Greetings, After spending the majority of yesterday looking for a new and/or a rebuild kit all over the innerweb, I'm asking for help. The steering box on the 1954 GMC Pickup my son and I are working on is shot. The steering wheel has to be rotated at least 360+ before the front wheels start to turn. Does anyone have a line on a good used box, or where to have a GMC box rebuilt, or a good rebuild kit? Do any other boxes fit in the '54? Thanks for any help and information.
I can't answer that question. I will ask another. Are you sure it is the steering box and not in the tie rod ends or something else in the linkage? Ben
@raven probably can answer that for you. I think that a mustang box works but it won't be a bolt in. anyway contact him he can set you straight. he is Mr AD truck
I'm not entirely sure that its the box, I was just assuming it was. I'll climb underneath today to have a better look. Definitely would be easier if its not the box, as parts are easier to come by!
have someone else move the steering wheel back and forth, while you watch the steering linkage....see what's moving, and what isn't
^^^^^^ yup^^^^ sometimes a wore out steering box is actually a bad drag link. I had a full size blazer when I first moved to Mexico. It was sloppy enough to wear the fronts quick. My dad crawled under and said spin the wheel. Then he crawled back out and said, when ya gonna change that drag link?
You are in luck....It's a GM product. Chevy vs GMC.....GMCs used standard fasteners and better engines while Chevys used the special Chevy clutch screws. That.....and Chevys insisted on using a early '30s babbit engine until about '54. GMCs are just like Chevys......only better. With Fords, to figure them out, you have to go back to the original Ancient Geek texts. Then you have to translate that Ancient Geek to figure out what you are working with. The Ancient Geeks at Fomoco changed something nearly every dang year especially past 1953. Do buy the "1947-54 Chevrolet Truck Factory assembly manual. Do buy the factory Shop Manual. It could be in the gear...... Rebuild kits are available without the worm gear...........the worm gear is the most expensive part. Fortunately all it may need is a linkage (rod) adjustment and your worm may be good even if you decide to build the box. The shop manual should have the details Most of the slack I have seen on these in in the drag link or connecting rod link. The pitman arm ball can deform, the draglink cups and springs can wear. Sometime most of the linkage slop will be here. Another place is the kingpins and bushings in the axle. Below is the connector link. It's very common for a lot of slack to be here....add a worn gear, tie rods worn/out of adjustment....king pins...loose connections like steering gear to frame...steering column to the dash...all this can add up. It's no biggie all this stuff is still available from suppliers either new, NOS or Used in serviceable condition. Worst comes to worst.....You can send your box off to be rebuilt. I would get the manuals.... go through all the links and adjustments first.......do the checks.....confirm what's worn and what needs further repair..
54 uses the "modern" recirculating ball steering gear. It's hard to get that much slop in the gear itself. But it can be done, I suppose.
All good suggestions above - but unless I missed it, the most obvious and easiest check is the steering gear adjustment. My old '53 box had a lot of play, until I adjusted it as per the shop manual. It involves using a fish scale to check the drag on the ball/worm gear (pitman arm disconnected as I recall). I believe you can find an online shop manual on the stovebolt page.
So... turning the steering wheel doesn’t do anything to the linkage until you start to ‘feel’ resistance on the steering wheel, and then the you can start to see some movement. I’ll try to adjust it and hopefully that’ll work. I do have the manuals and will follow what it says. Thanks for everyone’s input/advice. I’ll get back to you with an update. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I doubt it's an adjustment problem...the screw on the pitman shaft adjustment is in all the way, and the bearing cup on the worm adjustment looks like it's still where it belongs. Let us know what you find.
