The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Steering box rebuild? 1950

Your opinion on have the steering box rebuilt, or leave it be on a '50 half ton. Have never drived the truck, at the end of a restoration. Have a little side play at the steering wheel end, and moving the shaft by hand, it seems to be very tight. Will be installing a new drag link on the front susupension . Your thoughts and experienced please. Thanks, Mike

Leave it alone but double your insurance... you be fine.
Rebuild it and Giecoprogro will send an infestation of geckos... wait that doesn't work, geckos are cool.
Personally having driven that old time sloppy steering in my youth I might find it a little nostalgic (for a little while) but as long as you're pulling it apart I'd do the box too.

MIke,

First, do the Shop Manual adjustments.

Walmart sells a cheap fish scale that is needed for the adjustments.

This made a big difference in my steering. After adjustment, if all your front-end parts are good and tight and greased (including king pins), and you have loose/poor steering you might need to rebuild (or buy a rebuilt unit).

Thanks TC, will try that first, so far everything seems tight. Mike

If the box will adjust to the tolerances in the manual it does not need to be rebuilt. If the steering is still sloppy after the box is adjusted to tolerance something else is worn out.

With the drag link removed is it very smooth turning the steering wheel lock to lock? Does the shaft the pitman arm is connected to move up and down slightly when the wheel is moved side to side? You may be fine with just adjustments and new lube. On the other hand, if all else is good inside new bearings and a new seal are pretty cheap insurance and the rebuild without replacing the balls is easy.

The steering box and column are on the bench, with steering wheel removed. The pitman arm will move smoothly turning the top of the steering shaft with my thumb and forefinger. All appears to be smooth an good, will adjust the movement when I have it back on the frame. Was really wondering how much these steering units wear over the course of a lifetime, probably 100K miles on the truck, wasn't running when I got it, last on the road in the mid-70's
Mike

Did the steering box have 90 gear oil in it when removed? Oil or lack of oil will give a clue to the sector shaft bushings condition as excessive wear will cause the cork packing to leak.

I don't remember any oil, pulled it off about 6 years ago, It does have grease in it...

Grease is what it wants - self-levelling grease. Corn head grease is OK/good.

I agree with doing the adjustments in the manual. When I got my 58 Burb the steering was tight and smooth but didn't have much "resistance" when turning the steering wheel with the front end jacked up. It didn't have the required 1 or 2 pounds (can't remember which) as described in the manual. After proper adjustment it was right on.

Fast forward about 4-5 months and I started getting slop in the steering wheel. It got progressively worse until I starting getting uncomfortable on the road. Turns out the big nut on the bottom of the steering box had worked loose and allowed the guts to go more and more out of adjustment. I had to redo the adjustment and really tighten that nut down.

Anyway, that is a long way of saying that the box is probably just a little "loose" and will be back in fine form once you do the prescribed adjustments. Be sure to tighten the big nut down tight so it doesn't back off on you.

Check your manual, but I believe steering boxes for a wide range of years call for 90 weight gear oil, not grease. Grease is used as a remedy to stop sector shaft packing leaks. Sector shaft packing tends to leak when the two sector shaft bushings are worn. Check the fit of the sector shaft and bushings.

Anything from 90w to as self leveling grease is fine. Just no chassis type grease, it must flow to the bushings.