft was that loose some of them could be under the lower bearing race on top of the "washer" you mentioned.
The plug on the bottom of the box is just that, A plug that keeps the lubricant in the box. If the washer is welded in and does not rub on the end of the worm shaft or leak fluid there would be no harm in leaving it there. If your horn was the type that ran a wire out the end of the box just relocate your horn to a push button under the dash.

You might get lucky, If the bearing races are intact and serviceable you should be able to get some 5/16 ( .3125 ) ball bearings at ACE or possibly your local FLAPS. If this is the case you will need 11 of them on each end, There will be a small gap when they are all installed. Its ok, Your not a ball short.

If after viewing pics the worm looks ok and the sector shaft pins are not worn or damaged to bad I can give you some tips on the "hand lapping / hand fitting" part mentioned earlier, You dont want to remove any material from the worm ( beyond polishing a galled spot ) its all done on the pins.

 

I did all these same things and ultimately installed Herm's power steering kit. Best thing I ever did. I used a postal column and it looks totally stock but it drives like a dream. I think Herm's stuff only works with the 225 though.
Gregg

 

Ok, I have pics of the sector shaft and the box missing the end cap. I forgot to pick up the steering shaft from the shop this morning, but just take my word for it that it isnt too bad. I looked more closely at the box today to see what I could do about the missing end cap assembly. I think I can put a large washer over the end and tap some small screws into the case to hold it on.

Ok, I cant seem to get the steering box end picture to load because it is already posted in my build thread, so if you need to see it look there.

 

From looking at the picture I am afraid that the sector shaft pins are worn to much to reuse / salvage ( in my opinion ). At this point the worm gear may be reusable ( with proper lubrication a worm gear will wear out a few sector shafts ) but if you try to adjust the excessively worn pins down into the worm grooves far enough to keep the slack under control you will be rubbing the small shoulder of the pin on the edge of the worm or possibly bottoming out the pin in the groove, Creating excessive stress/binding and possibly damaging the worm gear even more.

Thats not to say you could not get lucky with just new balls and have it steer good enough for farm use.

Even if all you are going to do for a few years is use the jeep around the farm I would recommend getting a Sector Shaft Kit from one of the known suppliers ( I get mine from Willys Overland , parts are good quality so far ) and not risk damaging the worm gear any further as it is the more expensive component.

What about the bearing races and bearings? What condition are they in, For farm use new balls could be installed and the bearings readjusted for preload even if there is a slight groove in them from the old balls so long as they are not all pitted or cracked.

Anything you could do to the bottom of the box to keep lubricant from leaking out will suffice until budget and time allows otherwise.

 

The bearing races are good (the ones on the steering shaft). They have really light pitting, that is about the extent of the damage. The bearing retainer rings are cracked, but I can get those with the new bearings. One question I need answered though, what holds the bearing in place at the end cap, the one at the end of the steering shaft? Do I need to account for something when I fabricate the new end cap or is it just the worm gear shaft itself that holds it in place? Are the sector shafts from Krage good? Or should I look somewhere else?

 

I am sure the sector shafts from any reputable supplier will be fine, As for keeping the balls in place they are held in place by the shaft and outer race. The race on the worm is rounded to fit the ball and the outer race is more or less square so the balls bear in two places, When you preload the assembled bearings the round inner race on the worm forces the balls up/down and sideways against the flats of the outer race.

What ever you have to do to the bottom of the box to keep lube in it will be ok as it has nothing to do with keeping the bearings in place.

 

Ok, thanks for the help. I will start rounding up the parts.

 

Is there a parts source that will have the good parts? I would rather get it right the first time, but I have looked at a lot of the websites for jeep parts, and it is often hard to tell where their stuff is made.

 

The sector shaft kits and worm & tube that I have got from Willys Overland have been of good quality and are wearing well, they also can supply you with the bearings and races. you can reach them @ 888-265-5337. To date for me they have given good service. I do agree that it would not hurt to ask about the origin/customer feedback of the parts.

 

I took a look at the picture of the bottom of the steering box posted on your build thread, Before you drill, tap, weld or other approach you may try your local flaps ( or possibly the same supplier for the other steering parts ) and see if they carry or can get the drive in type pressed sheet metal plugs. The boxes that I have worked on took a 1 1/4" plug that was sealed with a permatex type sealant and driven into the machined recess.

The ones I have had to remove and re-seal have been convex or rounded towards the outside, Plug configuration would not matter so long as you can drive it in far enough to get a good seal and not rub the end of the tube. you can also use epoxy as a sealant/adhesive on the plug if the bore is a little loose or damaged.