I am trying to adjust my steering gear box. There is about <1/4 turn of play in the wheel which I think isn't bad but the steering wheel appears to bind or stick when turned but it is very apparent close to the limit. Also when I turn the wheel while not moving the wheel seems to build up a fair amount of recoil and it spins back when I let it go. I have backed out the adjusting screw without resolution of the issue. Could there be too many gasket shims in the endplate or is there another explanation. The worm gears look pretty good and there is only a few pits in the gears themselves. Also I use 90W oil but read somewhere that I am supposed to use a gearbox grease is that true? Thanks.

 

Could be the upper bearing

Fairly normal, especially with tall profile tires.

90 wt is the correct lube, people use grease in an effort to stop leakage. Mine was leaking bad, I found it was from the adjuster shaft. I cleaned it up, put some RV on the adjuster threads after adjusting, then put the nut on. No leaks since.

 

1/4 of a turn really is not to bad . If your seeing pitting then there is probably some wear on the 50 year old gears (its to be expected). that recoil is pretty well normal especially if your'e just turning radial tires on dry concrete while standing still .

 

How about the sensation that it is binding, is that an adjustment or the nature of the beast.

 

Get the front wheels off the ground so there is no drag. Turn the steering lock to lock, you should feel no binds or tight spots.
There should be a slight 'preload' on the steering worm shaft bearings. This preload equals no end play on the worm shaft and a very slight drag when turning the shaft. This adjustment is made by increasing or decreasing the shims at the end of the gear box. If you have end play here, your other adjustment is in vain.
Once you get the worm shaft adjusted, then proceed to the sector.
The sector adjustment is made at the center position of the worm gear where the steering wheel should have very little free movement. Once you get away from the center position of the sector gear, you will get some play between the two gears. There are several write ups on the forum for adjustments of the steering gear. It is not rocket science, just a straight forward procedure but you have to have good parts to get an acceptable adjustment.

Read this thread, adjustment procedure therein:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-question.html

 

That all makes sense. I guess I was hoping I could get away with adjusting the sector screw and not having to remove the horn wire etc to add shim gaskets to the end plate. There are never any short cuts! Thanks.