LA steering gear question Part II

My LA has been hard to steer for sometime, the problem is in the steering box. I finally got the worm gear out tonight and what I found was a Timkin roller bearing on the bottom which is in good shape and a ball bearing on the top which is destroyed.

Question 1: At the top of the worm gear is a metal ring in which the ball bearings ride on. Is this ring part of the worm gear or is it part of the old bearing and can be removed? It looks like it is part of the worm gear. Either way it is all pitted up so I would not want to install a new bearing with it like that.

Question 2: Should there be a race on the top side? When I removed it there was just the bearing, another piece of metal that looks like a cap for the bearing and then the actual gear box cover. What keeps the top bearing from moving around?

Question 3: The bottom of the worm gear has a small knub that simply mates up with the bottom bearing. Should this knub be the same diamter as the inner hole of the bearing? Should the bearing actually attach to this knub at the bottom? Or does it just rest on top of it?

Thanks

I had to rebuild the steering box on my unstyled L 2 years ago. I'm pretty sure they were the same through the styled L and LA. After doing some research I found out a good bit about them. These boxes were built by gemmer and used also on early ford and dodge vehicles. I found the correct bearings and races and seals at early ford store in California and ordered them online. They have the worm gears too if needed. Once I confirmed they were the correct parts for the job I forwarded the part numbers on to steve ridenour and I'm pretty sure he carries them now.

My box was in similar shape to yours only the bottom end was a wreck with a missing race. There is a race that goes in the bottom of the box then a roller bearing then the worm gear. The ends of the gear are tapered to mate with the inner diameter of the bearing so it's essentially like a race on either side. There is a bearing On the top of the gear too and thicker race that goes on the top side. I think the bearing is the same on both sides but know the races are different.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Thank you for all that information, it was very helpful. Do you know if the top ball bearing is something I need to "assemble"? I have read about people buying the ball bearings separate for their steering boxes for these bearing assemblies. Or would this come in one piece that I simply install?

I talked with an old JD dealer and he said he found a place out west that has 3 rebuild kits left in stock. He actually has one himself but of course the top bearing is missing. We are just not sure if it is a new or older design and if it will work with my tractor. No serial tag, so I am not really sure what I am dealing with. I thought you could sort of date these tractors based on if the steering bearings where ball bearing type or roller bearing type. Of course I have one of each.

I did not have to do anything other than insert the correct bearings that I purchased. Mine had an incorrect ball bearing in the bottom end. It used a roller bearing on both ends.

Well it turns out that a previous owner tried to modify the worm gear. It was originally designed for ball bearings, but the bottom had been grinded down and they attempted to use a roller bearing. They left the top with the ball bearings. The problem is the roller bearing/race they installed for the bottom is not allowing the worm gear to drop down far enough. It needs to go about a 1/4 inch more. This is why things are all bound up and I can barely steer it. I found an actual JD rebuild kit for the steering box, which contains the bottom race and roller bearing, and the top race only. If I can find a worm gear that takes the roller bearing I think I may be in business. You mentioned a place in California that sells Ford truck parts? I found this worm gear at Mac's
http://www.macsautoparts.com/early_v8_ford_truck/steering-worm-gear-without-shaft-right-hand-drive-only-ford-commercial-truck.html I am waiting to hear back from them with exact dimensions. I called and sent an email to the Ridenours and they have yet to get back to me. Any chance you remember what part number or exact business that sold you the worm gear? Thanks.

I did not have to buy a worm gear but noticed that the early ford store had them.

here is the link to the site:

http://lbcunited.com/earlyford2/index.php/cPath/85_165/sort/3a/page/2?osCsid=ab082663e99f50aaf89e11d2cf87d25f

Thank you for the link. Do you recall if the races/bearings are for the 1932-36 Fords or the 1937-48 Fords? It would make sense that they are for the 37-48 Fords but the picture of the 32-36 upper race looks more like the old one I have.

Thanks.

(quoted from post at 07:14:16 10/03/16) Thank you for the link. Do you recall if the races/bearings are for the 1932-36 Fords or the 1937-48 Fords? It would make sense that they are for the 37-48 Fords but the picture of the 32-36 upper race looks more like the old one I have.

Thanks.

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I'm not 100 percent sure but I believe The box is the earlier one 32-36.

Talking with Steve Ridenour he told me of a guy in Michigan who rebuilds them. He machines the old style screw that takes ball bearings to accept the more modern roller bearings. He also has the correct races/bearings. I was looking at used steering boxes for $500 which is just a crazy price. I was looking at almost $200 to rebuild it myself, and that was assuming I could find the correct worm gear. This guy will fix it for around $175 as I understand it. I will let you know how it all works out. Thank you for your help.