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Lares Corporation Steering Components • CALL 1.800.555.0767 • VISIT www.LaresCorp.com

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Manual Steering Gear and Linkage

The steering gear mechanism allows thedriver to turn the front wheels of the vehicle.This includes the steering wheel, steering gearbox, pitman arm, drag link, tie rods, steeringarms, and steering knuckles which support thewheels. Turning the steering wheel left or rightturns the steering shaft to which a worm gear isattached within the gear box. The steering wormgear moves the sector gear, and this motion istransmitted to the pitman arm which moves foreand aft. A drag link connected to the pitman armtransmits this movement to the tie rods which areconnected to the steering arms. The steeringarms turn the steering knuckles and the wheelswhich are pivoted left or right on the front endsuspension.

There are four common manual steeringgears in use. The worm and sector, worm androller, recirculating ball steering and the rack andpinion. In the worm and sector style the worm isconnected at the end of the steering shaft. Thesector is mounted on a sector shaft. The teeth ofthe worm mesh with the teeth of the sector. Thefriction value is very high in this design becausemost of the load is concentrated on the gears attheir mesh point. The worm and roller is similarto the worm and sector type. A toothed roller ismounted on a roller shaft, and a worm gear ismounted on the steering shaft. Gear teeth of theworm gear mesh with the roller, and motion istransmitted. The roller is mounted on a ball bear-ing. This bearing provided low friction as it tookthe load, and the roller distributed the wear moreevenly. The recirculating ball steering offers ex-

tremely low friction and power loss. A ball nuton bearings is meshed with the worm gear andscrews up and down relative to the movementof the worm. The rack and pinion steeringconsists of a pinion attached to the steeringshaft which meshes with a flat rack. The pin-ion travels left or right on the rack to movethe road wheels.

Steering linkage arrangements vary de-pending upon need and basic design. There aretwo basic types of steering control systems;those that have a pitman arm and a steeringbox, and those that use rack and pinion steer-ing. The most common type of steering usinga pitman arm is the parallelogram type. It uses

Orest LazarowichPresents

Looking BackwardbutMoving Forward

A Continuing Series focused on the Repair and Restoration of your old Car and Truck.

Steering Wheel

Tie Rod

Center Link

Idler Arm

Gear BoxTie Rod

Pitman Arm

PAGE 12 - SKINNED KNUCKLES



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two tie rods and a center link between the tie rodsThere is an idler arm on the passenger side andthe pitman arm on the driver’s side that attach tothe center link. When the steering wheel is turnedthe center link transfers the movement to thesteering arms and outer tie rods. All of the jointswhich mount these components use small balljoints to provide the freedom of movement. Thetwo sides of the linkage run parallel to each otherand are equal in distance thereby forming a par-allelogram steering linkage. In the rack and pin-ion system the center rod is replaced with asteering rack which is a long, toothed bar with tierods attached to each end. On the end of the steer-ing shaft there is a pinion gear that meshes withthe rack. When the steering wheel is turned, thepinion gear turns, and it moves the rack from leftto right. Changing the size of the pinion gearchanges the steering ratio.

Road Test

During the road test, listen for any unusualnoises related to the suspension and steering.Check for steering problems such as: steeringwander or drift, high steering effort and binding,excessive steering wheel free play, steering wheelreturn and front wheel shimmy. Back at the shopraise the front of the vehicle on safety stands. In-spect for worn suspension parts and/or worn tires.Hard steering can be caused by damaged steeringlinkage, worn steering linkage, damaged spindlesand bent steering arms causing incorrect turningangles. Front tire shimmy can be caused by tireimbalance and/or tire runout. Vehicle instabilitycan be caused by driveline misalignment, drive-

line imbalance or unequal weight distribution be-tween the wheels. Inspect the shock absorbers orstruts for loose mounting bushings and bolts. Ex-amine for leaks. Inspect the wheel bearings forlateral movement. Inspect the steering linkagesand tie rod ends for wear (looseness). Inspect forloose steering gear mounting bolts, worn mount-ing brackets and bushings. Replace worn parts,and/or adjust front wheel bearings.

Manual Steering Gear

The gearbox is attached to the frame, andit can be directly connected to the steering shaftand wheel or by a U-joint/rag joint. Check forexcessive free play (more than 1½ - 2") at thesteering wheel.Check the steer-ing shaft U-joint/rag joint forwear, if the steer-ing gear is of thisstyle. If they areworn, replacethem. Check thatthe pitman arm istight to the sectorshaft. The steeringwheel should startto move the pit-man arm withinthe approvedrange. If it doesn't, there is an adjustment at thegearbox to tighten up the free play. There are twoadjustments: the worm bearing preload and thesector shaft mesh. Check lubricant level, and ifit is low, check for a gasket leak, sector shaft seal

Worm Gear

Sector

Worm

Roller

Roller Bearing

Pinion Gear

Rack

Four Common Manual Steering GearsWorm and Sector Worm and Roller

Flex Housing

Gear Box

Frame

Pitman Arm

Recirculating Ball Steering Rack and Pinion

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leak or a cracked gearbox. To replace the seal thepitman arm has to be removed. If the gearbox iscracked, check with the local parts recycler.

