Steering gear box replacement

[Matthew Currie]

If you look at the pitman arm and the shaft on the gear, you'll see that the splines don't go all around - there's a keyed area with no splines. And that nut holds the pitman arm down pretty tight too. I seem to recall that it's tapered. I think it would be almost impossible to slip a spline. You'd break something first. It's more likely something somewhere is bent.

edit : Kleak notes :

To break the insides of a steering box would be the first time I have ever heard of it....

Yes for a Saginaw recirc. ball steering - I think almost anything else would break first, but it's not quite so uncommon with worm and sector gears such as those found on tractors, and I've heard of it on the old worm and peg boxes VW used to use. Not much to fall back on there.

 

[Eagle]

Matthew, a Saginaw recirculating ball steering box IS a worm and sector box. I agree it's pretty unusual to break the internals of one of those boxes, but if the steering was straight before hitting the curb, it's also essentially impossible to knock the drag link 100 degrees out of adjustment by hitting a curb. SOMETHING is either bent or broken, and the damaged part(s) should certainly be diagnosed and replaced.

 

[Matthew Currie]

Matthew, a Saginaw recirculating ball steering box IS a worm and sector box. I agree it's pretty unusual to break the internals of one of those boxes, but if the steering was straight before hitting the curb, it's also essentially impossible to knock the drag link 100 degrees out of adjustment by hitting a curb. SOMETHING is either bent or broken, and the damaged part(s) should certainly be diagnosed and replaced.

I was thinking of the type seen occasionally in older equipment in which the sector gear meshes directly with the worm. I've heard of these chipping teeth. As I'm sure you're aware, the Saginaw, though it has a sector gear, has the intervening nut on the worm, so the sector does not act directly against the rotating worm. As far as I can see, this means that there's no way at all you could slip a thread on the worm without pulverizing the recirculating balls and disabling the steering, and no chance of slippping a tooth on the nut-sector interface without breaking it severely.

I agree. Something is either bent or broken, and whatever it is had better be found.

 

[pikey77]

Well I've checked underneath and everything is straight with nothing visibly bent. Im gonna replace the box with a reman'ed one tonight i guess and see whats what.

In other news I must be the luckiest XJ owner ever because guess what happened yesterday..REAR MAIN SEAL!!!!!

So..the bottom of the JEEP is covered I got crappy steering I'm about to sink 300 in parts into this thing and I thought It couldn't get any worse...BUT I WAS WRONG!!!

because today the #6 cylinder started misfiring after it sits for a little bit so....I hate my life.....I damn near wish I would have just chosen to roll this thing right now. What else...umm oh yah My GF yelled at me because I have to work on the JEEP this weekend and won't get to spend time with her.
Just because her TJ has a "warranty" bleh.......

Oh yah I also got a bad p0146? code I think for a bad o2 sensor OR cat but its probably gonna be both...I just have this feeling.

 

[djblade311]

Dakota conversion??? I hadn't heard about this until now,,, what are the advantages?

I would agree,, you might have slipped a spline,,, but I would also check for other things being bent... To break the insides of a steering box would be the first time I have ever heard of it....

Just to give everyone some info on the Durango/Dakota steering conversion, the box is beefier.

Here is the write up:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=71626&highlight=durango+steering

 

[GregH]

It's a pretty simple job to change just be careful 'cause they're FRICKEN HEAVY !!!!!!
GregH