What to look for in a steering box ?

[Ian1932]

I have some 32' boxes to choose from. I just was hoping to paint then grease and go...Is there anything i should look for that would determine if i choose the best one? Thanks for your help...

[cas3]

we all like to save money, but best option here is rebuild it with a 34 worm gear and sector. 32 is 13 to 1 ratio (i think) and 34 is 15 to one. easier steering. that with new bearings makes a nice thing to drive. there is a difference between the truck box and the car box, angle to dash is different. i am not a 32 guy, but some will tell how to know what you got

[Mart]

I'm not 100% sure, but some of those might be 33/34. Check the bolt holes in your frame. You should have 1 up and 2 down. This makes the top bolt tight up against the radius of the bend in the frame where the side bends over into the top of the rail. The 33/34 have a 2 up and one down configuration which fits in the frame rail better. Really, it is the internal condition that dictates. you need one that turns smoothly with good bearings and can be adjusted without free play of binding.

See how many 32 ones you have to start off with and take it from there.

Mart.

Edit: Writing at same time as above: It might be better to do as cas3 said above, but use the 32 lower housing to mount correctly to the frame.

[DavidG]

Mart has nailed it. You have two '32s and two '33-'34s. The orientation of the three attachments of the sector housing to the chassis frame is the tell tale.

Unfortunately, it is common to encounter damage to the bearing surfaces on the end of the worm gear at the end of the shaft and the mating bearing race pressed into the end of the gear box, so I think that it would be best to disassemble the two '32 assemblies to assess them for wear and worm gear and bearing race damage. As only early '33 steering gears had the less desirable 13 to 1 ratio, there's a good chance that both your '33-'34 assemblies have 15 to 1 ratio worm and sector gears. The sector gears of the '33-'34 boxes are interchangeable with those of the '32 box as are the worm gears. The problem is that the '33-'34 steering shaft is longer than the '32 shaft. With the right equipment, if the 15 to 1 gears in one of the '33-'34 boxes are in good condition, you can press the worm gear off the '33-'34 shaft and press it on to one of the '32 shafts after removing the 13 to 1 worm gear.

[Fordors]

Another thing to consider is the sector housing itself. There is an early Commercial car housing that has the threaded holes for mounting clocked just a bit differently to accommodate the shorter Commercial cowl. After July the holes in the frame were elongated and only one sector housing was used. An early housing would cause your column to be too high.
In addition, a pitman arm stamped with a B will be a Commercial pitman, having the false splines in a different location.

[cas3]

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here's a good tech on 32 steering boxes, skip to page 10 https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...6.970252/page-

[Ian1932]

Originally Posted by Mart

I'm not 100% sure, but some of those might be 33/34. Check the bolt holes in your frame. You should have 1 up and 2 down. This makes the top bolt tight up against the radius of the bend in the frame where the side bends over into the top of the rail. The 33/34 have a 2 up and one down configuration which fits in the frame rail better. Really, it is the internal condition that dictates. you need one that turns smoothly with good bearings and can be adjusted without free play of binding.

See how many 32 ones you have to start off with and take it from there.

Mart.

Edit: Writing at same time as above: It might be better to do as cas3 said above, but use the 32 lower housing to mount correctly to the frame.

So this one would be a 32', correct?

[Mart]

Yes. As far as I can tell from the photo.

I'll repeat a point I made in one of your earlier threads - you might want to test fit everything together before getting to paint or final paint. You can't just assume all this collection of parts will just bolt together seamlessly, there may be some fettling required. It's better to make sure everything fits perfectly and then blow it all apart for detailing and painting.

I will put my hand up and say, though, I'm not a great restorer, I don't get much past the fit it all together stage. Once I start driving it I never seem to get around to blowing it apart again.

Mart.

[19Fordy]

Here is a great video on "fettling" or deburring. Amazing.
Sure beats doing it by hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bizTrteAoCU