The matching timken race was pretty rough, as well, but I have a replacement for that. I am not looking forward to replacing the worm gear, but I trust Alchemy’s judegment. Thanks, y’all.
When in doubt throw it out...It's false economy to try and reuse suspect parts. By the way, what kind of steering box is it?, sometimes going to a later model steering box may be a better and cheaper solution.
Looks like a mid-'50s Ford worm. That's the usual issue with these, that inner race fails and isn't replaceable because it's machined onto the worm. Add in that the worm is welded to the shaft and Ford changed the shaft length almost every year so finding a good replacement becomes almost impossible. There were some NOS ones around for a while but those dried up years ago. I've always wondered if it's possible to replace that race. Find a complete bearing (bearing with both inner and outer races) with the same overall OD and machine the bad race off the worm, pressing the new race on in its place. You can get the OEM bearing and outer race, it's just a matter of finding the inner race and doing the needed machine work.
I hear ya. It’s not even about saving money, but decent parts seem to be getting scarce. I know a lot of you are like bloodhounds, and can sniff out all the good deals, but I’m pretty much limited to the internet. It’s an F1 box, and I’m stuck with it for packaging reasons in my AV8. Been using the innards from other boxes I’ve got my mitts on.
Might be worth a call to red head. They address the bearing problems on their home page. I don’t know if it will apply or help you. They’re about 20 minutes from me and have a great local reputation with hot rod guys. Lots of us have run the boxes they rebuild. https://www.redheadsteeringgears.co...rPPr7YC89c9Nw39HoB-UEN4gmdOlnYSQaAiucEALw_wcB
The Jalopy Journal
