OK l am rebuilding my steering box and I have gotten to the preload for the worm bearings and I am stuck. The book is not real clear on the process. It says in TM 9-8031-2 page 501 paragraph 349 in chap 30 rebuild standards:
preload of steering column shaft and worm assy bearings sector shaft removed. The next column over says 12 torque to 24 pounds inch.
At first glance I read that as 12 to 24 lb/in but looking again it doesn't say that ! I don't know what the 12 is.
Look at the next item down with sector installed states 24 torque to 36 lb/in. What is the 24?
I put in new shims per the book par 185 part 'd ' item 3 and tightened up the bolts but I can find no torque for them. Them being item PP fig 163 lower housing bolts. After snugging them up I got about 8 lb/in but the bearings seemed to tight almost rough. The shims add up to .025 but the original box had .040 worth of shims. It seems to me that there should be a torque value for the lower housing bolts.
So whats the right way to do this???
OK fooled around with this on and off today and pretty much figured it out .
Ended up with .030 worth of shims. Nice and tight not binding. That's what I am going with.
Sometimes ya gotta go beyond the book.
HI Cuz I really did not figure that out BUT a friend of mine has a civvy power wagon manual that states 7 to 9 inch pounds for the preload. That sounds much more usable. What I did was to try out different shim combos until I got a smooth turning steering column with about 6 inch pounds of resistance and no end play. After several tries I settled on .030 for the final shim thickness. The old box had .040. I put the sector in but have not set it up. I am thinking the perload won't be anywhere near 36 inch pounds. I am going to continue to use "TLAR" and "TFAR" on the box.
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