Replacing Rag Joint

The rag joint is basically a vibrationdampener. It keeps the chassis vibration fromtransferring through the steering column to thesteering wheel. It can also correct a slight mis-alignment of the steering shaft and gearbox. Kitsare available toreplace the ragjoint with a uni-versal joint.Cover the leftfender with afender cover toprevent a beltbuckle from mar-ring the paint fin-ish. To replace arag joint removethe bolts that holdthe coupler to thesteering box andsteering shaft. Loosen the steering columnbrackets so you can pull it back to remove thesteering shaft from the coupler. Remove the cou-pler from the gearbox. Take the coupler to theauto parts store, and purchase a rebuild kit thatincludes new bolts and washers, if youwant/need the experience of rebuilding, or go fora new coupler. Install the new or rebuilt rag jointin the vehicle. Excessive steering wheel free playis now corrected, if this was the problem. If not,the steering gear may need adjustment.

Adjusting Worm and Roller

The worm and roller type of gearbox wasintroduced in 1926 and is still being used today.The Gemmer style worm and roller gears werea popular gearbox in Ford and Chrysler vehiclesduring the '30s and up to the early '60s, Theroller rides on needle bearings and mounts on ashaft at the head of the sector. The rotating rollerengages the worm, and there is much less fric-tion than a worm and a fixed tooth design.Rolling friction is much smoother than sliding

friction. Two Gemmer designs were popular.The 1937-52 Ford models used a two-toothroller, and the 1953-60 models use a three-toothroller which provides longer service life. Thereare several wear points, (the worm teeth androller teeth and the upper and lower worm bush-ings), but they can be adjusted The sector shaftbushings and oil seal are replaceable.

Adjusting Steering Shaft Bearing Preload

Sit in the driver's position, and check forsteering shaft endplay by pulling/pushing on thesteering wheel. If there is endplay, it must be ad-justed out to set the bearing preload. Power washthe gearbox and pitman shaft area. Raise thefront of the vehicle on safety stands. Remove theleft front tire and wheel. Disconnect the steeringlinkage (drag link) from the pitman arm. If theball on the pitman arm is worn oval, replace thepitman arm. Move the pitman arm up/down andsideways. If there is movement here and oil isleaking past the oil seal, the bushings need to bereplaced. If the sector shaft is worn in this area,you are taking on an expen$ive repair. If pitmanarm movement is not excessive, you can try anew seal. The pitman arm has to be removed toinstall a new seal. Check the torque on the pit-man arm nut. It can range to over 200 footpounds on some vehicles. Tight it must be.

Slide under the vehicle on a creeper, andlocate the four bolts that hold the end cover inplace. Find a container to catch any oil. Removethe bolts, and carefully separate the shims usinga box cutter. You will find the metal shims areeasier to separate then the paper ones. Removeone shim at a time by slitting the top edge of theshim, if the horn wire is in place. Retighten thebolts, and check for end play by turning the steer-ing wheel full right and left. Repeat this proce-dure until there is no noticeable endplay.Retighten the bolts. If you have a spring scale,test the bearing preload. Attach the scale to theoutside rim of the steering wheel. If the pull isless than 1½ pounds, remove a shim, and retest.If the pull is more than 1½ pounds, add the nec-essary shims until the bearing preload is set. Thesteering wheel must turn smoothly from left toright.




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Setting Sector Shaft Mesh

Loosen the sector shaft adjusting screwin the cover. With the steering wheel in centerposition, tighten the adjustment screw slightly.Do not overtighten. Check amount of steeringwheel free play before the pitman arm moves.Steering wheel movement can be 1½ - 2", Usethe spring scale on the steering wheel rim, andif there is more than 2½ pounds pull, loosen theadjustment screw slightly. The steering wheelshould turn freely from one extreme to the otherwithout binding or stiffness. When you are sat-isfied with steering wheelmovement, tighten the locknuton the adjusting screw. If thewheel does not turn freely, thegearbox has to be rebuilt.Recheck with the spring scale,Reconnect the pitman arm tosteering linkge. Turn the ad-juster plug in until tight, andthen back off to where you canfit the cotter pin. Lubricate thejoint. Fill the gearbox withproper lubricant (90W hypoidgear oil). Replace the wheel andtire. Recheck the toe-in. Road test.

