Manual Steering Gear Service

Fig. 1 Disassembled view of manual steering gear, except rack & pinion:

Disassembly

Prior to disassembly, note starting torque required to rotate mainshaft.
1. Place alignment marks on pitman arm and mainshaft, then remove nut and pull pitman arm from shaft, using tool No. C3894A.
2. Remove breather plug and allow lubricant to drain from steering gear.
3. Remove upper cover attaching bolts, then loosen adjuster bolt locknut and back off adjusting bolt 2 to 3 turns.
4. Place mainshaft and cross shaft in the straight ahead position, then using a soft faced mallet tap on bottom of cross shaft and remove cross shaft and upper cover as an assembly. When removing components, use care not to damage cross shaft oil seal.
5. Position upper cover in a soft jawed vise, then remove adjusting bolt and separate upper cover from cross shaft. Retain spacer for reassembly.
6. Remove end cover and mainshaft adjusting shims, then remove mainshaft and bearings. Retain mainshaft adjusting shims for assembly. Do not disassemble mainshaft or ball nut assembly.
7. Remove cross shaft and mainshaft oil seals from steering gear housing.

Inspection

1. Check cross shaft and mainshaft bearings for wear and damage and replace as necessary. If cross shaft bearing is found to be worn or damaged, replace cross shaft, bearing and steering gear housing as an assembly.
2. Check ball nut and mainshaft for smooth operation. If operation is not smooth or excessive freeplay is indicated, replace mainshaft and ball nut as an assembly.
3. Check to ensure that hole in breather plug is not clogged. A needle may be used to clear breather plug passage.

Assembly & Adjustment

1. Apply grease to mainshaft and cross shaft oil seal lips, then install seals on steering gear housing.
2. Position steering gear housing in soft jawed vise, then position mainshaft into housing.
3. Install gasket, mainshaft shims (same as removed) and end cover onto steering gear housing. Torque end cover attaching bolts to 11-14 ft. lbs. Apply suitable sealer to end cover gasket and cover attaching bolts.
4. Using an inch pound torque wrench and tool No. CT1108, check mainshaft preload. Mainshaft preload should be 3-4.8 inch pounds. If preload is less than specified, remove adjusting shims to increase preload. If preload is more than specified, add shims to reduce preload. Adjusting shims are available in thickness from 0.002-0.020 inch.
5. Install adjusting bolt and spacer into groove on upper end of cross shaft. Use spacers to adjust axial play to 0-.002 inch. Spacers are available in thickness of 0.077-0.083 inch.
6. Carefully insert cross shaft into gear housing, meshing ball nut rack with cross shaft gear. Before installing, apply a small amount of gear oil to ball nut, cross shaft and cross shaft gear. Also apply a small amount of grease to cross shaft seal before installing cross shaft.
7. Apply suitable sealer to upper cover attaching bolts, except the breather plug, then install upper cover and torque attaching bolts to 11-14 ft. lbs.
8. Align marks on Pitman arm and mainshaft, then install Pitman arm and tighten retaining nut.
9. Measure steering gear backlash as follows:
a. Insert a small amount of gear oil into steering gear through breather plug.
b. Tighten adjusting bolt until it contacts gear teeth.
c. Cycle Pitman arm left and right several times to mesh gear teeth.

Fig. 2 Steering gear backlash measurement. Manual steering gear, except rack & pinion:

d. Position dial indicator to end of Pitman arm and measure gear backlash, with gear placed in the straight ahead position.
e. The service limit for steering gear backlash is 0.020 inch.
f. Loosen adjusting bolt to increase steering gear backlash. Tighten to decrease backlash.
10. After completing assembly, measure mainshaft preload. Mainshaft preload should be 5.6-7.4 inch pounds. If not within specifications, check cross shaft, cross shaft bearing and end cover for proper installation. Also check adjusting bolt for improper adjustment.
11. Fill steering gear housing with 0.19 quarts of gear oil.