Steering gear lever shaft

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Guam0311
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Steering gear lever shaft

Post by Guam0311 » Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:31 pm

After breaking down the gearbox the lever shaft looks very worn and you can see the galling. I measured for wear limits and is clearly under. The stub that rides the worm gear looks to be worn in half? Should their be a full circumferential detent? or is that normal 1/2 dia?

Been reading on here that parts for gearbox is getting hard to find. I would like to rebuild this but need gaskets, seals, and new lever shaft? the bearings in the plastic or phenolic cage seem to be ok.
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Chuck W.
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Re: Steering gear lever shaft

Post by Chuck W. » Fri Sep 10, 2021 11:40 am

Have you checked with John Emery? (262) 567-5606

Guam0311
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Re: Steering gear lever shaft

Post by Guam0311 » Fri Sep 10, 2021 12:34 pm

Chuck W. wrote:
Fri Sep 10, 2021 11:40 am
Have you checked with John Emery? (262) 567-5606

Not yet, John would be the guy to ask though. Thanks Chuck

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Re: Steering gear lever shaft

Post by Chuck W. » Fri Sep 10, 2021 1:55 pm

Years ago, I would send my steering boxes to Bill Watson and he would rebuild them and send them back. He told me that the detent on the end of the shaft was impossible to find, to the point that he was having them made and heat treated. He also said the plastic retainers for the ball bearings were impossible to find and he had to reuse the old ones. I have never asked John about steering box parts but he would be the go-to guy, maybe he still has some of Bill's repro parts. Let us know what you find out.

Guam0311
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Re: Steering gear lever shaft

Post by Guam0311 » Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:59 am

I talked to John and he has no more lever shafts available. He talked about you can re-sleeve it and if you have a lathe to clean it up. The detents are replaceable. He does have the seals and gaskets however.
The bearing cages are like you said impossible to find but what John recommends if you don't have the plastic cage is to add (1) more bearing to fill in the space and will work fine because it's not operating in a high RPM rotation. similar verbiage to what he said.

Chuck W.
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Re: Steering gear lever shaft

Post by Chuck W. » Thu Sep 16, 2021 3:01 pm

Thanks for the info. Does John have the detent?

Guam0311
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Re: Steering gear lever shaft

Post by Guam0311 » Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:44 pm

Chuck W. wrote:
Thu Sep 16, 2021 3:01 pm
Thanks for the info. Does John have the detent?

Yes he has the detents and they have to be welded on he said.

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Re: Steering gear lever shaft

Post by RBW » Tue Dec 14, 2021 4:53 am

I just went through this process with my steering box. Ordered a new sector shaft pin from John Emery. It fit well, but securing it was a challenge. I was hesitant to weld on it and I wanted to stake it the way the factory one was installed. Well, it won't even begin to deform cold. I heated it to a dull red and compressed the end with an arbor press, then staked around the edges. After staking it for a bit, I noticed the edges were starting to shatter, so I stopped there. Seems to be secure, but will probably need to check it after a bit.

I ordered bearings from Steiner Tractor before I found out I could get them a little cheaper from John Emery. Reused the plastic cages. The balls are standard items and readily available. The races from Steiner are a slightly different style from OEM (flat bearing face and a full height shoulder to keep the rollers captive), but the box assembles and shims correctly. The cam shaft (worm shaft) was heavily pitted and I ordered one from Eastern Surplus for $25 that had some surface rust but actually cleaned up really well. I noticed as soon as I ordered it that they raised the price to $59.

The only other vehicles I could find that use the Ross Model S12 steering box are the Allis Model B and Model G tractor. Steiner sells this sector shaft for it, and I wonder if it could be used on the Mule:

https://www.steinertractor.com/ACS068-Steering-Shaft

Guam0311
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Re: Steering gear lever shaft

Post by Guam0311 » Tue Dec 14, 2021 11:15 am

good solid information. Yeah I would be curious if that tractor sector shaft would work.

Thanks


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