History - I have a project that requires replacing the sector shaft in a F1 steering box due to spline wear. I thought it might have been a GM arm had different splines and wore the shaft, but found a post from 2008 that states they are the same. At this point, I ***ume it was a loose nut that caused it to not be fully seated, causing the wear. After looking for a video or a how-to here without much luck I bit the bullet and ordered the booklet. I had a number of question I hoped the booklet would answer. What order does it come apart? Does the steering wheel require removal (donor has wheel with no removal holes for puller)? What is the proper ***embly sequence? What are the torques for everything? His opinion on proper lube. When cranking down on that pitman arm nut, do I need to have another person hold the wheel straight ahead or can I just rotate it to full lock and pull/kick/ugga dugga it tight? Current - I got it today, and flipped through it and was disappointed. I sat down and wrote this out before reading it cover to cover. Let's see what is answered and what is not. Review - The history is okay, it takes up 2/3rds of first page. Spotters guide for boxes covers pg.2-4. Might be of some use, but small B&W photos. NO Pitman Arm spotter's guide. 3 of the 9 pictures show them. What To Look For had info I could have used before buying the donor box and a check for wear. Oh, well. Inspection, Rebuild and Service - There is no info on how to dis***emble at all. Guess you just start unscrewing it and it falls apart easily. It also mentions I need to buy gaskets, shims and bearings and has 2005 prices along with sources in the back. Hmm. ***embly - "almost ***embles itself". Gee, guess I don't need the booklet, then. Mentions moly grease and oiling other parts.We are now at page 9. No mention of filling the box or with what. Hmm. After this there are a couple sections for hot rod modifications to fit these into other cars. Good stuff if you have a welder and a lathe, but not useful for my needs. Buried in here is a short section about how to remove a column (page 18), and it ends with "tighten the large nut." Guess I'm not getting any torque specs. Then there are 2 exploded views that are common online, followed by a list of suppliers with addresses, phone numbers and prices for their catalogs from 2005. I know the man is held in high regard for his cars, parts and info. This book was suggested to help me without going in blindly and perhaps making some mistake and breaking something. This book fails for everything I had hoped was included. It was a waste of time and money. For those that might need the stuff I didn't need, such as the spotter's guide and mods, I'm sure there are resources for this in color and moving pictures out there now. I guess the reason nobody has the info I was looking for is it's too easy. I know Ford techs weren't using torque wrenches back in the 50s on something like this, but that nut loosened and ruined the sector shaft before. Sure would be nice to have a number so even if I don't use a torque wrench now, I am comfortable with how tight it is. Is it axle nut tight (2 foot 'cheater'), or gland nut tight (4-6 foot 'cheater')? Now off to see about ordering gaskets, shims and maybe bearings. Or maybe, I think I'll just tear these apart and see if I can make what I've got work without anything. That's the hot rod way, right? TLDR: Read HAMB, and just do it. Don't buy incomplete, outdated, overpriced info from legends.
Just a couple thoughts on the F 1 box. One of the guys here, Aaron built a 29 A V8 and did a pretty good step by step on his build including the steering rebuild. on Youtube. Worth looking at if you havent done one. On the pitman shaft could the splines be cut deeper on the shaft so the pitman arm fits farther on,and tighter? The pitman shaft from the late 30"s to 48 on cars will fit the F 1 box so getting another shouldnt be too hard.As far as lubing the box I use John Deere Corn head grease. It flows inside the box ,but is less likely to drip out.
I'll just wing it. I know which end of a wrench to hold, and have tightened things by feel most of my life. This splined shaft is too worn for repair, the same arm on the used box tightens down fine. I'd have to dis***emble in either case. I won't do things I think might cause a problem, like tightening it at full lock. I already picked up the JD corn head grease the other day, but thanks for another vote in that direction. @Aaron comes back with 10 different member names, can you remember a bit more to search for this?
build thread index 1929 Ford Coupe Aaron D. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/aarons-29-av8-coupe-build.1027487/ thanks
The gm pitman arm will work. I used a 40 Chevy pick up one on my f-1 box because they are flat and easier to shorten then the ford ones. As for being loose, it did slide on the splines all the way and when the nut was tight there was slight movement. So I took a flat washer and chamfered the splined side so it would hold the arm tight. I tighten the nut with a 1 7/8 box wrench then hit the wrench with a dead blow hammer to set it tight. When doing big truck pitman arms we always used a 3/4 impact. The corn head grease works great, no leaks.
He has 2 videos about the steering box. Both start with it fully dis***embled. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/aarons-29-av8-coupe-build.1027487/page-5#post-12044622 https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/aarons-29-av8-coupe-build.1027487/page-5#post-12096629 Direct link to the you tube video www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgND8DWkZO0&t=1032s Seems like I can remove the sector shaft without removing the steering shaft, which requires the wheel to be removed. That answers that! @1935ply , First thing I tried was a big washer. Took 3 visits to the hardware store. First, even with the nut pushing the arm further on the shaft, it was still loose. Second, when I posted a picture, I had people question the washer and say that isn't the right way to fix it. I knew that, but wanted to see if it made a difference. The same arm tightens right down on the used F1 box shaft I bought. I just need to swap the sector shaft from the used F1 box to the car's F1 box and not do anything stupid in the process.
Well, with the help of @Aaron D. 's videos and basic stuff, I got the sector shaft swapped. Thanks also to @Irish Mike for pointing me in the right direction! So glad I didn't have to pull the donor wheel, and of note to the folks that shorten steering shafts, you might want to make sure the tubing you use to weld the ends back together is small enough in diameter to slip through the box! That wasn't the case with this one, but I worked around it. All went smoothly, and it will get bolted in for a final adjustment and connections this afternoon. Next on to the rear axle, which had welded spiders. The seals should be here tomorrow, so I need to do another scrub on the housing in prep for ***embly of that.
The Jalopy Journal
