Steering box ball bearings. How many?

[JpEater]

How many ball bearings are around the worm gear in a steering box? I torn mine down and counted 12 dark and 12 shiny. I just noticed that there was not enough bearings to go completly around the worm gear and fill the crossover tube as well. This is a remanufactured box right out of the box never installed on a truck yet so if there are some missing then it came like that. Just wanted to check. Also from what I have found I need to have about 1.5 to 5.5 inch pounds of resistance on the input shaft when setting the adjuster nut. Sound right?

 

[4X4HIGH]

There should be 24 in total and there are 12 and 12 like you described and they must be installed dark, shiny dark shiny until they are all in. The bearings are .001 difference in diameter.

 

[Mudstud]

When you put them in the last few will not fit in the worm gear so you need to start dropping them in toward the other way-front of the box. Just make sure when you start doing that that the last one you put in doesn;t break the dark, shiny, dark secuence when it's all done. There will be a lil area with no bearings.

 

[JpEater]

Ok I got it drilled and tapped and put back together. It was not a big deal at all. I will never buy another reman box. This was a cake walk to do. Thanks for the help.