[Healeys] BN1 Steering Box Overhaul

[A H List]

Another way of fixing the oval case on the early boxes is to ream the
housing back to round and then have the shaft metal sprayed bigger and
machined to the right clearance. This will correct both the wear in
the housing and the wear on the shaft at the same time.

Andy.


On 6/19/17, Ray Juncal <healeyray at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Bill    I rebuilt three steering boxes this way for BN-1/BN-2s. The pinion
> shaft has two bearing diameters and the aluminum case is the female bearing
> for both diameters. The top of the case is bored to the larger diameter and
> the lower portion is the smaller diameter. There is side load on the shaft
> so the case tends to wear egg shaped. A lot of the slop in your steering box
> is wear in the case. Drop your shaft into the case and see if there is any
> play. I am going to describe the process in general terms because I did this
> some time ago and don't remember exact dimensions but it was easy to figure
> out what was needed. I have access to a milling machine but it is a fairly
> simple machine shop job so you should be able to find a shop near you who
> can do the work.   In the McMaster Carr catalog they have bronze bushings.
> They come in various inside diameters and wall thickness and outside
> diameters. Pick two that fit the two inside diameters needed to fit the
> shaft, then select a wall thickness that will give you a constant outside
> diameter. Next comes the machine work. I can't find a picture of this,
> sorry. The case is put on the mill using the top machined surface as datum (
> Top down, snout up ) and the shaft center is indicated. Then the case is
> bored to an interference fit to the OD of the bronze bushings. While you
> have this setup make the bore for the lip seal about 3/16th deeper so the
> lip seal rides on a clean part of the shaft and you can use a two lip seal
> stack. Then the bushings are pressed in and viola your case is better than
> when it left the factory. I think you can still get new pin followers and
> the pin to worm clearance is adjustable so you can split the difference
> between loose in the center and tight on full lock.   This probably sounds
> more complicated than it really is. A good machinist will totally get it.
> You can message me for a phone number if you or your machinist want to talk.
>
> Hope this is useful information.RegardsRay Juncal
>