VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 18 months Since Restoring the 41

HOLY COW!!! Charlie just suggested putting a non 41 item on a 41!!! This will be the day that will go in the history books! I put a 42 Radio in my 41 and I thought he was going to choke me through the computer monitor. I'm really beginning to think he's not a bad guy after all. This forum would be a dead place without him:)

Ha!! I got it now. Didn't know what there we called. I just assumed they were called sun visors. LOL Thanks for the follow up.

Charlie,
I took a look at my pitman arm today. Guess what I found....worn out pitman arm bushings. I've also got a steering box leak. I plan to change the rubber pitman arm bushings and plan to spilt the steering box to change the cork seal. I think I'll replace the rubber seal on the steering sector spindle too while I got it all apart. My hope is that I can do all of this without removing the steering box from the car.

Hi Brandon,

Thought you would be interested in a previous discussion on steering problems. The discussion includes the steps used to rebuild a steering box. The box being rebuilt is not identical to yours but very similar.

I would add an endorsement of John Deere Corn Grease for lubricating the steering box.

Glad you found the Pitman arm rubber bushings as your problem.

Play in steering box

Good luck on your rebuild, Mike

P.S. I think you could do a better job if you remove the entire steering box, and then take a good look at the Thrust bearings and replace the Pitman shaft bushing. The steering box comes out from underneath the car. The 41 manual covers the steps. I would also remove the generator to have the extra room to work.

When you take the pitman arm apart to replace the bushings you can check the shaft to see if the pitman shaft bushing is loose. Many of them If you decide you only want to replace the seal it may hold for awhile but will not last.

The self leveling John Deere Corn Grease is not prone to leakage because of its thickness. A new seal should stay leak free for a long time. If it were to leak it would be no where as bad as a fluid leak.

I wonder if a lot of the leaks are caused by a combination of worn rubber bushings leading to worn shaft bushings, and guys only replacing the rubber ones?

Here are some pictures of the box I took apart last week. It was packed with grease. I will be able to salvage the case! The worm gear shaft was also cut off a couple of inches from the box. I cleaned it out, regreased it with a little Corn Grease, and put it on the frame I am using to hold my body while doing body work. A real genius and a lot of neglect had ruined a good steering gear!!!



Steering gear damage #1



Steering gear damage #2



Steering gear damage #3



Steering gear damage #4

Thanks, Mike