I have finally finished up my bolster shaft bearing. I have had it on the tractor with the front end off the ground and turning the steering shaft with a pair
of vise grips and have virtually no sideways movement of the sector gear. I can't road test the tractor ( M Farmall ) because the sheet metal is in the body
shop getting painted. The nut sticks up far enough to hit the plate that bolts on the bolster, so I'll probably have to cut a hole in it. It does clear the
grill with plenty of room. I have another top plate if I ever want to go original again. I feel good about going down the road again. I want to thank
everyone who offered suggestions when I first asked will it work with just the big washer and no bearing. Ellis
cvphoto7268.jpg
 
Yipee! Looks just right to eliminate the displacement. Heat the center of the lid red hot and place it over a 1.5" hole and hammer a bump in it with a ball peen. Jim
 
If I'm thinking about this correctly, if you core a hole in the top plate of the worm gear + sector housing, all you would need is the same piece you holesawed out and a thin slice of a tube, then its a tig welding (could be brazing) job to create a new pocket for the large nut.
 
If I'm reading this right, can't you cut the top of the nut off
maybe 1/2" or so to gain some clearance?
Otherwise, make some thick gaskets out of cork or other thick
material to raise the cover to clear the nut?

That is one nice job of machining & welding, by the way.
Jim
 
I am going to cut half of the nut off, but I will still need about 1/2 inch of spacer to bolt down the plate. I'll probably do what Matt suggested. I was really nervous welding the nut to the bearing, afraid I would drift onto the bearing sealed cover. I cut the rods to about 3 inches long and rested my hand on the plate to be more stable. Thanks, Ellis
 

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