Recirculating Ball-and-Nut Type Steering

Saginaw, a division of General Motors,pioneered this design. A ball rack carries theload, and friction forces are greatly reduced. Theworm shaft has a groove machined into its sur-face. This precision groove is the inner half of aball bearing race inside the ball nut rack. Anothermachined groove serves as the outer ball race. Aset of ball bearings in guide tubes roll continu-ously around the shaft and ball nut. The ballbearing fit is precise. As the steering wheel ro-tates the worm shaft, the ball nut rack slidessmoothly up and down the shaft. Teeth on theball rack engage teeth on the inner end of thesector shaft. Although the sector teeth do not ro-tate, the ball nut load distributes evenly over theset of ball bearings. The result is a smoother, eas-ier steering than the roller type gearbox. TheSaginaw recirculating ball-and-nut design is the

best design to date for pitman type steeringboxes, and vehicle manufacturer's have used thisdesign into the 1990s for the durability andstrength in the design.

Refer to the service manual for the typeof recirculating ball nut steering used in the ve-hicle. Note whether the adjustment calls for dis-connecting the steering linkage. Check the levelof gear lube. Gear lube can seep out. Clean thearea around the filler plug before removing it.The level of the gear lube should be at the baseof the plug threads in the housing. Fill with 90Whypoid gear lubricant. Some steering gears donot have a filler plug. Remove the bottom bolton the gear cover, and fill through a top bolt untillubricant flows out of the bottom hole. Somemanufacturers recommend a mix of cup greaseand gear lube on higher mileage vehicles.

Gear Adjustments

There are two adjustments to make on arecirculating ball type steering. They are bothend-play adjustments because steering gearmesh is almost eliminated by the recirculatingball bearings. Raise the front of the vehicle onsafety stands. It is a good idea to disconnect thesteering linkage at the pitman arm to set a properadjustment. Do not turn the steering wheel to thefar right and left extremes because you maydamage the ball bearings. Locate the steeringwheel about one turn from full left or right posi-tion. Back off the locknut on the pitman shaft,and loosen the adjuster a few turns counterclockwise to take the mesh load off the gears.Remove the horn button from the steering wheel.

Position yourself in the driver’s seat, andpush/pull on the steering wheel to check for end-play in the steering shaft. If there is excessiveendplay, the steering gear may have to be re-moved for service. Measure the worm bearingpreload with an inch-pound torque wrench. At-tach the torque wrench to the steering wheel nut.With the steering wheel off center, read the pullrequired to rotate the steering shaft 1½ turns ei-ther side of center. Refer to specifications. Pullshould be between 5 to 8 inch pounds. If thebearing preload is not within specifications, ad-

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just as follows. Loosen the steering shaft bearingadjuster locknut, and tighten or back off thebearing adjuster to bring the bearing preloadwithin specified limits. Tighten the steering shaftbearing adjuster locknut, and recheck the pre-load. Turn the steering wheel slowly to eitherstop. The wheel should turn freely without bind-ing or roughness. If roughness is present, theworm bearings may need replacement. If thesteering wheel binds, and the steering shaft doesnot have a flexible coupling, loosen the steeringcolumn support. Move the steering shaft intoalignment. Tighten the steering shaft support.

To adjust the pitman shaft end-play andmesh load adjustment rotate the steering wheelto center position. This places the worm and sec-tor gears in the center of their travel. Make surethe sector shaft cover bolts are tight. Using theinch pound torque wrench rotate the steeringwheel back and forth through the center position.Mesh load can be 4 to 10 inch pounds dependingon the type of vehicle. To adjust, loosen the sec-tor shaft adjuster screw locknut. Move the sectorshaft adjuster screw as required to obtain the cor-rect reading. Tighten the locknut while holdingthe adjusting screw. There must be a slightamount of play between the sector gear teeth andthe ball nut teeth in the extreme right or left turnposition. Do NOT try to adjust it out because theover center adjustment will become too tight.Some manufacturers suggest using a spring scaleon the rim of the steering wheel instead of a inchpound torque wrench on the steering wheel nut.

Rack and Pinion Steering

A rack and pinion steering mechanismfound its way to America on the early sports carsthat were imported from England during the1950s. A pinion gear attached to the steeringshaft converts the rotational motion of the steer-ing wheel to the lateral motion of the rack. It wasa simple design which meant it was cheaper tobuild. When the local manufacturers started tobuild compact front wheel drive econo-boxes therack and pinion became the choice for steeringbecause they were lighter which meant better gasmileage. There was no need for idler arms, cen-ter links, tie rods or pitman arms. The rack and

pinion is less efficient than the recirculating balltype, but there is less backlash, and it provides abetter steering ‘feel’ and better overall handling.Rack and pinion steering is now the most popu-lar choice for vehicle manufacturers.

