Posted by Matt Wilson [172.69.69.79] on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at 19:22:23 :
In Reply to: Nope posted by Nick [172.69.23.24] on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at 17:47:13 :
Have you taken apart the steering gearbox to see what the insides look like? It's not hard to do. It might tell you a lot. The output shaft of the box is supported by bronze bushings and those could be worn. The worm gear is supported by tapered roller bearings and those could be worn. I think you can find the bronze bushings, if I'm not mistaken, but the roller bearings are not to be found anywhere. I'm not sure what VPW does when they rebuild these. Maybe they bore out the housing a little and use some oversize modern bearings(?). If the output shaft or sector gear that is part of the output shaft is worn beyond limits, then you can buy a NOS sector gear from VPW (I did last Summer) - $35 at the time and well worth it. I think the worm gear is harder to find. In any case, if you take the whole gearbox apart, it will help you see what's going on a lot better. When putting it back together, I recommend using Indian Head gasket shellac or similar, rather than the silicone sealants that are so common. I have used the silicone and had leaks, but with the Indian Head (actually I'm using a different brand, but same thing), I have not had a leak, even though I filled the gearbox with synthetic gear oil, but then again, I have not driven either - it's just been sitting in my garage for a year since I did that.
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