Rebuilding a '54 steering gear.

[GLAmes]

I few months ago Jwawhite posted about reshimming his gearbox with success. I'm going a step or two farther. I have a gearbox disassembled on my workbench and a box of new parts for it. Both the repair manual and the parts manual show a spacer between the needle bearing packs for the sector shaft. Mine doesn't have one. Of course I have no idea what it's history is. Has anyone else torn one down that might shed some light on this? The bearings are pressed in and I'm pretty sure they won't move, spacer or not.

[Jwawhite]

The Parts Manual, does it also read By Year and Model of your steering box? If it should or shouldn’t have the spacer between needle bearings?
I have a program on my computer, ‘49-59 Ford Car Parts and Accessories Text Catalog’.
Is this what you have?
Send me year and model if not and I’ll look it up.

[Jwawhite]

3567
54/55 Spacer steering sector shaft bearing 3.5” long A and S passenger cars and Thunderbird
AD3567-A

[GLAmes]

Thanks. That is the parts manual I have. The repair manual is the '52 with '53 and '54 supplements. Rebuild instructions are in the '52 section. I didn't dive into the parts manual other than looking to see if the '54 diagram showed the spacer. I wish I had another gear box, other than the one that is in the car. The idea was to build a new gearbox, then install it with minimum down time. I might have to revise my plan. I'd be pissed if the one in the car doesn't have a spacer either.

[GLAmes]

I googled the part number and didn't even get the normal hits from Amazon or E-Bay. I did get a hit back to this thread. Pretty sure that part is non-obtanium all by itself. Maybe I can find another gear box cheap.

[miker98038]

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As a long shot, try Red Head Steering. They’re local to me, do a lot of truck stuff, but they are also the go to guys for earlier cars. Good people.

https://redheadsteeringgears.com/sho...SAAEgJ3CPD_BwE

[GLAmes]

Originally Posted by miker98038

As a long shot, try Red Head Steering. They’re local to me, do a lot of truck stuff, but they are also the go to guys for earlier cars. Good people.

Good idea. I have a Redhead box in my Dodge duelly.

[GLAmes]

So much for Redhead. They aren't much interested in do-it-yourselfers who are seeking info and perhaps an obscure part. So I decided I'll fabricate one. All I need is a tube the same diameter of the bearings that is 3 1/2 inches long. Lo and behold, the oil fill tube for the engine is the correct OD and has a larger ID than the sector shaft so it won't rub. Now all I have to do is find the valley cover from the scrap engine that is buried in the scrap metal pile.

[GLAmes]

I have the rebuild completed. I did use the oil filler tube from the intake cover plate as the spacer. After cutting it to length I split is lengthwise, then using a small grinding wheel I took off another 1/8 inch of material. I compressed it with a pair of channel locks and inserted it into the housing. It sprung back as I had hoped and is firmly in place. The rebuild kit didn't come with enough spacers for the worm gear adjustment so I had to make one out of gasket material. I used a calibrated hand held fish scale to measure the resistance of turning the steering wheel and it is in spec. The wheel turns free play less than an inch. Waiting for the paint to dry, then the chore of R&R ing the gearbox in the car. Chipping the paint on the steering wheel, dash and steering column is my greatest fear. Wish me luck.

[GLAmes]

I finally have the gearbox installed and although it turns much smoother the play in the steering wheel is still there. I guess I'll have to live with it because the play isn't in the box, it is caused by the power steering control valve ball stud movement. It has to move left and right, that is how it works. I've tried limiting it's movement but all that does is defeat the power steering. Examining the box I took out I'm wondering what I was thinking to bolt it in without an inspection. It was full of nasty oil and must have had some water because there is a lot of rust and corrosion, so the rebuild and replacement wasn't for nothing.

[KULTULZ]

BEGINNING URL - https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=339670