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The felt donut slides down the steering shaft to seal the top of the box. It just sits on top. Not sure about the circle, maybe it’s just the cutout of the donut?
I agree with JB about the round piece just being the unneeded cutout of the donut.
And I recently re-assembled the box on my '49 and used the gasket shims to dial in as little play as possible. It was definitely trial and error!
If you haven't done a box like this yet, start out with two shims, adjust the lash, assemble and test. Use a little grease on the gears during testing, no liquid lube yet.
Dry-fit the steering wheel on the shaft and turn it lock-to-lock several times to see the amount of play. Add a shim gasket, repeat the test. Remove a shim if needed.
I spent quite a bit of time last winter in my cellar near the wood pellet stove to get the least amount of play combined with no apparent binding. In the end I narrowed it down to only 1" of play at the steering wheel. Based on feedback I got and info on threads here, that is about as good as it gets. I have test driven my '49 truck since then and the 1" of wheel play is barely noticeable compared to a steering box on my '51 that didn't get this amount of attention.
Hope this helps, Tom
The felt donut slides down the steering shaft to seal the top of the box. It just sits on top. Not sure about the circle, maybe it’s just the cutout of the donut?
JB
Does it need to be saturated with oil or something? What purpose does it serve, just sitting on top?
[QUOTE=pineconeford;18270082]I agree with JB about the round piece just being the unneeded cutout of the donut.
And I recently re-assembled the box on my '49 and used the gasket shims to dial in as little play as possible. It was definitely trial and error!
If you haven't done a box like this yet, start out with two shims, adjust the lash, assemble and test. Use a little grease on the gears during testing, no liquid lube yet.
Dry-fit the steering wheel on the shaft and turn it lock-to-lock several times to see the amount of play. Add a shim gasket, repeat the test. Remove a shim if needed.
I spent quite a bit of time last winter in my cellar near the wood pellet stove to get the least amount of play combined with no apparent binding. In the end I narrowed it down to only 1" of play at the steering wheel. Based on feedback I got and info on threads here, that is about as good as it gets. I have test driven my '49 truck since then and the 1" of wheel play is barely noticeable compared to a steering box on my '51 that didn't get this amount of attention.
Hope this helps, Tom
I am guessing to keep debri from entering the box from the steering tube and to keep any sloshing gear oil from coming out. I saturated mine with some oil.
Thanks for the information and advice. What do y’all think about using “John Deere Corn Head” grease inside the box? Or just stick with the heavy gear oil?
I know grease is an old trick that many recommend, especially for a leaky box but....
In an axle the grease heats up to a point and lubes the bearings. Also the bearings are packed.
In the steering gear there's not the heat or movement like in an axle. Because of this, the gears may simply push the grease out of the way and be somewhat dry.
For a leaky box that looses oil...grease is better than nothing.
Corn head grease is very different from chassis grease. There are none of the concerns above. Watch some of the many YouTube videos showing its performance.
Corn head grease is very different from chassis grease. There are none of the concerns above. Watch some of the many YouTube videos showing its performance.
And as for the horn/steering wheel..When I removed the steering wheel the nut was on top of the metal cup. But in the diagram it shows the cup on top of the nut. Did the previous owner have it assembled backwards?
I just rebuilt a box tonight, the clear coat is drying now. I sealed the threads on all the bolts and used “the right stuff” under the star washer. I am going to gamble and try 140 gear oil in it! I can’t resist LOL 😬
