VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 32 steering box disassembly

I have a 1932 car steering box that I hope to rebuild for a spare, but I'm having trouble taking it apart.

I’ve separated the cast housings and the sector shaft and bushings show very little wear, however I can’t get the steering gear shaft out of its housing. I haven’t been able to move the upper bearing race (either direction) and it appears the bearings are too far apart as there is over 1/8 inch of up/down movement of the shaft along its axis. I’m wondering if the upper bearing was not installed correctly or is jammed. Should the bearing races fit tightly in the housing and if so how can they be removed?

I’m inclined to pull on the shaft to have the worm gear force out the upper bearing and race, but maybe now is the right time to ask if this makes sense since I don’t want to damage the shaft or worm gear. Any thoughts or tips appreciated! Tom

http://1931chevrolet.com/articles/steering/index.htm

If you put "steering" in a search you will see several threads on your topic just in the last 6 months.


Steering sector seal Chipper put this in one of the threads.If you are rebuilding your steering box this may be a good thing to do.

The following written by Doug Bell was published in the G&D about 50 years ago.

Anyone interested in modifying a 1929-1932 Chevrolet steering box so that it will hold gear oil? There is no sector shaft seal, so grease has to be used as the lubricant, in order that it will not run out. Here is an easy fix. Buy National Seal No. 240731, remove the sector shaft housing, mount on a lathe using a 1 inch mandrel which is held in a chuck and counter bore the outside end of the housing approx. 5/32” deep and about 0.004-0.006” smaller in diameter than outside of the seal (the sector shaft bushing may have to be pressed into the housing 1/8" approx.). I have made this change to my1931 and it now holds # 80 steering gear lube without leaking a drop. It sure makes a difference when it gets cold up here.

Thanks for the excellent link - it's very helpful. I was able to get the bearing race out by pulling the steering shaft with more force. Doesn't look like much wear on the parts, so I'll continue to check it out and maybe add a shaft seal while apart. Tom