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new steering box

FWIW I went through the whole rebuild ordeal totally blind with the exception of some old guides I found on the net. I got the full rebuild kit (o-rings, teflon rings and roller bearings for around 40 bucks from West Texas Offroad) and everything was fine until it came to the preload. I didn't have an in-lbs. torque wrench or the spanner so I brought the box in to the local GM dealership to have them set it up, I think it was like 25 bucks. However...

To this day I don't know if I did something wrong or the dealership messed up the torque spec but after reinstalling everything and getting the system bled I took it out for a drive. I made two turns and my steering bound up. After pulling the box back out I find it had somehow blown a bunch of the valve body apart and the worm gear got so loose a bunch of the ball bearings fell out the bottom of the power piston.:eek1: I ended up bringing the whole oily mess into the local parts shop and going for the reman.

In retrospect it probably would have saved me a ton of money and BS to just buy the spanner and in-lbs. torque wrench.:crazy:
 
I think they are like most mechanical things....a black hole the first time you work on one, the more you are familiar with them the easier it is to understand them.
Most people never mess with a steering box, so its all foreign.
 
76zimmer said:
I think they are like most mechanical things....a black hole the first time you work on one, the more you are familiar with them the easier it is to understand them.
Most people never mess with a steering box, so its all foreign.
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That is very true. I decided to jump in head first on my own box several years ago and it has gotten easier with each box i do. The biggest trick is to either have the proper tool for installing the steel balls in the rack piston or have the ingenuity to make use of a part from a "parts steering box" to use as a tool then it becomes very easy.
 
chulisohombre said:
how tight does the top adjustment make the box without doing the input adjustment?
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It's not about how tight or loose but being properly adjusted. I can say that if the adjustment is "too loose" it makes a huge difference in steering play if that's what you're wanting to know.
 
yep that is pretty much what i was looking for actually.thanks scott.for all i know this is still the stock box from 72.as old as it could be,it doesnt leak too bad,just seepage mostly.i will try and adjust it and see if it helps.
 
chulisohombre said:
yep that is pretty much what i was looking for actually.thanks scott.for all i know this is still the stock box from 72.as old as it could be,it doesnt leak too bad,just seepage mostly.i will try and adjust it and see if it helps.
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You will need a DIAL type inch pound torque wrench and you need to remove the draglink from the pitman arm and also the steering shaft from the input. I set them to 10 in/lbs through a 20* arc on either side of center when i rebuild them.
 
Nice Scott...thats what I'm talking about.
 
thanx man.ill borrow the torque wrench from a buddy and make sure the adjustment is correct.better yet ill see if the funds are there to get one for myself.
 
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