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Tore into the F3 MH steering box. Worn and roller gears have not pitting or galling, one little spot on lower worm bearing race that will polish out. The roller has little to no side to side movement. Thinking I will get by with Van Pelts bearing, seal bushing kits? Meshing teeth together, I get no slop. The speedometer cable broke at 19,000 miles, but knowing the use it got, I doubt it had 10,000 miles after cable broke. The box still had some oil in it, the bearings and teeth were still slathered. I have been soaking and shloshing the actual box in gasoline to clean it out.
Last edited by 1952henry; Apr 10, 2026 at 02:06 PM.
No cracks seen on the box, will be going into blast cabinet next day or so.
I'm far from an expert, but is it wise to media blast the steering box.? I don't know what you are using for blasting . Suppose you don't get out all the medium and it gets between the gears? Or are you covering the holes and just blasting the outside?
That box and components look great. If you have surface rust on the box, I would soak in evaporust or rust 911 solution, hot water rinse, dry and paint. As Abe suggests, lots of nooks in the casting to hold media.
May just do that^^^^. Sure felt good seeing the working parts in the shape they were. Ironically , I had seen a thread on the Hamb from a fella that has rebuilt 100s of these. He did a step by step what to look for and how to do the rebuild.
Last edited by 1952henry; Apr 10, 2026 at 05:11 PM.
Parts are looking great so far.
To dispel the worries mentioned above of blasting parts. I blast everything I can and swap out media depending on what I'm cleaning. If the item is taken apart and blasted there is no issue as long as your diligent in cleaning it afterword. When I was building engines at the speed shop almost everything went through the bead blaster for cleaning and then to the Jetclean (pressurized hot tank sprayer), The same can be done with a garden hose (which is how I typically do it now, then air blast) after blasting but it takes time away from other things when you could put the part in the Jetclean and walk away. To the OP, if you have access to a blast cabinet I say use it on almost everything, Now I would not condone blasting assembled parts, e.g. gear boxes and the like, especially if it has grease or oil. The blast media will obviously stick to it and then yes, it is hard to remove it, plus it contaminates the media. But working with clean blasted parts is a bonus that a lot of folks don't have the option of doing.
I ended up blasting it. It had quite a gasoline bath to clean it inside and out. Will be doing a thorough check for residual beads. Then have at it with scotch brite on gasket surfaces.
Last edited by 1952henry; Apr 14, 2026 at 09:12 PM.
Looks great, good luck. Washing with gas, old school, I've gone back to it a lot as well, but with the price of gas right now I need to rethink that idea.
Gas is still cheaper than commercial degreaser and many times more effective. Just have to pay attention so you don’t ignite it. I have memories of doing brakes on our old IHC 3/4 ton fuel pickup. I know I wasn’t ten, Dad handed me an ice cream bucket half full of gas and the wheel bearings. I cleaned the bearings, and he showed me how to pack them in the palm of your hand. He was busy disassembling the brakes .
i don’t use gas in my shop when I degrease something. That is outside only, weather permitting. I have an ultrasonic cleaner that works pretty well for smaller stuff.
Last edited by 1952henry; Apr 14, 2026 at 08:14 PM.
Got a package from Chuck, thanks Chuck! When time allows, will start stuffing box. Also got carrier installed and front axle halves together. Now for turning knuckle housings. Pay no mind to my mess.
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