Ed -
I suppose it might be possible, with a fair amount of luck, to
perform this operation with the steering box in the car ... but I
would think you would have a completely miserable time of it! I
would suggest going ahead and removing it so that you can do the
difficult work on top of a nice comfy workbench...
(I've worked only on the early 'long' columns, so at a couple of
point my advice may be a little off!)
The main problem you will face is removing the drop arm from the
rocker shaft - if it has been in place for many moons, it is going to
require some convincing from a large 2-jaw puller and a copper hammer
to come apart. I'm not sure how you might be able to work that in
around the frame! If you're lucky, you can get the drop arm to pop
right off very easily - however, I haven't had that luck with either
of the two steering boxes I have worked on. Both required a lot of
cajoling.
I have read that it is best to free the rocker shaft pin from the
worm prior to attempting drop arm removal - otherwise, you risk
damaging the worm. For this, you can remove the top cover, lift the
rocker shaft up a little bit, and then the worm and shaft (and
steering wheel if still attached) can be pushed up out of the way, or
removed completely if you've removed the steering wheel.
If you can remove the drop arm, then you can probably get the rest of
it done with the steering box still in place. Removing the oil seal
is easy. Removing the bushing is a little tougher. I took two plain
steel washers and turned them down with my bench grinder so they were
just the right size to fit in "above" the bushing. Then I used a
length of threaded rod, a couple of nuts, a section of pipe and a
section of bar stock with a hole in it to pull the bushing out.
(If this doesn't make sense, I'll try to explain again. It really
makes short work of what is otherwise an awkward task). If the
steering box is still in situ, I don't know how you'll get all this
in place...
I replaced the bushing using a bushing puller/pusher kit from Harbor
Freight (cheap, OK quality for occasional use). The same kit can be
used to remove the shells from your silentbloc bushings. Then you
need to hone the bushing down with a small cylinder hone, which is a
time-consuming task, but not difficult. Just hone a little bit and
trial-fit repeatedly, or you'll wind up buying a new bushing and
starting over! Then clean thoroughly when done.
I would advise replacing the pin in the rocker shaft while you've got
things apart, or at least removing it, turning it 90 degrees, and
reinstalling, as even a small amount of wear on that pin adds a
surprising amount of slop to the steering. I would also advise
replacing the felt bushing at the top of the column with a urethane
bushing from Revington TR (there may be other sources). The bushing
makes a huge difference in ease of reassembly/adjustment and ease of
steering wheel turning! The pins are cheap, and the bushings are
about $25 with shipping from the UK - steep, but a nice product.
Fit new gaskets, a new brass 'olive', a new rubber filler plug, and a
new fiber washer on the plug on the steering box top cover, and
you're set.
BTW, TRF's TR2/3 Glovebox Companion (from about 1998 I think) has a
nice article on steering box rebuilding. I used that as my guide,
and thought it was quite helpful.
HTH! Let me know if you have any other questions - I'm not an
expert, but I'll try to help in any way I can.
Dan
At 8:27 -0500 1/22/02, Popnglo@aol.com wrote:
>Does any one have experiance with replacing the the bushing and oil seal for
>the rocker shaft assembly?
>
>I realize that I may need to remove the nose to do this, however, if at all
>possible I would rather not have to remove the entire steering box just to
>repair the oil leak.
>
>The manuals mention that the rocker shaft may be adjusted while in situ,
>however they do not address replacing the seal/bushing. While I'm at it I
>would probably replace the "silentbloc" bushings connected to the idler lever
>and drop arm.
>
>Thanks in advance for any feedback.
>
>Best Regards,
>Ed ('58 TR3A)
--
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Dan Buettner mailto:danb@thelittlemacshop.com
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