The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Steering box

I am rebuilding a 46 1/2 ton and wondering if there is a way of knowing if the steering box is in need of a rebuild. The one I have seems to have vertualy no play in it just by turning by hand on the bench. Would that be a good indication that it would be ok or does the play happen when it's under load. Any suggestions greatly appreciated thx

If there is no play in it & it turns smooth all the way across it is in good shape. You can turn the sector adjustment in till you feel a slight drag at the center of the travel.
George

I agree with George. If no play and turns smoothly without binding then I wouldn’t touch it other then to add grease if needed. If you decide to rebuild it, even a rookie like me did it in a few hours (not including the 3 days of degreasing!). Just follow the manual. Pretty simple.

Chris

Thanks George & Chris that's what I needed to know. It turns easily but has a bit of drag over center. Other than New gaskets I think I'll leave it alone, why fix if it isn't broke

Did the box have oil in it before you removed it from the truck, or did it have grease? If it had grease (or nothing), that would indicate a sector seal symptom which typically means the sector bushings are worn. It is a little more difficult to see lateral movement of the sector shaft when bench testing. Try to clamp the box in a vice and apply sideways thrust on the sector shaft (may be easier to temporarily attach the pitman arm) to see if there is play. A dial indicator would aid in a more definitive test.

46,
You should have more drag as you go through the “center”. If I remember correctly it should be about 1-1.5 lbs different then the rest. That keeps your steering straight on the road. I used the high temp red grease in mine after I had cleaned it out. If you are going as far as replacing gaskets, why don’t you replace the bearings also? It doesn’t take anymore time or effort if you opened it up to replace gaskets. Just a thought.

Chris

I thought it calls for cornhead grease. Is red grease ok too?

Grease needs to 00 or 000 grade, anything else will just get pushed to the sides and the box will run dry. 00 or 000 grease will flow back on to itself, or what is called self leveling. 1/2 gun grease and 1/2 gear oil will work once premixed. Corn head grease is 00 grade, made for slow speed gear boxes.

I would recommend cleaning the box inside and out, even if there is no movement. Pull the side cover and flush with gasoline or your cleaner of choice. There are roller balls, bearings, and bushings that could use some fresh grease.

Just follow along in this manual, https://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/sets/72157632210242370/ , the boxes are very similar. You will be surprised how much better the gear box will feel with a fresh overhaul.

Joe

If you have a farm store nearby, they should sell a Corn Head 00 grade self-levelling grease that matches/meets the "spec".

A simple adjustment in described/shwn here.
A cheap 0-5 or 0-10 lb fish scale from Walmart/etc is needed.

Thank you for all the recommendation s and suggestions it really helps to have some guidance on what to do. I'll tackle it over the winter