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steering gearbox issues

tarafied1

Well-Known Member
I bought a rebuilt gearbox when I was upgrading to EPAS. The steering felt a little odd even with the PS turned off. So I crawled under the car wiggling things. Everything is new so I thought something had come loose. I found the pitman arm would move up and down. Called the company and they are going to replace it under warranty. I want to take is apart but I don't want to void the warranty. Something is either broken in the adjuster or they didn't put it together right... maybe left out the shim in the adjuster. It moves almost a 1/4"
 
Let them replace it and be done :) The tinkerer in you just has to know though lol.

Bill
 
As Bill says, leave it alone. Bad enough you have had to install, remove and now install again.
 
Hope the next one is good! I bet it is a bear to get the box out with your big block in there. Do you have power brakes? I do and I have to tun the gear box 3 times to get it out.
 
the tinkerer in me is dying know what's wrong with it. The top screw is tight (with lock nut tight). It's all painted so if I mess with it they will be able to tell. And yeah, it sucks that I didn't catch that before I put it all together. I trusted that it would be good.
John,
I do not yet have power brakes (future up grade). I have to take the driver's side motor mount loose, then pull the driver's side header off (which is not fun). Then it will come out. The original spear-O-matic wouldn't come out even then. I had to cut the shaft with a cut-off wheel. I wasn't about to pull the engine!
My wife, SWMBO, has been telling me to leave it alone too but I am so currious what could be wrong. The top screw sets the tension on the gear mesh. There is a spacer in the channel on the grooved part but it seams to move more than the thickness of the spacer...?
ADg2.gif

Adjustment Screw to Sector Shaft End Play: The Adjustment Screw lowers the Sector Shaft into the housing and forces the Sector Shaft Teeth to mesh with the teeth on the Rack Block. This screw also sets the amount of end play of the Sector Shaft. This screw must have enough clearance to allow the Sector Shaft to turn without binding on the screw, but no so much that there is excessive end play in the Sector Shaft to affect gear mesh.
The clearance is adjusted by changing the shim located between the Adjustment Screw and the top of the Sector Shaft. Different thickness shims allow for correction of production tolerances and wear compensation.
 
If you need a new steering box, check out Roger Rodes restorations... a buddy of mine recently got one of his boxes after purchasing a rebuilt one from another rebuilder that didn't work so well.
 
thanks for the recommendation. If the second one is goofy then i will ask for a refund and get one from him.
 
I paid $350 not including a $150 core charge. I have hung on to my old one just in case. My old one wasn't really a problem but I just figured since I had to remove it anyway, I would replace it with a rebuilt one. Unfortunately this one is messed up. The customer service has been good though. He didn't give me any argument whatsoever. He is even sending shipping labels to cover shipping. He seems like a one man show. I hope the next one is okay!
 
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