m38a1 ross steering gear

[circleburner12]

can anyone tell me how to tell if the internal parts are to far gone to rebuild? planning on just replacing seals and bearings, thxs

[53a1]

A quick test I did was to turn the wheels all the way to one side and tighten the adjusting screw as far as it will go. Bring the wheels back to center and rock the steering wheel back and forth. I would say more than a quarter turn in either direction is not good but I don't have an exact number.

[jimm]

The maintenance manual has specific instructions for setting the adjustment, different than the way 53a1 did it. I would start by following those and then see what the feel and free play are like in the rest of the travel.

In my case, the evaluation was straightforward: when I opened up the gear box, I found chunk missing out of the cam, an obviously worn pin on the sector, and an obviously worn ball on the pitman arm - 3 out of 3 bad I've found a source for the sector and the pitman arm, but not the right cam & shaft (M38).

[circleburner12]

minds already out of the jeep and waiting to get clean up. thats when i notice alittle water and oil coming from the seal at the top of the gear. well thats where i made the mistake i took the 3 bolts out of the top and bearings went everywhere inside. since im in there i might as well rebuild it. everthinglook good inside the, the sector didnt have anyplay side to sideand just alittle in and out. im no expert on looking for worn out parts, that why im asking. thxs

[wesk]

You can still check it the way A1 suggested will give you a very good idea if the worm gear is too worn. The column does not need to be in the jeep to make the wear check determination. The rest of the bushings and shafts and bearings you can use standard wear limits to determine if they need replacxment.