2 tooth steering worm

Russell Reay

Russell Reay

Well-known member
I see that all the vendors are out of stock for the 2 tooth worm. Am interested in the story behind the industry-wide outage
 
Just to clarify my interest--I recently posted my concern about really tight steering even after replacing all king pins, tie rod ends, and cleaning and adjusting the steering box. Following that exchange I double checked the thrust bearing shims, readjusted the steering box, set the toe in correctly, greased it, and it is still tight. On the lift with pitman arm disconnected the wheels turn left to right very easily, and the steering wheel turns lock to lock easily and smoothly. In the course of re-doing the steering box I replaced the sector housing, but not the sector or worm gear. I am thinking that those are the only potentially defective components left to correct---good winter project.
 
Russ, are your expectations correct?

A Model A is not exactly easy to steer. If you are referring to turning the wheel whilst the car is stationary, it is not easy to turn. Always have the car moving to turn the wheels, as in feathering the clutch a bit to rock forward and aft while turning the wheel. When making a turn out on the road while moving a good clip, it is still not child's play to steer the car, but it is not overly hard either.
 
I was told by one of the vendors that the only place making steering worm gears is a company in Argentina. They are still making them but, cannot export them to the US. He said the US and Argentina are not playing in the same sand box well, and this is the result.
 
I'd check more vendors than one. If all are on back order then consider a steering shaft with worm installed if available. Double check your current steering gear for play in the straight ahead position and adjust it out if any. This way you can tell if the worm is worn or sector gear teeth are worn out. If it turns smoothly then it may not need replacement. The preload on the tapered bearings should be tight enough to have no shake or movement but loose enough to still turn easy.

I don't know what quality the king pin thrust bearings are but they should be a good quality bearing in order to take the weight of the car and still allow the front wheels to turn with moderate resistance. As was mentioned, the model A with it's tooth to worm designs still have more resistance to turn than the later roller sector gear Gemmer II units that came out in 1937 or so. The model A isn't too bad to steer but it takes more torque to turn than the later cars with the sector roller gear. They do turn better if the car is rolling as was previously mentioned.

Make sure the balls on the steering arms are still round with good fit in the sockets as well.
 
Update--Interesting to hear about Argentina. I met another model A owner here in town, and asked him to come look at my car to evaluate the steering. I described my concern, and he took it for a spin around town. He said it steers just like his tudor. I guess that should restore my confidence, but it still steers harder than any non-PS vehicle I have ever driven---think non-PS farm tractor with a load in the front bucket. I just saw a video by a German guy, and his final adjustment was to the eccentric rivet. I know when I re-did mine, I never looked at that. I think a good winter project will be to remove the unit and put it on the bench--Not sure if I will replace the sector and worm, but will certainly study them. Thanks for all the comments
 
George Brunner said:
is the 2 tooth worm gear still out of stock every where
Click to expand...

I haven't researched any further, but I saw a Youtube video about restoring/ rebuilding the 2 tooth box, and the message was that many of the components may need replacement/ upgrade, but the worm is the LEAST likely to need replacement. I found that to be encouraging
 
Russell, don't want to inject discouragement into your hope about wear on the worm gear, but it has been my experience that the worm is the first thing to wear, and very thing most likely to make it difficult to adjust out play in the steering gearbox. Over time the center of the worm wears down, and adjustment to take play out of the center area causes a bind when the wheel is turned each direction...when the center is tight, both sides bind up. In order to adjust so that the turns do not bind the center will be loose. In the end the only solution is replacing the worm gear.

For the effort involved, best to replace both worm and sector when rebuilding the steering box...anything less is less than satisfactory.

Which of course means waiting for the worms to be available...
 
I'm also getting a 2 tooth box rebuilt and the only company in Brazil that made some of the parts for it went out of business. I hear that Snyder's and a few other suppliers are looking for foundries to remake those parts but it'll probably be a few years before you can buy those parts.
 
with a bit of machining you can fit a 34 gear set
use a 46 pitman arm
My 28 cpu steers like a dream
Lawrie
 
The steering worm gear is chrome plated to resist wear. If the copper plating below the chrome is visible on the tooth wear pattern, then the worm gear is worn & needs replacement. If the chrome plating is intact on the gears teeth, the worm gear is good to use. The sector gear has no plating, so it is not designed for longevity as is the worm gear. Thus the sector gear is designed for relatively easy replacement.
 
Bob Bidonde said:
The steering worm gear is chrome plated to resist wear. If the copper plating below the chrome is visible on the tooth wear pattern, then the worm gear is worn & needs replacement. If the chrome plating is intact on the gears teeth, the worm gear is good to use. The sector gear has no plating, so it is not designed for longevity as is the worm gear. Thus the sector gear is designed for relatively easy replacement.
Click to expand...

This kind of excellent information makes life infinitely easier for us amateurs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top