Here's a caution about adjusting the 65 year old box..... Don't sacrifice the good hard parts due to wear in the consumable soft parts. All these gears are different yet all of them are similar amongst makes and year. Sometime different boxes from different years will use the same soft parts (bushings and bearings) These boxes were assembled and adjusted in different ways. The F1 boxes used shims and gaskets plus they had the adjusting nut. The main purpose of the adjusting nut or bolt was to provide preload on a fresh box. This load was adjusted with a hook scale from the steering wheel. The shims play a roll in this as well for the Ford boxes. If you crank down on the adjusting nut in a worn box it gives the illusion of "tighter steering." In reality all you have done is made the gear harder to turn and you stand a great chance in ruining the "hard parts". The wheel being harder to turn gives the illusion of tightness. It may be "tight or tighter but it still has wear and slop if the bearings and bushings are worn. Trying to adjust bearing wear out with the adjuster can ruin an otherwise rebuildable box. The solution..... If the box is excessively worn it needs to be disassembled carefully paying attention to all shims and gaskets ( isf so designed) . The gears/balls/worm need to be inspected. You may be lucky and all it may need is bushings and bearings, maybe balls depending on type. Most of these boxes are worn......mainly because it's a pain in the butt to pull it and rebuild it. because of this they stay in way past the time they should be overhauled. Think about the suggestions here so far...... Check everything before you get to the box. If it's is the box...bite the bullet and rebuild it. Going to another newer box or system "update"..... that's a whole big hornet's nest you don't want to kick.
quite often those steering sectors the worm gear and pinion get worn right in the middle and the outer ends are not worn. If you adjust to remove the slack its too tight at each end where the wear is not as great. That makes them bind. the best source to find a good used sector is from old grain trucks. nobody cranked on the wheel when it was setting still and they never ran as many miles. I have one in my hoard the steering has zero slack.
this is a recirculating ball steering gear....it has ball bearings at the ends of the worm, and balls between the worm and worm nut, and there are bushings that support the pitman shaft/sector gear. The bearings and bushings wear, you can replaced the balls, and the bushings, but the races might or might not be replaceable. The gear teeth on the worm nut and the pitman shaft, when worn out, are not repairable. If they are worn, you want to find another steering box to start with.
I’m ordering a rebuild kit...hopefully this will do it. Thanks for the help! Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Well... I promised an update and here it is. Got it out and after taking it apart discovered the bearings were destroyed. Threw the new bearings in, and seems to be good as new. Now to install it back in the truck and put it to the real test. Thanks for everyones help. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
What is the assembly method to insure the steering box gears are centered so you have equal turning radius to the left and right. I assembled twice now and have been off one way or the other. I think removing pitman arm and moving to align would do it, but I already broke a puller and afraid to apply to much heat.
I think we need more information here....what exactly are you working on? Is everything stock? or is something modified? The pitman arm on GM steering gears like a 54 GMC have 4 positions that they can be installed, it cannot be off by one spline, but it can be off by 90 degrees. This is because there are 4 splines missing. If the gears in the box are not assembled correctly, the box will have limited travel. You do have to remove the pitman arm and the side cover and the pitman shaft to fix this issue. What type of puller do you have, that you broke it? I have a K-D Pitman arm puller, it's 30 years old, and still works fine. If you are using some other type of puller, you'll have problems. If you're using heat to get the arm off, you'll have problems. You might be able to sneak the arm off by holding one large hammer head on one side of the arm, and whack the other side with another large hammer, this might pop the taper apart. (same technique works for removing the tapered shank of ball joints and tie rod ends on newer cars)
Thanks for the response. The truck I'm working on is a 54 Chevy 1300 with stock steering. I had the steering box apart to replace the bottom bearing and pull the cab off the frame. I must have assembled it wrong as it turns one way sharper than the other. I thought I could adjust by moving the Pitman arm a few teeth, but it sounds like that is not an option. Question of the day is there a method to assembling the steering box so it turns equal both left and right? Is it required to remove Pitman arm? I doubt it has ever been off the truck.
I don't know exactly what you did when you removed the bottom bearing. I don't know if you could mess up the gear engagement by doing that. It might be possible, if the ball nut and shaft came out part way. http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1954truck/54ctsm0901.html shows the box and how to work on it. If the teeth in there are meshed so it's "off" by one tooth, then you might have the problem you're having. You can remove the bolts that hold the side cover on, and the lock nut on the adjusting screw. Then carefully pull out the side cover loose as you turn in the adjusting screw, and see if the gears are engaged properly. Of course the gasket will tear and you'll need to replace it, etc. Then when you're done, you'll need to go through the adjustments to get the right amount of drag on each of the parts.
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