Is it worth saving this steering box?

[MarcD]

 After going to WAR with the pitman arm I was finally able to pull the shaft and gear. The box felt like it was bound up but eventually broke free. The gears feel nice and tight although there is some corrosion to address. Hubris says I can polish that out. The roller is in really nice shape thank god because it looks like a huge bitch to remove/replace. My main concern is the rough feeling of the bearings on the input shaft. I'm discovering the bearings are no longer produced. The machine shop could probably work it out but is it worth the expense? Has anyone here had success rebuilding one of these without the BMW bearings?

 

 

 

 

 

[AceAndrew]

They aren't "BMW" bearings to start with.  There are plastic-cage and metal-cage bearings, either work.

 

If there is no pitting on the roller, worm, and race,.... and there's healthy adjustment left on the top screw, then it's absolutely worth putting up a WTB add for a couple used-but-healthy bearings

 

and yeah...... that arm can be a battle, glad to hear of your VICTORY!

[MarcD]

One can accomplish alot with a 3lb hammer and a torch!

 

What about these IE rebuild kits I see advertised for $550? The quick ratio kit looks interesting. They are obviously sourcing bearings from somewhere. 

[TobyB]

Sure- measure the ball diameter, and you can buy them in bulk from 

bearing houses.  I'd look for a brand name, not spAmazon or ePay.

 

There are some discussions on the 'worm' a few years back- it's not something

that can be cnc'd out in a few minutes, so me, personally, I'd be a bit skeptical

of one that wasn't OE...

 

t

 

['76mintgrün'02]

There is at least one long thread in the archives about what it takes to install one of those kits and it's not easy.

 

I found one.

 

 

Here's the long one with 184 replies.

 

 

[Mike Self]

Due to extreme leakage from the seals, a couple of years ago I took apart the steering box from my 73 with over 275k miles on it and was pleasantly surprised as to how clean and unworn it was inside.  I suspect those little bearings in yours are still in pretty good shape unless they're badly rusted.  I sourced the seals for a few bucks from the local auto parts emporium, made myself a new paper gasket, installed the seals and it's good as new.  

 

I did a column about my steering box adventures; PM me if you'd like a copy.

 

mike

['76mintgrün'02]

4 hours ago, MarcD said:

My main concern is the rough feeling of the bearings on the input shaft.

 

That thing is filthy inside.  They might feel smooth again, once all the gritty looking crud is cleaned out of it. 

 

[MarcD]

The bearings are in rough shape but the plastic housing looks nice. I'll haul the ball bearings to the bearing shop and see what we can find to match them up. There is also some kind of shim in the bore thats worn badly on one side. I'll have to see if I can drive them out and find a replacement. 

 

 

[0257]

Seal kits are pretty easy to find.  Bearings may be available at Walloth.  The gears themselves are pretty dang tough, and may be good even if everything else in the box is shot.  If the gears are shot you can get rebuild kits with gears, bearings, bushings and seals from an Argentine outfit called Ventas CHS (ventas@chsauto.com).  I rebuilt my box completely (with help from an old-school local machinist) using their kit, and it’s nice.  Walloth at one time had a similar (and slightly more complete) kit for a lot more money. There are multiple posts on the topic, some by me.  

[MarcD]

The box cleaned up really nice. No noticeable wear on the gears. The shims are not salvageable and one of the brass bushings in the bore is worn flat on one side. I suspect that damage came from a poor reassembly. 

 

Freshened up the bearings with new 440 stainless rollers. The factory rollers were all over the place when I sized them so I went with some 5/16 balls that I had on hand. I can't imagine this being a problem. Picked the best 24 out of the box

 

Old and busted.

 

New Hotness

 

Edited September 24, 2023 by MarcD