The basic design consists of two majorcomponents: a pinion gear that is spiral cut andmounted to the end of the steering shaft and asteering bar (rack) with a toothed center sectionthat meshes with the pinion gear. These two partsare enclosed in a steel tube. As the steeringwheel is moved the pinion gear rotates andmoves the toothed bar side to side. The bar is at-tached to the ball and socket type inner and outertie rod ends. The inner ball joint is connected tothe rack, and the outer tie rod ends are connectedto the steering arm on the spindle so the vehiclemoves to the right or left as the steering wheelis turned. The rack and pinion also acts as a gearreduction to reduce the amount of force neededto turn the vehicle's wheels. This reduction is thesteering ratio, and it is the amount the steeringwheel is turned to the degrees the tires turn.Higher ratios mean more steering wheel move-ment is needed to turn the tires, although, in ef-fect, less force is required.

Most vehicles require three to four revo-lutions before the tire is moved from full left tofull right. Lighter vehicles use a lower ratio be-cause they don't require as much force to turn,and improved steering is the result. Some vehi-cles include a variable ratio where the tooth pro-file of the rack and pinion is different betweenthe center and outside of the pinion. This offersthe combination of a quick response during theinitial turn but a reduction in steering effort whenthe wheel is approaching full lock. If you findthe steering wheel is starting to feel loose, andthe vehicle wanders on the road instead of mov-ing in a straight line, the problem may be in therack and pinion. Stiff steering can be caused bylack of lubrication. Check the tires, and if theyare worn on either side, the rack may be looseon the frame or the outboard/inboard tie rodjoints are worn. Check these areas first. Inspectthe rack housing for damage. If there are anysigns of fluid leaks, they should be repaired. Re-place any torn rubber mounts, and tighten the




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rack in place. If the ball joints wiggle in theirsockets, replace them. If the outer boot is torn,road dirt or water can enter the joint, and it mayneed replacing. If the inner boot (bellows) istorn, the inner ball joint may need replacing.

Check for external oil leakage at theboots, and squeeze the boot to see if it is filledwith oil. If the boot is full of oil, the rack sealsare leaking, and the rack is empty of lubricant.Lack of lubricant causes wear on the rack andpinion and may contribute to steering wander.Replacing the seals is only a good idea if therack and pinion are in good condition. Seals arevery difficult to source, and the price can be de-manding. It is best to replace the rack with a re-built one. Steering racks are filled with oil orgrease at the factory, and lubrication changes arenot required. Check the service manual to seewhich lubricant is used. Lubricant level shouldbe checked at every oil change.

Most rack and pinion steering systemshave a pinion preload adjustment. Remove theshims one at a time. Make this adjustment withthe steering turned to one side. If you make it inthe straight ahead position, the steering may bindwhen it is turned to either side. There is also arack guide adjustment screw that controls theplay between the pinion and the rack. This screwis adjusted when there is excessive play in the

steering. Loosen the locknut on the adjustingscrew. Then turn the rack guide screw until itbottoms slightly. Back off the rack guide screwabout 45 degrees or until the steering free playis reduced. Tighten the locknut, and road test forloose or tight steering. If the steering wheel doesnot center itself after turns, the steering adjust-ment is too right. Readjust as necessary.

These three steering types can be powerassisted by hydraulics. In many new vehicleselectric power steering (EPS) has replaced hy-draulic power steering. The steering gear itselfis a manual rack with an electric motor mountedon the steering column or rack. An electronicsteering control module determines how muchsteering assist is required. The hydraulic powersteering pump can use 8- to 10-horsepowerunder load, and fuel economy is one advantagewhen the power steering pump and hoses are re-moved. Electric power steering is also quieterbecause there is no pump noise and no fluidmoving through the hoses and valves. There isalso a difference in handling and steering.

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Steering Gear Box

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JUNE 2016 - PAGE 17

Originally printed in Skinned Knuckles magazine, and copyrighted by SK Publishing/Skinned Knuckles Magazine. Reprinting of any portion prohibited without written permission of SK Publishing, PO Box 6983, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.

Subscriptions to Skinned Knuckles magazine is $28.00 for twelve monthly issues (within the U.S.). Contact Skinned Knuckles by mail at PO Box 6983, Huntington Beach, CA 92615; Website skinnedknuckles.net and click on Subscribe or PayPal. E-mail [email protected], phone: 714-963-1558.

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