7-tooth rebuild

[Vin-tin]

I'm looking to rebuild my 7-tooth steering box for my '29 coupe.
I did a search on here to find out what you guys are using and now i'm more confused than before.
Some of you say to stick with original sector bushings. Some say the new bushings don't fit. Some like needle bearings, but others say they mess up the sector shaft. Some say use the 2-tooth housings. Some say the 7-tooth is fine.
My 7-tooth steering box didn't seem to have any movement in the shaft other than the steering wheel rotated about 2" before the sector moved. I was hoping to just disassemble everything, clean it up, replace a few internal parts, reassemble and adjust.
First thing I noticed when I disassembled it was grease in the housing instead of oil. Pretty common I guess for these. Also the sector teeth are "hollowed-out" (worn) a little. I haven't finished cleaning everything up yet, but from what I see, everything else looks pretty good.
My new parts would include a new sector, sector shaft o-ring, worm, and steering shaft felt retainer with an installed tube.
Hopefully this will give me a nice tight, leak-free housing.
I really would like to stick with the original 7-tooth.
What insight can you guys give me on all this?

[mrtexas]

Rebuilt 7 tooths work good. I rebuilt mine.

[glenn in camino]

In my experience, a really good sector gear is most important.

[Joe K]

Originally Posted by glenn in camino

In my experience, a really good sector gear is most important.

Ditto, except that unless parts are PERFECT - you'll have issues with free-motion.

I've always thought that someone should come up with a way to make an eccentric bushing to be used in a modified sector housing - that way the position of the sector shaft relative to the worm could be brought as close together as could be tolerated - and possibly result in steering performance BETTER than the two-tooth (which suffers increasing amounts of free-play away from drive center - but compensated for by front end geometry.)

Alas. Time and money.

And need for me.

Joe K

[tbirdtbird]

your worn sector teeth are at least part of your problem, also the minimal adjustments available to you.

wonder if any of Tom Endy's articles covers any of this

[fiddlybits]

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Stay with your plan, it pretty much is what I have done to 2 7-tooth and both are doing just fine. (I have been experimenting with John Deere Cornhead grease in one of them....About 5000 miles and I like it...it seems to be fine on zero degree mornings)

[JohnLaVoy]

I've used 7 tooth boxes for years with no problems. Rebuilding them is important but they work fine. One item that is usually ignored is the bushing at the bottom of the shaft. Sometimes this needs to be addressed and the bushing replaced with the shaft turned to fit the new bushing.

[Vin-tin]

Ok, guess i'll stick to my plan then unless I find something unexpected as I finish cleaning it up. Not sure when that will be though. My "workshop" is my basement right now, as winter still has a firm grip on us here. Just got another 10" of snow today.

[Vin-tin]

Originally Posted by JohnLaVoy

I've used 7 tooth boxes for years with no problems. Rebuilding them is important but they work fine. One item that is usually ignored is the bushing at the bottom of the shaft. Sometimes this needs to be addressed and the bushing replaced with the shaft turned to fit the new bushing.

Ok, I got everything cleaned-up and now am wondering if I should turn down the bottom of the shaft and install and ream a new bushing.
There are some wear "rings" inside the bushing and on the shaft, but how much is acceptable?

Also, I seen in Bratton's catalog that the leak-less felt retainer with the tube installed doesn't fit all 7-tooth steering shafts. I think it won't fit mine. What other tricks can be used to prevent leaks here?

How does my worm look? (no wise cracks)

[Tom Wesenberg]

Those parts look pretty good to me. How much play does the bushing have on the shaft?

[Vin-tin]

Tom, the bushing ID measures .655 and the shaft OD measures .652
and with the bearing slipped on the shaft, there is only minor play. So you think the wear rings are fine? Maybe shine-up the shaft a bit with some emery cloth and will be fine?
Do you think the worm is fine also? How do you check that.

[Big hammer]

Picture of sector would be nice Worm and bushing look good If you assemble the gear make adjustments maybe that's all that's needed? That's what I did to my two tooth gear box when I was 16 If that doesn't work practice makes for perfect

[Vin-tin]

Here's the sector. I didn't show it earlier because i'm pretty sure it needs replacing. Notice the "hollowed-out" teeth and the worn shaft. I'm pretty sure this is the reason the steering wheel had the free-play it had before I tore it down. What do you guys think?

[Tom Wesenberg]

I don't see much wear on those teeth either.
Did you try adjusting the sector endplay (lock nut and screw) and the steering shaft endplay, which is adjusted by adding or removing the thin brass shims?

Also the pitman arm has to be dead tight to the sector shaft, or the steering wheel will have a lot of play.

[Manager]

Originally Posted by Vin-tin

the steering wheel rotated about 2" before the sector moved.

Sounds and looks like you didn't need to pull it apart to me.

[Fred K-OR]

Like Tom mentioned, those brass shims make a big difference in how much play you have in the steering wheel. Don't ask me how I know. I am an "expert" in taking that thing apart many times and adjusting the number of shims.

[Vin-tin]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

I don't see much wear on those teeth either.
Did you try adjusting the sector endplay (lock nut and screw) and the steering shaft endplay, which is adjusted by adding or removing the thin brass shims?

Also the pitman arm has to be dead tight to the sector shaft, or the steering wheel will have a lot of play.

Tom, I didn't try to adjust anything before I disassembled it. The whole steering box was one big ball of grease and dirt. I took it apart to have a look at the internals and to clean everything up. I expected to find badly worn everything.
Looks better than I thought, especially after showing it to you guys.
The sector shaft is worn where the bushings ride so maybe that is the cause of the steering play. What is the normal fix. Turn the shaft down and ream new bushings?

[Gold Digger]

I've found in the past that when I adjust the sector where it don't have much free play in the center where it is worn the most that it will usually lock up when turned left or right and sometimes bust a housing. I always change the sector and worm together unless it has just got out of adjustment some way.

[Vin-tin]

Originally Posted by Fred K-OR

Like Tom mentioned, those brass shims make a big difference in how much play you have in the steering wheel. Don't ask me how I know. I am an "expert" in taking that thing apart many times and adjusting the number of shims.

New shims are on my list of items I need to buy. I just don't want to buy parts I don't need. Especially expensive ones like the sector.

[Bruce,Upstate NY]

Without replacing the worm, I can almost guarantee you will have free play.